11th February 2006
Dan Hine took no prisoners in winning his first and the second in the series of Exeter West of England Billiards & Snooker Bronze Waistcoat Tournaments at the GWRSA Social Club, Exeter. Hine won all his matches without dropping a frame posting breaks of 24 & 22. In the first group match Matt Baker played very well to take Hine to a close finish, just losing out on the colours. Last months winner Adam Gallen was a close second in the group, wining all but one of his matches. Will Blackmore finish third by way of losing to team mate and practice partner Gallen in a closely fought contest. Matt Sercombe was the final qualifier that made up the semi-finals.

In the semi-finals Hine cruised past Sercombe wining 2-0. However the other semi-final prove a much closer affair. Blackmore seemed to have the upper hand against Gallen going 1-0 in front only for Gallen to pull one back to level the match at 1-1. In a very tense final frame Gallen cashed in on a missed pink over the pocket by Blackmore to win a super contest.

The final saw Hine finish the day strongly, beating Gallen 2-0 to set up an interesting next tournament in March. Gallen remains out in front in the rankings with Blackmore and Sercombe closely contending the second spot. Hine is in fourth position and Michael Rogers Fifth both having only played in one tournament.

Report by Steve Canniford