23^rd May 2009
Sam Baird, with the exception of a close semi final against a newbie to the tournament James Lee, made light work of wining event 5 of the West of England Billiards & Snooker Gold Waistcoat Tour. By qualifying for the knock-out stages he secured the overall crown of WEBSF Regional Gold Waistcoat Champion. In the final Baird beat Grant Cole 3(51)-0 in a one sided match. In the qualifying stages Baird posted the highest break of the day, a superb 135 that complimented the 136 clearance break made in a previous round that took the overall tour highest break prize. Cole’s performance moved him into third place overall to send out the message that he will be a serious contender to watch out for next season. The overall runner-up position was taken by yet another up-and-coming talent emerging from the WEBSF stable, 17 years old Dale Branton. This achievement is even more commendable given the limited amount of time he has been able to practice due to studying for exams.

In the semi finals Baird was made to dig deep into his reserves of concentration to beat newcomer to the tour, James Lee from Paignton 3-2. Baird made breaks of 54 and a clearance of 60. Wayne Branton had played consistently well all day but seemed to run out of steam in the semi against Cole when he lost 3-0. Cole make a 66 break. Up until the quarter Baird had won every match without dropping a frame. It was Steve Brookshaw that put a blip on Baird’s score sheet before Baird won through with an 86 break. Lee and Darran Lock had a very close match, Lock making a 49 break before Lee won the encounter with a 58. Dale Branton’s brave challenge for the overall title came to and end when he lost to Grant Cole. However, Branton by now had done enough to secure the overall runner up spot. Michael Day found Branton senior too tough on the day and went out with the promise to return and fight another day.

In the group stages Baird was ‘on fire’ posting breaks of 42,54,55,68,78,80,103 and a magnificent 135 in just eight frames of snooker. In his wake Lee finished in second place, Lock third and Day took the forth qualifying place. Group 2 was won by Grant Cole who pipped Wayne Branton on frame count-back. Cole made breaks of 82 & 43 and Branton had a string of breaks 47,56,64 & 77 clearance. Brookshaw finished in third place with an 82 break and Dale Branton fourth with two breaks of 53. The Gold Waistcoat Tour will return again in September and the rumour is there will be a few cues being dusted off by some of the more seasoned players to counter the assault from the younger brigade and bring some tough, tactical and experienced play to the snooker scene.

Report by Steve Canniford