12th November 2005

Sam Cox from Exeter once again proved his champion pedigree when capturing event two of WEBSF’s Silver Waistcoat Tour at Bells Court Snooker Club, Falmouth.

Cox, the winner of the opening event in Taunton last month, put pay to Plymouth’s Grant Cole’s chances, when defeating the reigning Silver Waistcoat champion 3-1 in front of an intrigued audience.

The Falmouth venue, home to professional Andy Hicks, has been a regular and familiar fixture on the circuit calendar, and once again boasted a healthy entry of talented snooker starlets.

GROUP A
Cox topped his qualifying section, winning his opening three matches in convincing fashion. His only defeat of the day would be at the hands of the much-improved Dale Branton (Plymouth). Branton, the current Bronze Waistcoat champion, showed he has made the step up to a higher tier of tournament play when winning 2-1 in his penultimate contest. It would leave a final showdown between Branton and Joel Martin (Exeter) for the second qualification spot. Martin, who had earlier lost to playing partner Cox, came through 2-1 on the final pink in a tense finale.

GROUP B
Darren Bond, the Tiverton terror, was once again in lethal form when defeating Michael Rogers (Stroud) and Luke Veale (Tiverton) in his opening matches. Bond fabricated clinical breaks of 74,63,43,39 and 33, quite an amazing standard in just 4 frames. However it was surprisingly Redruth’s Jamie Read who would top the table when he stunned Bond by 2 frames to 1. This was significant as it meant Bond, as second seed, would have a tougher quarter-final draw. Read also made breaks 0f 31 and 44.

GROUP C
Falmouth’s Bobby Southworth was the home club hero as he comfortably secured a last 8 berth. He would have a perfect 100% record when going through for the second successive event. Southworth who looked at ease with the pace of the tables made breaks of 62,56 and 30. Joining him was once again Ryan Elcombe (Plymouth) as he finished second in the round robin table.

GROUP D
Group D paired two mainstays of the circuit in the form of Sam Baird and Grant Cole, and predictably both players qualified with ease. However there was much interest when both players met in the last match of the group. Baird came from losing the opening frame to beat Cole 2-1 to secure a top seeding. Baird made the highest break of the day in this match with an 84.

QUARTER-FINALS
Top of the draw was that of Cox who came up against the relative inexperience of Elcombe. However the Plymouthian was unfazed by the occasion when claiming the first frame. Yet it was the Exeter cue man who hit back with a break of 46 to win the match and reach yet another semi-final.

He would play Southworth, who kept alive the possibility of a home win when he defeated Martin 2-0, the opening frame going down to the black ball. Cole also reached the final quartet when he dispatched Cornish youngster Read 2-0, with the help of a fluked pink in the second frame. Match of the round was easily the anticipated showdown between Tiverton players Bond and Baird, both regular practice partners. However the match was a one-sided affair, as Bond struggled to rein act his previous form, Baird won 2-0 with the aid of an impressive break of 52.

SEMI-FINAL
Hopes of a Cornish victory were quickly dashed when Cox beat Southworth 2-1. The match was an ugly and scrappy affair, with both players ruing missed opportunities. Grant Cole, who has been without a single Silver Waistcoat event victory for 18 months, was paired against Baird. This was the second time in the day these two players had locked horns, and it was Cole who repaid Baird’s victory earlier on, by winning 2-0. Cole was in lethal form making breaks of 39 and 36, as Baird could only muster 24 points in the entire match.

FINAL
The final was extra special for both players as it was played on Andy Hicks’ own match table. In this best of five clash, Cole started favourite after his demolition of Baird in the semis. Yet Cox raced into a 2-0 lead making a break of 36 on the way. Cole repaid the compliment with a string of snookers in frame 3 to reduce his arrears to 2-1. It also looked for all the world that the tie would be forced into a deciding frame shoot out when Cole led by 30 points in frame 4. However, he accidentally snookered himself on the final red. Cole failed to escape, and Cox duly obliged with a cool and collective 33 clearance to seal an amazing win.

Overall this meant Cox is well clear at the top of the rankings board when the tour moves to his home town of Exeter in December. A special mention must go out to Cox, who woke up at 2.30am in the morning to catch the slow train down to Falmouth, just showing the dedication and hunger some of these youngsters possess.

Report by Mike Day