12th May 2007
19 year old Sam Baird from Halberton demonstrated why he is considered by many as one of the most promising snooker players on the under 21 Snooker circuit by winning the title of West of England Billiards & Snooker Foundation Silver Waistcoat Champion for the second year in succession.

Darren Bond, Tiverton won the final event in the series, but this was not enough to prevent Baird from finishing top of the rankings. Bond, aided by an 88 break, played well in the final to beat practice partner Baird 2-0. On the day Grant Cole (Plymouth) proved to be the biggest test for Bond in the semi final. Cole opened the match with a superb 92 break in the first frame and looked to be in command. However, Bond rallied in the second frame with an opening break of 52 only to see Cole peg him back with 43 break. Bond held is nerve and went on to win the frame. Cole then took control of the deciding frame, leaving Bond needing a snooker on the colours. The match seemed to be over until Cole played a cross double only to watch the cue ball go in-off to give Bond the life-line he needed. This he took, wining the frame and match on the black. In the other semi final Baird comfortably disposed of Chris Batey from Plymouth 2(52)-0. The aggregate match score for the two frames was 157 to Baird and just 8 to Batey. Despite this severe defeat, Batey is not to be considered lightly. In the short time he has played on the tour he is posing a real treat to the big guns!

In the quarter finals Batey recorded a fine 2-1 win over Bobby Southworth from Falmouth. The in-form Cole easily beat Ben Pike from Honiton 2-0. Bond defeated the fast improving Mitchell Grinstead from Plymouth by the same margin aided by a 49 break. The last match in this round saw Dale Branton, Plymouth lose 2-0 to Baird, but not before matching the champion for breaks in what turned out to be a close fought match.

Cole headed-up group A dropping just the one match to Michael Day, the former posting a 52 break. Second spot went to Southworth who made breaks of 49,44 & 40. Third place went to Batey who played solid snooker throughout the day. The final qualifier from group A was Branton who posted the best breaks of the group; 58,55 & 41 and took the tough scalp of Southworth 2-1.

Baird and Bond dominated group B, Baird finish top with his usual array of breaks; 65,61,59,57,48,48,46 & 40. His only loss was to Bond who made a break of 54. Pike finished third and Grinstead fourth, the latter posted breaks of 58,57 & 40 and looks every part a contender for next season.

25 players, some from as far field as Salisbury played on the tour this season. The top four in the final rankings are 1st Sam Baird, 2320 pts, Darren Bond, 2060 pts, Grant Cole, 1780 pts and Michael Day, 1380 pts. The highest break prize of the season went to Sam Baird for a magnificent 127. Head of Coaching for the WEBSF Steve Canniford said "The Silver Waistcoat Tour is now firmly established as the premier event in the region for the under 21’s. This season has seen the standard of play continue to improve with the likes of Baird, Bond & Cole going on to make an impression on the national scene and young players like Branton, Grinstead & Vanstone coming through as great prospects for the future." Anyone wishing to learn more about the Silver Waistcoat Tour and other Billiards & Snooker events in the region visit www.websf.co.uk or contact Roger Cole Mob: 07850 882770.

Report by Roger Cole