2nd April 2005

Adrian bond (Tiverton), older brother of Darren won his first Silver Waistcoat Tournament with what seemed relative ease at Sidwell Snooker Club, Exeter. Bond beat Darran Lock (Seaton) 3-0 in the final, he took the first frame with a 58 break, winning 88-17. The second frame score was 79-45 in Bonds favour. The third frame was a tense affair with Bond winning on a re-spotted black 61-54.

Bond was undefeated in all his matches only dropping two frames in the whole tournament, a remarkable achievement given the standard of opposition. In the semi final Bond defeated local Exeter player Shayne Tregale 2-0 with the aid of a 31 break and in the other semi final Lock beat Grant Cole (Plymouth) 2-0 recording a 50 break.

In the quarter finals Lock made a 34 break in his 2-0 win over Sam Baird (Halberton). Cole’s 2(42)-0 win over Darren Bond takes him to the top of the ranking table with Darren Bond just behind in second spot. This leaves all to play for in the last in the series of the WEBSF Silver Waistcoat Tour next month in Plymouth. In the other quarter final matches Sam Cox (Exeter) lost 2-0 at the hands of his club mate Treagale who made a 51 break and Adrian Bond beat Rob Charman (Redruth) 2-0.

In the group stages Sam Cox moved the highest break milestone in this the penultimate tournament with a magnificent 124 clearance in his 2-0 win over Jay Harrington (Cornwall). The previous highest break 116 was made last month by Ben Pike (Honiton) and how he may regret missing the blue with a possible clearance there for the taking. What makes Cox’s break bitter-sweet is the fact that it was made in his home club and it will be the last ever WEBSF tournament held at the Sidwell Snooker Club. At the end of this month, after 20 years of trading, the club will close for good and the snooker fraternity in the South West will lose a vital breeding ground for young aspiring players.

Adrian Bond won group 1 without losing a match recording four breaks over 30 the best being 42. Darren Bond finished runner up in the group with seven breaks over 30, including a brace of 40’s and a 56. Cox finish third in this group, losing two of his matches 2-1. Those two defeats were at the hands of the in-form Bond brothers. The final qualifying spot went to Lock whose contribution included two 50 breaks a 59 & 52. Other notable breaks were recorded by Jay Harrington 37 (x2) & 33 and Danny Wicks (Plymouth) 36.

Group 2 was a closely fought affair with six points separating all seven players. There were only three points between the top five players all won four of their six matches. Baird came out on top by picking up two frames in the two matches he lost. Treagale and Cole were joint second, Tregale given the runner up spot by courtesy of beating Cole 2-0. The fourth qualifying spot was also a joint affair between Charman and Mike Day (Plymouth). Charman went through having defeated Day 2-0 with the aid of a 33 break. Every player in this group recorded breaks over 30, the best being a 64 clearance by Day, who also had a 42 break. Ben Pike recorded a 63 break, while Sam Edmunds (Plymouth) made a 51. Treagale hit two 49’s and a 40, Baird recorded six breaks over 30, the best being a 49 and Coles’ best effort was a 40.

Tournament Director Keith Millard said "it’s a sad day for snooker in the South West with the closure of the Sidwell Snooker Club and I would like to take this opportunity, on behalf of the WEBSF members, to thank Bill Whelan and Rob Thompson for all the support they have given to us and snooker in the area over the last 20 years."

Report by Keith Millard