THE Holsworthy and District Pool League held their annual presentation evening and Finals Night at the Old Market Inn in Holsworthy on Thursday, March 29.
Players from across all four divisions were in attendance to receive their trophies, while all 39 teams in the league were asked to nominate a player for the individual knockout competition.
In the end it was Molesworth B’s Phil Gilhespy who triumphed as he beat Kings Arms Holsworthy A’s Andy Pollard 3-1 in the final.
Although there was disappointment for Pollard, he was part of the Kings Arms Holsworthy A side that retained their Division One title in one of the most thrilling seasons in years.
In the end, just five points separated the top five teams with Kings Arms pipping Junction Inn C by a solitary point.
However there was plenty of personal success for Junction Inn C’s Luke Potter throughout the season.
In the Open Singles, which attracted 63 entries from throughout the leagues, Potter defeated the likes of Tony Holgate and Andy Pollard to reach the semi-finals where he had to come from 6-3 down to win four straight frames against James Wilson. In the final he took advantage of an off-colour David Goodman to win 8-2.
After the Open Doubles was cancelled on March 1 due to the extreme weather conditions, the competition was held at Holsworthy Social Club on April 5 with 61 pairs taking part.
Each team was allowed a maximum of three pairs.
Potter joined forces with with Jason Winser to take on their own team-mates, Ben Potter and Rory Tucker in the decider, and came away with a 3-1 victory.
There was a four-way battle for the two promotion places in Division Two with just six points separating them.
However in the end it was Union Inn who went up as champions with Eastcott Arms C joining them. Union Inn won the league by three points with Countryman B missing out on the runners-up spot by just a couple of frames.
In Division Three, winners RBL Magpie and second-placed White Hart B eased to promotion as they finished miles ahead of the rest with Molesworth A in third coming 16 points behind White Hart.
In the fourth tier, Eastcott Arms D missed out on a place in Division Three next season by just a point after losing 3-2 at mid-table Bickford Arms B in their final match.
The top three couldn’t have been closer with a point between each of them, but it was Bickford Arms A and Bridge Inn B who’ll make the step up.
In the cup competitions, Bradworthy Inn beat Old Market Inn B 3-2 to take the Team Knockout Cup while the Consolation Cup, which is played by teams who lost in the first-round of the Team Knockout Cup, was collected by Kings Stratton A after they edged out White Hart B 3-2.
Holsworthy and District Winter Pool League 2017/18 roll of honour:
Division One
Winners: Kings Arms Holsworthy A; Runners-up: Junction Inn C; Most wins: Tony Holgate (Kings Stratton A) — 17/18
Division Two
Winners: Union Inn; Runners-up: Eastcott Arms C; Most wins: Ian Moore (Eastcott Arms C)/Ed Rodgers (Orchard Mayhems) — 16/18 (both men then had a best of three frames match to decide who takes home the trophy with Moore winning in the decider.
Division Three
Winners: RBL Magpie; Runners-up: White Hart B; Most wins: Jeremy Spry (White Hart B) — 17/18
Division Four
Winners: Bickford Arms A; Runners-up: Bridge Inn B; Most wins: Dan Smith (Chapmans Well Caravan Park) — 15/16
Team Knockout Cup
Winners: Bradworthy Inn; Runners-up: Old Market Inn B
Consolation Cup
Winners:?Kings Stratton A; Runners-up: White Hart B
Open Singles
Winner: Luke Potter (Junction Inn C); Runner-up:?David Goodman (Kings Arms Holsworthy A)
Open Doubles
Winners: Luke Potter and Jason Winser (Junction Inn C); Runners-up: Ben Potter and Rory Tucker (Junction Inn C)
Eight-ball clearances
KINGS Arms Holsworthy A duo Andy Pollard and Tom Schiller both managed two eight-balls throughout the season, while Tim Goodhead (Molesworth B), Brenn Harris (Kings Stratton A), Tony Holgate (Kings Stratton A), Julian Francis (Kings Arms Holsworthy A), James Wilson (Junction Inn C), Shaun Curtis (Bradworthy Inn), James Moore (Countryman A), Jason Winser (Junction Inn C), Andrew Gregory (Orchard Mayhems), Ash Hearn (Union Inn) and Colin Netherway (White Hart B) all achieved the feat once.
To find out more about the league and view the full tables, visit http://hdwplcd.leaguerepublic.com/l/fg/1_110379313.html