Pro9 - Europe's No.1 Pool Player Resource

The 2012 GB9 Midlands Classic, Pro Cup I, & Challenge Cup I
Barcel� Daventry Hotel
Sedgemoor Way
Daventry
Northamptonshire
NN11 0SG
United Kingdom
www.gb9balltour.com
www.belleza-photography.co.uk

Friday/Saturday/Sunday 24-26 February 2012

Chipperfield, Shaw & Waddingham - Main, Pro & Challenge winners.
Photography courtesy & copyright of �Andrew Warden, www.belleza-photography.co.uk
CHIPPER BEATS THE FIELD FOR MAIDEN VICTORY

The final of this year�s Midlands Classic pitted two players together with entirely different background � one perennial face on the GB 9 Ball Tour in Manchester�s James Kay, alongside a relative newcomer to the sport in Norwich�s Shaun Chipperfield. Both players were seeded inside the top 32 coming into this event and so started their campaigns in the last 64.

Given the drama in the opening two competitions, every single player was eager to hit the ground running and push on in the main event, with once again some staggering results coming throughout the two days� play. As with Paul Taylor in the Challenge Cup against Mark Shepherd, Shaun Storry secured one of the biggest wins ever seen on the tour, coming back from 8-2 down to eliminate Challenge Cup champion Craig Waddingham 9 racks to 8.

Waddingham explained after the match that there�s very little he could have done to stop defeat. �I missed one ball in the whole match. It was my break that let me down I gave Shaun too many chances after them and ultimately that cost me dearly�.

Kay�s route to the final started in the best possible way, handing Tom Staveley a donut with a convincing 9-0. His next two triumphs were much more challenging, but he came through a thrilling 9-8 encounter against Belfast�s Mark McDonald before eliminating Adam Benn Smith 9 racks to 6 to reach the quarter finals. Waiting for him there was the daunting prospect of British number 1 Imran Majid, but a cool and collected Kay held his nerve to pull of a tremendous 9-7 victory and send the Londoner home. After taking out one of the most feared names on the tour, he then came up against another one at the semi-final stage in the form of Daryl Peach. The fact that each of the four opening racks resulted in break and runs showed the class both players showed to get to this stage. It was Kay who made it to the finish line first, however, with a final score of 9-8 ending a match of remendous quality and ensuring Kay of his first GB9 final since The Paul Medati Trophy in April 2010.

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