Rileys Sports Bar Solihull
Hobs Moat Road
Solihull
West Midlands
B92 8JN
0121 7426068
www.rileys.co.uk
Sunday 29 January 2012
2012 Mark Lovell Memorial Finalists Darryn Walker and Ben Moore
The Inaugural Mark Lovell Memorial Tournament
Former snooker professional Darryn Walker claimed the silverware on Sunday 29th January 2012 at the inaugural Mark Lovell Memorial Tournament at Rileys, Solihull.
Those both within and outside the world of 9-ball will surely be aware of Mark's passing back in December last year. A minute's silence was observed by the mixed yet strong field of 31 entrants before play commenced - a small but significant amount of time to reflect on a man whose mere presence in a pool hall drew a smile from all faces around him.
Play kicked off with the opening 8 first found matches at 11:30am and hardly half an hour had passed before the first result was recorded; a 7-0 destruction of Roger Haddon saw Darryn Walker through to the winners' bracket last 16. Tony Weafer and Tem Dixon achieved the same score not much later against Keith Walderdine and Dave Hopkin respectively, with Lee Rigby's 7-1 defeat of Alec Tasker being the other highlight of the opening round.
Both the winners' and losers' brackets had now fully taken shape, and surprising results started to come through both of them. Roy Kimberley, the day's only wheelchair competitor, ended the campaign of Al Coton with a tremendous 5-1 victory. Dave Hopkin and Keith Walkerdine, both of whom had failed to score a rack in the previous round, also met in the losers' string. Once again, however, Walkerdine just couldn't find his feet and ended his competition without winning a single rack, leaving the tournament with a 5-0 defeat. Over on the winners' side, Tony Weafer made it two wins on the trot, sending Tem Dixon to the losers' side with a 7-5 win. Another highlight of the round saw a battle between Tournament Director and GB9 Chairperson Andy Warden and tournament and GB9 player/referee Martyn Royce. Warden came away with a 7-4 victory against Royce, and then continued his rich vein of form in beating Dave Keown to book his place in the single-elimination stages. Joining him in the last 8 were Tony Weafer (beating Al John 7-4 in the winners' side last 8 ), Bristol's Jon Davies (beating Al Coton 7-2, Kevin Simpson 7-6 and Darryn Walker 7-3), and GB9 Tournament Director Lee Rigby (beating Mark Hughes 7-6 and Steve Williams 7-4).
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The lucky last 4 breathing again on the losers' side included three of those taken out in the winners' bracket last 8. Al John, Darryn Walker and Dave Keown all dusted themselves down to get themselves back to winning ways with victories against Mark Hughes, John Rathbone and Reece Harris respectively. Only Steve Williams was unlucky enough to make it back to back defeats with Ben Moore instead laying his path to the quarter finals with a 5-2 victory over Williams.
This left the competition with the following final 8 - Jon Davies v Ben Moore, Andy Warden v Al John, Tony Weafer v Dave Keown, and Lee Rigby v Darryn Walker. The latter three fixtures were all over in a surprisingly quick time, with John, Weafer and Walker all coming away with 7-2 wins under their belts. Not far behind them, and indeed completing the semi-final line up, was Ben Moore - his 7-4 victory against Davies was enough to book his place in the last 4. Weafer was unlucky to come up against a Walker in imperious form, and despite his best efforts a 7-1 win saw Darryn Walker through into the final. In a much tighter affair, Al John fought for all his worth against Ben Moore but it wasn't enough to see him into the final - Moore snatched a 7-5 victory and book his place in the final against Walker.
It looked for all its worth that the final would be over in no time. Walker sprinted into a 4-0 lead before Moore finally got himself off of the mark. Tides turned and Moore eventually found himself leading for the first, and what turned out to be only, time in the match at 7-6. Walker took the next two to put himself on the hill, but a gutsy dish from Walker's dry break in the 16th meant the match was going the distance. The break didn't help Moore, however, and Walker saw out the day's last 9 balls to win the match 9-8 and ensuring the commemorative plate was making its way back to Wolverhampton.
Speaking after the match, Walker was humble but clearly happy with the victory. 'It was wonderful to be a part of such a worthwhile cause in memory of Mark and supporting Macmillan. It was a great win for me, especially to be involved in such a thrilling final with Ben'. Event organised Andy Warden followed up Darryn's sentiments. ‘It was very touching to see the fantastic response from the pool playing community when I announced this event. It is testament to how Mark touched the lives of many people, both through his passion for the sport he loved, and also for his courageousness and determination in fighting his illness to the very end. I’d like to say a big thank you to everyone who made the effort to come along to what was a really enjoyable and successful day in Mark's memory.’
At the end of the day, cliché as it may sound, the winner of the day truly was the wonderful sport of 9-ball pool. The aim of the day, a feeling mutually shared by all that turned out in force, was to create an event that Mark himself would have been proud of if he could have been there. I speak for everyone I'm sure in saying that aim was well and truly met. This tournament was an appreciation of a life so cruelly lost to a horrible and all too common disease - we may have lost a true gentleman and sport, but his spirit will live on infinitely on every table each and every one of us plays on.
2012 Mark Lovell Memorial Winner Darryn Walker being presented with the trophy