Rileys Sports Bar Basildon
23 Market Pavement
Town Square
Basildon
SS14 1DB
Tel: 01268 293116
www.rileys.co.uk
www.t9b.co.uk - chat - live scoring
Saturday 20 July 2013
Mark Parker wins the Essex Open at his home club - and he's the Runner Up too!
Parker becomes T9B Double Winner
Well first of all, what a fantastic event that was hosted in Basildon. The club facilities were very good and the manager of the club was really pleased to have a Total9ball event in his venue and have invited us back. The club had 8 Sam’s 9ball tables all of which were in very good condition and were all brushed in the morning by the club manager. It's clear Basildon in London is a hot spot for players and we expect when T9B returns... We could attract lots more players.
Yesterday's event used the 2x Double Chance format and also there was a King Of The Hill (1 rack shoot-out) side event.
The draw was completed by Craig Osborne and matches began shortly after 10.30am. The first match drawn saw home players Mark Parker and Ernie Mulryne go at it. It was clear right from the start of the event that Mark was going to be a hard player to beat in his home practice venue. Parker recorded a 7v4 win. Mark 'The Essex Panther' Parker in the other half of the draw showed no remorse as he defeated Rattapol Sassmann 7v1.
Other results in round one saw Courtney Symons get one up on Phil Wildman winning 7v3, there is a possibility Symons and Wildman may clash again at some point during next Saturday's Amateur Series Grand Finals. Craig Osborne's day began with two 7v1 victories over Ernie Mulryne and Geoff Windeatt. Craig only dropped 10 racks across his first 6 matches and looked to be again setting the standard very high, could he be stopped? Richard Twomey's day also started well as he won matches 7v1 against traveling companion Terry Arnold and 7v3 over local talent Rob Donkin.
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After the First round of matches the 1 rack shoot-out began. The rules for this side event were if the breaker runs the rack the opponent gets a chance to break dish back. The event being only 1 rack threw up some surprise results but it was the same old story in the end as Craig Osborne defeated Scott Foley in the Final to collect the £50 winner's prize. The players seemed to enjoy this fun event as a short break from the serious action and this will be added to future events.
Mark Parker was keen to show his talent for 9ball pool to his family and Mark's girlfriend Kim's family looked on hoping to see Mark lifting the winner's trophy at the end of the event. Parker again produced two winning results in round two, 7v1 over Scott Foley and 7v5 against Tony Burton. Other matches from round two saw Adam Collins defeat Paul Taylor 7v1, Sean Dracup from Bristol hold his nerve at hill-hill to end Adam Stevens event 7v6 and Jack Triggs showed he still has the game after many years away by beating Paul Mcmicheal 7v4.
The last 16 of the T9B Essex Open looked very interesting as before the fixtures began there were still four players with both of their chances remaining.
Winners of the matches below were guaranteed a minimum £50 in prize money and players who won two matches would collect this prize money twice.
Mark Parker 7v3 Courtney Symons
Jack Triggs 7v6 Richard Twomey
Craig Osborne 7v3 Adam Collins
Rattapol Sassmann 7v5 Kev Kelleher
Mark Parker 7v2 Tony Burton
Tom Staveley 7v3 Sean Dracup
Courtney Symons 7v5 Ant Ginn
Craig Osborne 7v2 Rich Twomey
So with Mark Parker achieving two more brilliant results he kept his two chances and so did Craig Osborne of Ipswich.
The way the draw came out meant if Mark and Craig continued their undefeated records over their next two matches they would meet each other in both Semi Finals. This is something that has never happened before but today was the day for T9B history to be created as Parker aided by two Golden Breaks beat Jack Triggs 7v4, he followed this by holding his nerve against Tom Staveley winning again 7v4 after Tom battled back to 4v4 from 4v1 down. Osborne inflicted a 7v2 scoreline on Rattapol Sassmann, Craig was pushed all the way by his good friend Courtney Symons in the other Quarter Final match but Craig did eventually advance 7v6, he ran the deciding rack after Courtney battled back from several racks behind.
So here we go then the Semi-Final was a double match between Mark Parker and Craig Osborne with this scenario it meant there was a chance we could have our second double Champion after Jayson Shaw became the first player to win both sides of the draw in Barnsley a few months ago. It also meant If Mark and Craig won one Semi-Final each there would have to be a third match between these two quality players in the overall Final.
Craig began these matches on -4 racks as both players raced to 7, Parker made the most of his handicap start as the first 6 racks were shared. Craig then applied some pressure reducing his arrears to one rack trailing 6v5. Mark sunk the 9ball to book one place in the Final. The two players then lagged again and match two commenced and if it was anything like their first match up the spectators were not going to be disappointed.
Mark got off to a flying start breaking the balls and leaving a combo on the 9ball. Craig then broke and scratched again leaving a combo on the 9ball. When Osborne caught up his -4 handicap Parker was flying on 5 racks needing just 2 more for the victory but Osborne wasn’t going to give up without a fight, he battled back to 6v5 again the same as the first match and ironically the matched ended identical to the first match Craig had the break to go 6v6 but scratched. This left Mark Parker an open table and a road map clearance which he kept his nerve and cleared to become only the second player to beat the 2x format by winning both halves of the draw. Congratulations Mark what a performance and commiserations to Craig but these were two great matches in which neither player deserved to lose.
The tournament was a glowing success and T9B is sure to return to this venue in Basildon, Essex.
Thanks to the club for the use of their lovely venue and for adding £100 to the prize fund, to Nicole Hansen for another well run tournament, to all the players who attended and support the event, we hope to see you all again soon.
The next Total9ball event is The Amateur Series Grand Finals on Saturday 27th July followed by The National Series held in Bristol on Saturday the 3rd August. Make sure you get involved in these events as T9B event are not to be missed.
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Champion Mark, congratulated by Lee, the proud manager of Rileys Basildon.
The spacious playing area at Rileys Basildon.
Veterans Anthony Ginn and Kevin Smith surprise everyone with a blast from the past.
Play well underway at Rileys Basildon.
Craig Osborne powering through the field in Essex.
Mark Parker on target for the big double!
Oliver Ortmann's "Ultimate Breakmaster" racking system in use at all T9B events.
Watch a video of semi-finalists Tom Staveley and Mark Parker.
Mark shares the glory and a photo with his team of loyal supporters.
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