Hampshire trio win English County Triples Billiards Cup for the first time since the 1980s
We’ve been waiting 32 years but a Hampshire Billiards team comprising of John Mullane, captain Terry Azor and Paul Adams has won the English County Billiards Cup. They travelled to the Atack Snooker Centre, Nuneaton and played superbly to shock the glittering stars of the eight counties involved. 1980 was the last time a Hampshire side won the coveted prize
The quarter final saw Mullane beat Yorkshire's Rob Patterson, Adams keep up with ex-professional snooker player Jonathan Bagley, until Bagley eventually pulled away to win and Azor play the game of his day against experienced Steve Crossland, to win the tie 2-1 on the straight one hour timed knockout format
The semi-final inspired all three against Cambridgeshire, winning 3-0, with Mullane making a wonderful 114 break. The last time they reached the final in 2006 they narrowly lost to three Cleveland England internationals, and Hampshire captain Terry Azor quipped, “this time I want to go one better”
Paul Adams said “we knew we had a good chance of making the final again as we were all cueing well. The depth in quality billiard players throughout the other sides was awesome, with the likes of England number one Rob Hull, who made three centuries and an 85, and scored over 600 points in one hour, but his team still lost! We were so focused in the final we barely looked at each other to see how each was progressing. We were so determined, we just had to win it!"
In the final Mullane beat Dave Walker, Azor was beaten by Devon's billiard legend Bill Andress who made an 83 and Adams overcame David Coombes for a memorable victory all three will never forget
"We then headed back down the M40 with Terry calling and texting everyone who needed to know! We couldn't stop smiling, even when we got held up for an hour in traffic. The victory will give us an immense amount of confidence for all our future matches"
The quarter final saw Mullane beat Yorkshire's Rob Patterson, Adams keep up with ex-professional snooker player Jonathan Bagley, until Bagley eventually pulled away to win and Azor play the game of his day against experienced Steve Crossland, to win the tie 2-1 on the straight one hour timed knockout format
The semi-final inspired all three against Cambridgeshire, winning 3-0, with Mullane making a wonderful 114 break. The last time they reached the final in 2006 they narrowly lost to three Cleveland England internationals, and Hampshire captain Terry Azor quipped, “this time I want to go one better”
Paul Adams said “we knew we had a good chance of making the final again as we were all cueing well. The depth in quality billiard players throughout the other sides was awesome, with the likes of England number one Rob Hull, who made three centuries and an 85, and scored over 600 points in one hour, but his team still lost! We were so focused in the final we barely looked at each other to see how each was progressing. We were so determined, we just had to win it!"
In the final Mullane beat Dave Walker, Azor was beaten by Devon's billiard legend Bill Andress who made an 83 and Adams overcame David Coombes for a memorable victory all three will never forget
"We then headed back down the M40 with Terry calling and texting everyone who needed to know! We couldn't stop smiling, even when we got held up for an hour in traffic. The victory will give us an immense amount of confidence for all our future matches"
PRE-TOURNAMENT REPORT
Hampshire billiard players John Mullane, Terry Azor and Paul Adams are travelling up to the Atack Snooker Centre, Nuneaton on Sunday 25 November to compete with the cream of the amateur county billiard scene in England
The last time all three cueists played together in the tournament, run by the EABA (English Amateur Billiards Association), they reached the final for the first time since 1980. They narrowly lost to five times in a row winner Teesside, with all three of their players playing for England, by only 98 points, 752-654 over the three hours
The three south coast players beat some fine teams on their way, including Norfolk and Lincoln which both included England international players. The quarter-final saw them storm to victory over Norfolk. Mullane made a fantastic break of 147 in reply to England international Phil Mumford’s 90 and Adams contributed a fine 79 as the team won 769 points to 520. The semi-final was the furthest the team had gone previously but helped by breaks of 61, 51 and 52 by Mullane they triumphed 756 – 685 over Lincoln
The trio has been practicing hard and will fancy their chances. If they do fall at the first round stage they will have a plate tournament to focus their skills on, but Paul Adams said, 'we know if we all play well we can go far in the tournament. John was the number one amateur in England not so long ago and the three games are judged on overall aggregate score so we are really looking forward to the challenge'
John and Terry have also qualified for the English amateur billiards championship, progressing to the last 32 which is to be played on 4th December at a venue to be announced
The last time all three cueists played together in the tournament, run by the EABA (English Amateur Billiards Association), they reached the final for the first time since 1980. They narrowly lost to five times in a row winner Teesside, with all three of their players playing for England, by only 98 points, 752-654 over the three hours
The three south coast players beat some fine teams on their way, including Norfolk and Lincoln which both included England international players. The quarter-final saw them storm to victory over Norfolk. Mullane made a fantastic break of 147 in reply to England international Phil Mumford’s 90 and Adams contributed a fine 79 as the team won 769 points to 520. The semi-final was the furthest the team had gone previously but helped by breaks of 61, 51 and 52 by Mullane they triumphed 756 – 685 over Lincoln
The trio has been practicing hard and will fancy their chances. If they do fall at the first round stage they will have a plate tournament to focus their skills on, but Paul Adams said, 'we know if we all play well we can go far in the tournament. John was the number one amateur in England not so long ago and the three games are judged on overall aggregate score so we are really looking forward to the challenge'
John and Terry have also qualified for the English amateur billiards championship, progressing to the last 32 which is to be played on 4th December at a venue to be announced