Wayne Martin storms to Bulwell Open glory
Bulwell Open 2
A very strong field turned up to compete in the Bulwell Open on Sunday 16th November 2008. The popular round robin format was used again which provided every competitor with at least three matches. The top two players in the four man group and the top three in the five man groups progressed to the quarter-finals.
Group A
Barry Stark won all four of his matches in the group, dropping only two frames in the process. Jason Bettridge also performed well as did Mike Langdon who had excellent wins against Lee Crombie and Derby youngster Alex Anastasiou.
Group A
| P | W | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Barry Stark | 4 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 8 |
| Jason Bettridge | 4 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 6 |
| Mike Langdon | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 4 |
| Alex Anastasiou | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 2 |
| Lee Crombie | 4 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 0 |
Group A Results
| Mike Langdon | 2 | 0 | Alex Anastasiou |
| Barry Stark | 2 | 1 | Jason Bettridge |
| Alex Anastasiou | 0 | 2 | Barry Stark |
| Lee Crombie | 1 | 2 | Mike Langdon |
| Barry Stark | 2 | 1 | Lee Crombie |
| Jason Bettridge | 2 | 1 | Alex Anastasiou |
| Lee Crombie | 0 | 2 | Jason Bettridge |
| Mike Langdon | 0 | 2 | Barry Stark |
| Jason Bettridge | 2 | 0 | Mike Langdon |
| Alex Anastasiou | 2 | 0 | Lee Crombie |
Group B
Wayne Martin struggled a little and he almost went down 2-0 to Steve Butler, however Butler missed match ball pink and Martin fought back for a 2-1 victory. Out-of-sorts Chris Piech beat Martin but then lost his other three matches to leave him rooted to the bottom of the table. Neil Elliott was unlucky not to make the quarter-finals. He finished level with Butler but Butler progressed by virtue of his 2-1 victory over Elliott.
Group B
| P | W | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Wayne Martin | 4 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 6 |
| Tony Collins | 4 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 4 |
| Steve Butler | 4 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 4 |
| Neil Elliott | 4 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 4 |
| Chris Piech | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 2 |
Group B Results
| Neil Elliott | 2 | 0 | Tony Collins |
| Wayne Martin | 1 | 2 | Chris Piech |
| Tony Collins | 1 | 2 | Wayne Martin |
| Steve Butler | 2 | 1 | Neil Elliott |
| Wayne Martin | 2 | 1 | Steve Butler |
| Chris Piech | 0 | 2 | Tony Collins |
| Steve Butler | 2 | 0 | Chris Piech |
| Neil Elliott | 0 | 2 | Wayne Martin |
| Chris Piech | 1 | 2 | Neil Elliott |
| Tony Collins | 2 | 0 | Steve Butler |
Group C
Belper’s Jimmy Gratton blew away the opposition in group C as he won all three matches without dropping a frame. Nav Hussain also progressed but he failed to reach the heights that secured him a runner-up spot in October’s Eastwood Open.
Group C
| P | W | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Jimmy Gratton | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| Nav Hussain | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| Steve Coleman | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 |
| Connor Kelliher | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 0 |
Group C Results
| Steve Coleman | 1 | 2 | Nav Hussain |
| Jimmy Gratton | 2 | 0 | Connor Kelliher |
| Nav Hussain | 0 | 2 | Jimmy Gratton |
| Connor Kelliher | 1 | 2 | Steve Coleman |
| Connor Kelliher | 0 | 2 | Nav Hussain |
| Steve Coleman | 0 | 2 | Jimmy Gratton |
Quarter-finals
Tony Collins 2-0 Jason Bettridge
Steve Butler 2-0 Mike Langdon
Wayne Martin 2-0 Nav Hussain
Barry Stark 2-0 Jimmy Gratton
Semi-finals £15
Wayne Martin 2-0 Tony Collins
Barry Stark 2-0 Steve Butler
Final £50 / £30
Wayne Martin 3-2 Barry Stark
Wayne Martin made a superb 77 break in the deciding frame of the final against Barry Stark to secure the title of Bulwell Open champion for the second consecutive time. Martin took the opening frame but it was a scrappy affair. Stark then pulled one back with the help of a 32 break, however Martin went 2-1 up with a run of 28 in the third frame. Neither player was at their best but it was Stark who took the fourth frame to force the decider. In the final frame Stark opened up a small lead but Martin soon clawed it back. Stark then missed a relatively easy black off its spot and this allowed Martin to capitalise as he made a brilliant 77 break. It looked like he was on for a 104 clearance but as he took a black off the final red he left himself a difficult long yellow which rattled in the jaws and failed to drop.
Highest Breaks
Wayne Martin 77,43,42,31 (£5)
Jimmy Gratton 65,64
Jason Bettridge 62,60
Barry Stark 40,32
Tony Collins 40
Lee Crombie 37
Mike Langdon 36,34
Steve Butler 34