Wayne Martin wins Phyllis Bell Trophy

Wayne Martin defeated Nav Hussain 4-3 in the final on Sunday evening to be crowned Phyllis Bell Trophy champion 2021. Martin takes home £100 for the victory plus £10 for making the highest break of the tournament, a 66 in the deciding frame of the final.

Nav Hussain takes home the runners-up prize of £50. He was on course for the highest break prize too, thanks to a 59 break during the final, that was until Martin knocked in his superb 66.

Prize Money Allocation

Wayne Martin £110 (Champion £100 + High Break £10)

Nav Hussain £50 as Runner-up

Danny Ould £20 for reaching the semi-finals

Keith Holgate £20 for reaching the semi-finals

Wayne gets his name engraved on the Phyllis Bell Trophy and he will also receive a trophy in the post which he can keep.

The Final

It was a fantastic final between two great players on Sunday evening.

Wayne established a 2 frame lead, helped by breaks of 39 and 32. Nav then fought back with two lovely breaks of 59 and 54 in frames 3 and 4 respectively.

Nav went 3-2 up with contributions of 27 and 39 before Wayne took an extremely close and tactical 6th frame to set up a decider.

The deciding frame culminated in a top class 66 break by Wayne which not only sealed victory but also snatched the high break prize from Nav’s grasp!

Frame Scores (Wayne first)

94(39)-2, 66(32)-40, 4-84(59), 47-70(54), 10-81(39), 65-41, 79(66)-9

Semi-Finals

Nav Hussain 4-3 Keith Holgate

The first semi-final between Keith Holgate and Nav Hussain went right to the wire. Both players played some fantastic safety and had lots of chances but neither could score heavily. The highest break of the match was just 40 from Keith.

Nevertheless, it was a gripping encounter in which Keith found himself 3-0 behind before launching a counter-attack of epic proportions. I witnessed the confidence gradually drain from Nav’s body as he lost the next three frames to set up a tense finale.

Mirroring the rest of the match, the final frame was nip and tuck. Keith needed a snooker on the pink but unfortunately he potted it from a tricky position, handing Nav the match.

Frame scores (Nav first)

67-60(40), 55-44, 53-52, 51-59, 27-60, 40-51, 50-41

Wayne Martin 4-0 Danny Ould

The second semi-final turned in to a bit of a canter for Wayne, despite an opening frame that could easily have gone to Danny. Danny had his highest break of the match in frame 1, a modest 27, but Wayne pinched it before going on to dominate the remaining frames.

Breaks of 35,30,40 and 32 did the damage as Wayne ran out a 4-0 winner.

Frame scores (Wayne first)

66-40, 78(35)-0, 100(30,40)-35, 69(32)-35

Quarter-Finals

Keith Holgate 3-0 Steve Butler

Keith Holgate made short work of Steve Butler with a 3-0 victory that took just over an hour. Keith was on top form firing in breaks of 45,43 and 50.

Frame scores (Steve first)

29-60(45), 23-65(43), 24-62(50)

Nav Hussain 3-0 Callum Hodgman

Nav Hussain defeated Callum Hodgman 3-0 to set up a semi-final clash with Keith John Holgate. Nav had some good chances to make sizeable breaks but ran out of position at crucial times which proved costly. He did however make the highest break of the match, a run of 48 in frame 1.

Frame scores (Nav first)

72(48)-8, 56(32)-15, 63(28)-23

Danny Ould 3-0 Carl Smith

Danny Ould defeated Carl Smith 3-0 in the third quarter-final. The match was a bit scrappy in places but Danny had some good spells of quick scoring which proved decisive.

Frame scores (Danny first)

57-23, 90(44)-6, 67-30

Wayne Martin 3-1 Tony Morgan

Wayne Martin set up a meeting with Danny Ould thanks to a 3-1 quarter-final victory against Tony Morgan. It was a hard slog for both players as the balls seemed to fall awkwardly throughout the first three frames. However, in frame 4 Wayne had his best chance of the match and he proceeded to make a lovely 51 break. This was followed swiftly by a 37 clearance to seal the win.