Antony Moore wins the Hucknall Open

Hucknall Open 9

We went back to Spot On in Hucknall on Sunday for the 9th Hucknall Open snooker tournament.

The players were wide-ranging in both age and ability with handicaps ranging from scratch to +56 and ages from 10 to 63 years old.

It was very pleasing to see that every competitor enjoyed the tournament and everyone I spoke to following defeat was so gracious with no complaints. It makes running these tournaments an absolute pleasure.

The format used is a new one for me. It was a straight knockout tournament in which the loser of each match was required to pay for the table. In addition, players were asked to pay a £5 entry fee, however this was refunded to any player who lost their first match.

This new format was clearly a success, both for the competitors and for the club. I feel it is very important that clubs make some money from these tournaments and I no longer expect a club to provide tables free of charge. We all know a player will happily come to a tournament, play all day and not buy and food or drinks. I think we can all agree that this is of no benefit to the clubs, who have had a difficult time of late.

I kept track of how much players spent on the tables throughout the tournament:

Ten matches were played altogether and the cost of the table was £9.54 on average.

The most expensive match was the semi-final between Antony Moore and Terry Dowson which cost Terry £12.52, however this was a five frame match and Terry played a total of 11 frames over the course of the tournament, so he enjoyed excellent value for money.

The cheapest match was the quarter-final match between Terry Dowson and Andy Wright, which cost Andy just £6.79. Because Andy was refunded his entry fee, the tournament only cost him £6.79 in total!

I’m very happy with this new format. Another bonus is that the day didn’t drag on. The tournament started at 10.30am and the final ball was potted at 5.15pm, so even the finalists got away at a decent hour.

Now on to the results of the tournament…

Round 1

Tony Morgan (0) 3-1 Patrick Ashurst (0)

Vinnie Dennis (14) 3-0 Daz Clarke (0)

Terry Dowson (14) 3-0 Danny Ould (0)

Quarter Finals

Vinnie Dennis (14) 3-2 Tony Morgan

Terry Dowson (14) 3-0 Andy Wright (28)

Alfie Moore (56) 3-1 Dean North (28)

Antony Moore (0) 3-0 Sam Burton (28)

Semi-Finals

Vinnie Dennis (14) 3-0 Alfie Moore (56)

Antony Moore (0) 3-2 Terry Dowson (14)

Final

Antony Moore (0) 3-0 Vinnie Dennis (14)

Honours Board

Click on the button below to see Antony’s name on the Hucknall Open Honours Board.

High Breaks

Antony Moore 50,46

Tony Morgan 49,46

Patrick Ashurst 33

Prize Money

In addition to the entry fees, Spot On Leisure and Nottingham Snooker provided funds to increase the prize pot to £105. This was distributed as follows:

Winner £50

Runner-up £25

Losing semi-finalists £10 each

Highest Break (Antony Moore 50) £10

The winner also received a ticket to the upcoming Ronnie O’Sullivan exhibition courtesy of ABC Snooker Exhibitions.

Steve Butler

Nottingham Snooker Tournament Director