Richard Sutton withstood a fightback from Nottingham Snooker Classic champion Richard Amalou to win the Intermediate Handicap Snooker Championship on Sunday afternoon. It was Sutton’s first tournament victory since he moved to Nottingham and he was extremely pleased to get his hands on the coveted trophy.

Match Report

Frame 1
Both players had lots of chances and Sutton led by just 16 points going into the colours. Amalou then potted the yellow to close the gap to 14 points but Sutton sank the green and eventually a problematic brown to go 21 points ahead with just 18 remaining. Amalou tried for the snooker but he went in-off the blue to fall even further behind. Sutton potted the blue to lead by 31 points with just 13 remaining but Amalou wasn’t ready to give up. After a bit of a tussle Sutton potted the pink, only to go in-off and give Amalou a glimmer of hope. But Amalou then accidentally potted the pink to end the frame and put Sutton 1-0 up.

Frame 2
Amalou started strongly with the help of a 15 break but then Sutton hit back. The frame continued in this vein before Sutton scored well to lead by 38 points going into the colours. Amalou tried to fight back but it was Sutton who won the frame comfortably to lead 2-0.

Frame 3
Good scoring from Amalou in this frame saw him lead by 3 points going into the colours. Sutton potted the yellow but then conceded four points to Amalou who now led by 5. Amalou took green, brown and blue to leave Sutton needing a snooker. Sutton then tried to play safe but he fluked the pink to hand the frame to Amalou who now trailed by just one frame.

Frame 4
Sutton got in first with a red and a black to lead by 29 points, but Amalou came back strongly, reducing the deficit to just 1 point. A timely run of 12 from Sutton gave him some breathing space and he followed it up with a run of 8 to go 21 points in front. Amalou battled back superbly and he had two terrific chances of a blue to black clearance, but he failed at the first attempt. On the second attempt he potted blue and pink but he left himself needing to use the rest for the black and he just didn’t seem to fancy it. He threw his arm at it and missed, leaving an easy finish for Sutton, who sank the black to win frame and match 3-1.

Amalou looked odds on to pot that black and set up a decider but sadly it wasn’t to be. A great win for Sutton who gets his name on this coveted trophy and takes home the £100 first prize.

Frame Scores (Sutton first)
66-47, 77-41, 44-55, 61-59

Sutton received 21 points start per frame

Watch the Match

Prize Money & Trophies

Winner: £100 + Trophy
Runner-up: £50 + Trophy
Losing semi-finalists: £25

Results from earlier rounds

Semi-Finals

1. Richard Amalou 3-0 Nick Lester
   Richard received 7 points start per frame
2. Richard Sutton 4-2 Moe Anyanwu
   Richard received 35 points start per frame

Quarter-Finals

1. Moe Anyanwu 4-1 Adam Moss
   Adam received 7 points start per frame
2. Selina Dean 0-2 Richard Amalou
   Selina received 14 points start per frame
3. Shane Fella 2-3 Nick Lester
   No start received or given (both players +7)
4. Richard Sutton 2-1 Mohsin Faiz
   No start received or given (both players +35)

Last 16

1. Richard Amalou 3-2 Richard Pedley
   Richard Pedley received 14 points start per frame
2. Gary Spencer 0-2 Richard Sutton
   Richard received 35 points start per frame
3. Selina Dean 3-1 Mick Garratt
   Selina received 21 points start per frame
4. Lee Thorn 2-3 Adam Moss
   No start received or given (both players +7)
5. Nick Lester 4-3 Alan Caulton
   No start received or given (both players +7)
6. Moe Anyanwu 3-0 Ishan Seth
   Ishan received 21 points start per frame
7. Shane Fella 3-0 Jamie Barker
   No start received or given (both players +7)
8. Sam Burton 1-2 Mohsin Faiz
   Mohsin received 35 points start per frame

Preliminary Round

1. Dean North 2-3 Selina Dean
   Selina received 7 points start per frame
2. Gary Spencer 3-0 Nick Sharp
   Nick received 7 points start per frame
3. Lee Thorn 3-2 Koen Hughes
   Neither player received a start (both +7)
4. Shane Miles 1-4 Moe Anyanwu
   Shane received 35 points start per frame
5. Richard Sutton 3-0 Manfred Corbin
   Richard received 35 points start per frame
6. Steven Hughes 1-3 Richard Pedley
   Richard received 21 points start per frame
7. Robert Garratt 0-3 Alan Caulton
   Alan received 7 points start per frame
8. Ishan Seth 2-1 Patrick Hort
   Ishan received 21 points start per frame
9. Jordan Parnham 1-2 Mohsin Faiz
   Mohsin received 28 points start per frame
10. James Baillie 1-2 Jamie Barker
    James received 28 points start per frame
11. Sam Burton (59) 3-0 Wayne Smith
    Sam received 7 points start per frame
12. Kevin Henson 0-3 Richard Amalou
    Kevin received 7 points start per frame
13. Carl Smith 2-4 Shane Fella
    Carl received 7 points start per frame