NZ Junior 8-Ball Champs
May 28th, 2007
Held at the ACBS Club Rooms : 26-27 May 2007
Read the tournament report submitted by Malcolm Beehre.Last Sixteen: N Pera bt J Ngamata 6/3, J Harrison bt J Mitchell 6/4, D Wilkinson bt G Nahu 6/0, S Stevenson bt K Tristram 6/1, J Cook bt J Nahu 6/4, D White bt J Brown 6/3, R Adams bt H Heke 6/3, T Putu bt M Ngamata 6/3.
Quarter Finals: J Harrison bt N Pera 7/6, D Wilkinson bt S Stevenson 7/5, D White bt J Cook 7/6, R Adams bt T Putu 7/5.
Semi Finals: D Wilkinson bt J Harrison 7/4, D White bt R Adams 7/5.
Final: D Wilkinson bt D White 7/6.
Firstly, “Congratulations” to all of the players on their standard of dress and also our thanks to the sponsors who supplied competitors with their polo shirts.
Section play didn’t produce any major surprises with play being finished in record time and it was decided to carry on and finish the tournament. As play progressed, most matches increased in closeness, except Denise Wilkinson’s Last Sixteen match, which she won 6/0 in only twenty minutes.
In the Quarter Finals all matches were close and two were won 7/5 and two matches were won 7/6. Denise had some brilliant clearances in the Semi Final and was too strong for John, beating him 7/4. The other Semi Final was a more hard-fought battle with a bit more safety play, with Daley in the end prevailing 7/4.
The Final was probably one of the most incredible 8-ball finals I’ve ever witnessed. Fifteen frames in seventy-five minutes! Daley shot out to a 5/1 lead having four total clearances. In the seventh frame on a clearance again, he jawed his last ball and after a bit of scrappy play, Denise finally won it and then proceeded to play some great clearances herself, levelling the match 5-5. The lead then seesawed until the score was 7-7. The final frame had a bit of everything in it. Denise broke, but didn’t get a ball off the break. Daley was looking like getting another clearance, but the white ended up hard against another ball and he had an awkward bridge, and missed. After a bit of scrappy play, Denise potted her last four balls and the black to take the match and the 2007 New Zealand Junior 8-Ball Champion title.
