Defending North Island Champion Ben Farnworth almost made it 2 in a row but in the end had to bow to current NZ Champion Chris McBreen in a pulsating final of the CLS MITCHELL CLOTH ON THE LEVEL North Island Snooker Championships which concluded at the Auckland Confederation of Billiard Sports Clubrooms on Sunday.

Farnworth opened the match with all guns blazing as he rattled in breaks of 28 and 71 to easily win the first frame 111 – 12. This didn’t worry McBreen at all as he kept Farnworth scoreless for the next 2 frames, putting together breaks of 60 & 41 to take out the second and then 103, his 3rd century of the tournament, to take the 3rd and a 2 – 1 lead. The 4th frame was a more subdued affair and McBreen extended his lead to 3 – 1 when a break of 43 was enough to secure the frame at 67 – 36. Farnworth came back with a break of 45 to take the 5th at 79 – 17 and suddenly it was game on again. The 6th frame was noticeable for it’s extended series of safety shots and when Farnworth came up short in attempting a dribble snooker it looked like his challenge was fading. A crucial miss by McBreen however let Farnworth back to the table and he took the chance to get back into the fame to lead 29 – 26 with 4 reds left. When the 3rd to last red jawed and stayed in the pocket area McBreen jumped at the chance to take the last 3 reds with a pink & 2 blacks to have a 13 point lead going into the colours. A terrific yellow to start the run and an even better blue down the cushion had Farnworth clear the colours and take the frame 63 – 49. The final frame was a real nail biter with neither player prepared to give an inch and when Farnworth failed to keep it absolutely safe with 3 reds left McBreen finally had a chance to clear to the Blue for the frame and the match 4 – 3.

Full results as follows:

Last 16:

C McBreen (AK) 3 bt C Maltby (TK) 0, G Crichton 3 (AK) bt S Wilson (WK) 1, A Webber (AK) 3 bt C Thomson (AK) 1, P Bason (AK) 3 bt X Chu (AK) 1, B Farnworth (AK)(69, 58) 3 bt S Farnworth (AK) 0, R Cribb (BOP) 3 bt E Hill (AK) 2, A Davidson (BOP) 3 bt H Killian (AK) 0, H Haenga (CC) 3 bt L Rudolph (AK) 1.

Quarter finals:

McBreen 3 bt Crichton 1, Bason 3 bt Webber 0, Farnworth 3 bt Cribb 0, Davidson 3 bt Haenga 1.

Semi-finals:

McBreen (75, 43) 3 bt Bason 1, Farnworth 3 bt Davidson 1.

Final:

McBreen (60, 41, 103, 43) 4 bt Farnworth (71, 45) 3.

Warren Burke
Chief Referee and Tournament Controller.