| Junior Island Championship 2008 |
Sunday 11th May 2008 and the best Junior Championship field since at least 2004 saw 15 Island Junior hopefuls congregate at the Happy Landings to contest this year’s Junior Island Championship. Some have only been on the scene for a couple of short weeks having been discovered by the Guernsey World Pool Association on their recent and very successful fund and awareness raising event held on Liberation Day.
The first round saw the end to some hopes as newcomer Corei Delaney beat Callum Ferbrache 5-2, reigning Island & CI Champion Jess de la Haye was too hot for Nathan Vidamour recording his first 5-0 win in the tournament. Mark Mourant beat another newcomer Callum McLaughin and current CI International Champion James Kirk beat Josh Greenbank, both scores were 5-4 while 3 more newcomers Liam Santos, Macauley Gavey and Marcus Batiste were beat by old hands Sam Hale, Jay Ferbrache and Jordon Martell all at 5-1. Little Theo Lepp was the only one not to play in the round having been awarded a bye.
The standard of play on all games was high and the members of the Club were threatening to make this one of the best Championships ever with top-notch cuemanship throughout. With the first wave over the quarter finals saw Corei Delaney fall to Jess de la Haye’s second 5-0 win, the same result went for Sam Hale over Mark Mourant. James Kirk and Jay Ferbrache both had 5-1 wins against Theo Lepp and Jordon Martell.
The places in the final were then set as Jess made his third 5-0 against Sam Hale and James a 5-1 over Jay Ferbrache in the semi-finals.
So it was déjà vu as the Islands two most successful Juniors met to do battle over the title once again having been in countless finals of various tournaments and this was the third time they were together in this particular Island Championship.
Jess won the Lag and was therefore the first to break but it was James who was first out of the blocks as he stepped up and took the first frame. The story was the same in the next two frames as James worked a relatively easy 3-0 lead. The standard was high and getting higher as the top two displayed nothing but the best possible skill the sport can give, but if you miss at this standard you get one thing and one thing only, and that is punished.
Jess managed to pull one back but James took the next two. In the 7th the end of the frame was tight but James had the obvious upper hand until he made an uncharacteristic error of judgement which left Jess foul-snookered and an easy black after nominating James’ covering red to leave the score at 5-2 to James. Jess was glad of the midway interval which came next although James probably didn’t want the break in continuity.
On their return to the table Jess had obviously given himself a good old talking to as he took the first two frames from the second session. The two best mates then traded one each for the next five frames with Jess making the final’s only break and dish in the 11th Frame.
The score stood at 8-6 to James and he could almost feel the trophy for the first time in his pool career but he made what was his only second bad shot of the match giving Jess hope that he could still come back. In the 16th frame Jess levelled the match for the first time having always been behind. The lads shook hands as they went into the final deciding frame at all square.
The match between the two top players had so far been all it should be when high World and European ranked players meet, with Jess as the World No. 2 Dream Team Member and European No. 4 with James only one frame behind in European ranking at No. 6.
Jess broke off but did not capitalise, James stepped up and took a few before playing safe leaving Jess nothing but a return safety. They traded a few shots each, both knowing that one slip and that would be it. The arena was silent with appreciative spectators full of anticipation and wonder as the two jointly drew ever closer to the spoils. With still four yellows on the table Jess missed his shot and left James with a difficult Chinese Snooker just three or four inches from the bottom cushion looking back at his last red which was only a couple of inches away directly up-table. James lined up his shot which was an angled cut into the far baulk corner pocket. With referee Darren le Page checking he did not foul as he took the shot over the yellow ball of his opponent, James played an awesome controlled shot which saw his white come off of the side rail and end plum centre table ready to take the easy black into the bottom pocket as his red went full table length on its deadly accurate line towards the centre of its intended far corner pocket only to fall just millimetres short of going in as the spectators gasped in total disbelief. Jess came back to the table in the firm knowledge he could and dare not miss, but he then made sure James did not return to the table and took the championship crown for his fourth time, ending what was without doubt the finest nail biting final seen in Guernsey at any level for a very long time. They were both, without doubt, AWESOME!