Warwick Snooker stars in Sheffield

Warwick Snooker & Billiards Club took part in their first of three major external competitions of the year: the Sheffield Star Cup. The tournament took place very early in the calendar in week four, but both teams went in with high hopes after experiencing success last year. The teams showcased a range of experience: seasoned players Sam Matto-Willey (1s Captain), Cookson Chiu (1s) and Zach Roberts (1s), while Max Faulkner (1s), Richard Whitfield (1s), Anthony Church (2s), Michael Wilson (2s Captain) and Harrison Whitworth (2s) were members of last year’s BUCS squad. The 2s line-up was completed by two freshers, Loong Sheng Chow and Max Burt.

The tournament was played on the professional tables where two-time UK Championship winner Ding Junhui practices. Both the 1s and 2s were in the same competition and, with this being the first tournament of the year, the aim was to set the benchmark high. Warwick 1s, after a scare from Sheffield Alumni, topped Group A by winning both of their matches. Warwick 2s had to settle for second place after losing out in two black ball frames to go down 4-1 to Sheffield 1s, followed by a 5-0 whitewash of Sheffield Hallam 1sts.

This pitted the two Warwick teams against each other in a mouth-watering quarter-final. The knockout stages were a race to six, with each player being paired to play two frames against one of their opponents. After Roberts v Whitworth and Faulkner v Loong both finished 1-1, a 2-0 win for either Chiu or Church in the third match could have swung the tie firmly in favour of either side. It was the ever-reliable Chiu who prevailed 2-0, meaning Wilson’s sensational pot of the pink and accompanied roar of “let’s go” was in vain, despite having beaten Whitfield 1-0. Matto-Willey was able to come through 2-0, after a valiant effort from Burt, to win the match 6-3 for the 1s.

Image: Warwick Snooker & Billiards Club.

The 1s repeated the score line against York 1s in the semi-final, lining them up to meet Sheffield 1s – Warwick 2s’ conquerors in the group stage – in the final. Sheffield, led by the impressive Jamie Chui and individual champion Kaavya Bharath, were too strong and prevailed 6-1, despite Chiu’s fantastic effort to tie the match at 1-1. In truth, Sheffield deserved the title after dispatching everyone they faced throughout the competition.

All in all, the team’s performances were impressive; not only were the 1s runners-up, but Warwick 2s finished highest of the four 2s teams that entered. An honourable mention should also go to Sam Matto-Willey and Michael Wilson for both making the last 16 of the individual tournament – both played some fantastic snooker and were only beaten narrowly at that stage.

The teams now look forward to Midlands, a competition hosted and won by Warwick last year, and the national championship, BUCS, in term two. After such a strong showing at Sheffield, expectations are understandably high for the season ahead. The club will also run its fortnightly internal Wednesday competitions from week six, where current and new members can test their skills to see whether they can make the cut for one of the three BUCS teams.

All there’s left to say is: roll on Midlands!