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Hastings & Bexhill Bar Billiards league
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OKJ win the Rix Cup
Saturday 3rd June
The Old King John secured the Rix Cup with a 3-2 win against the Ashburnham Arms in a tight contest played at the Jenny Lind. Andy Ellison got the OKJ off to a good start as he beat Dave Pearce, Andy was in the lead throughout the game but couldn't manage to get a good lead despite Dave knocking a few pegs over but the lead was enough to give the OKJ the lead. Roger Andrews put the OKJ in the perfect position as he made it 2-0 defeating Lynne Truslove, Roger started well but Lynne battles back but unfortunately for Lynne Roger was in good form and managed to gain a sizeable lead to take the second game. The Ash got one game back as Sandy Harmer beat Nigel Doe, both players started with a black peg on their opening break but Sandy settled down and managed to build a few small breaks to gain the lead, Nigel couldn't get going as Sandy ran out the winner. Dave White levelled the game for the Ash after a fine performance to get the win again against Mark Bailey, Dave started in fine form building a good lead, Mark couldn't get going and Dave ended up losing a 3k break near the end but still had enough for the win. It was down to the final game to decide the title, Chris Lamb who has produced high scores at the Jenny Lind against the Ashburnham's highest win ratio Mick Osborne, Chris gained the lead and Mick looked on course to exceed it only to miss the ball, Chris took advantage and built a 3k lead, Mick started to gain traction but Chris played a fantastic game and took advantage every time he went to the table and ran out the deserved winner with the highest score for the Old King John on the night. Thank you to the Jenny Lind for hosting us and Jez Horsler for the fantastic food!
League Fixtures
Week 1: 26-04-23
Stag 1-4 Ash @ OKJ
Jenny A 2-3 Jenny B @ Stag
Week 2: 03-05-23
OKJ 2-3 Stag @ Jenny Lind
Ash 4-1 Jenny A @ Stag
Week 3: 10-05-23
Jenny B 2-3 Ash @ OKJ
Jenny A 2-3 OKJ @ Ash
Week 4: 17-05-23
Ash 2-3 OKJ @ Jenny Lind
Jenny B 3-2 Stag @ Ash
Week 5: 24-05-23
Stag 3-2 Jenny A @ OKJ
OKJ 3-2 Jenny B @ Stag
Week 6: 31-05-23
Ashburnham Arms 2-3 Old King John @ The Jenny Lind
OKJ and Jenny fight for second as Ash qualify
Saturday 27th May
The Old King John will face the Ashburnham Arms in this years Rix Cup final after the OKJ qualified with a 3-2 win at the Stag against the Jenny Lind B, meanwhile the Stag ended the season on a high after beating the Jenny Lind A 3-2.
Tonight’s Stag vs. the Jenny A meeting kicked off with the captains Ray and Tom playing it out on the baize. Ray set off with a solid contribution before leaving the one up shot short. While Tom struggled to find the break. Ray was on form and barely put a foot wrong to continue banking when at the table. Tom went on to clear the table twice and eventually found the break, albeit too little too late.
Paul and Bob were up next, with Bob laying a serious benchmark for Paul. With Paul unable to find the break, he battled it out, scoring at almost every visit to the table. With all the balls lined up on the back cushion, Paul capitalised on the scrappiness to put the pressure on Bob, but Bob saw it off to take the win for the Stag. 1 – 1. David found his way back on the billiards table and played for the Jenny A against Chris. This was a dramatic game. The lead swung from David to Chris and vis-versa with each player’s turn at the table. Again, all the balls lined up on the bottom of the table to cause a somewhat messy game. David finally found his gears and drew out a lead on what was a game that could have gone either way. 2 -1 to Jenny A. Jimmy and Alec were next up. Alec found the break but then left it short, while Jimmy responded but never managed to take the lead. Alec lost over a grand to the white peg, while Jimmy did one better and took the black peg. Without any real threats, Alec cruised to victory. 2 – 2. David was drawn to play Peter for the decider. Peter meant business and got to work right away. David couldn’t capitalise on his time on the table, and Peter fed on this by contributing some solid breaks with the style and flair we know Peter oozes. David went on the black peg multiple, which resulted in Peter winning and the Stag winning the night 3 -2
The Stag was the 'neutral' venue for the OKJ and JLB teams to fell some timber and then some in a Rix Cup decider to find out who would meet the Ash in the forthcoming final...the OKJ’s Andy broke off first against Alex and carefully put together a decent opening before knocking over a pin that was to signal a frustrating pattern for the rest of the frame...Alex meanwhile managed to hold on to his steady breaks and as both players wound up neck and neck potted the last two white balls to nick the frame by 60 points...Ian stepped next but couldn’t capitalise on his opening break, letting Roger in to deftly piece together a healthy lead of over 2k...in fact Ian didn’t really turn up for the first half of the frame and his second half flourish simply wasn’t enough to catch Roger’s excellent winning haul and top score on the night...so, one apiece as Mark cued off against the JLB’s Andy and streaked ahead to a commanding total as Andy floundered by felling too many trees...Mark eventually amassed the second highest score of the night and deservedly took the frame from his out of sorts opponent...according to Chris his frame against Steve was “absolutely appalling” and the second one to come down to the last ball - just as in the first frame of the night, plenty of pins hitting the deck and a slippery ‘D’ made the frame somewhat of a shambles as both players struggled to find their usual rhythms...in the end Steve held his nerve to bag the frame by a slender 100 points...with the teams locked at 2-2 going into the final frame Steve found himself at the table again, this time against Nigel, and although he had plenty of chances at the table couldn’t rally to the task in hand... Nigel played some decent strokes along the way and did enough to double Steve’s total in the end to send the OKJ into the final against the Ash...good luck to both teams next week at the Jenny Lind.
These results mean the Ashburnham Arms will face the Old King John in the final at the Jenny Lind on Wednesday night (31st May)
OKJ and Jenny fight for second as Ash qualify
Sunday 21st May
The Old King John and the Jenny Lind B are fighting it out for the final place in the Rix Cup finalas both sides won 3-2 as they meet in the final week of the group stage, the Old King John beat the Ashburnham Arms 3-2 at the Jenny Lind, the result was enough to secure a final spot for the Ash whilst the Jenny Lind B defeated the Stag 3-2 to keep the pressure on the Old King John.
The Ashburnham Arms was the 'neutral' venue for the Stag and JLB teams to lock horns in the Rix Cup and with the jukebox rockin’ there were some highs and lows on show...Peter and on-loan Tom stepped to the table first and it was the former who streaked ahead with some typically stylish play to put 2k+ together before unfortunately walking straight into a tree...Tom then made a few pots but eventually glitched a black peg which let Peter regain his composure, and this time he retained his carefully built breaks to put together a healthy winning total...Bob squared up to Alex in the second frame and immediately put together a very classy 5k total only to see his cue ball ping back off the bottom cush to fell timber for what turned out to be a very unlucky break...after initially looking down and out Alex dug in and took his chance at the back end of the frame to put together enough points to fend off Bob’s last few visits to the table and level the match...newish player Chris was looking to shore up his reputation as a difficult opponent against Ian and almost achieved the win in a bitty and tentative frame which ended up very cat ’n’ mouse...Ian lost a decent early break and couldn’t get his rhythm back as Chris picked up steady points to stay ahead throughout...eventually the frame came down to the very last ball and after Chris just missed his ‘100’ shot Ian bagged the ’200’ in nifty fashion to nick the frame by 30 points...phew, 2-1 to the JLB then...after the Ash’s classic roasties ’n’ sausages the 4th frame pitted Colin against Steve and it was the latter who required a stool for most of the frame as the 4-pin World Champion effortlessly put together a 9k break, eventually breaking a 10k total for a truly superb win...a mostly seated Steve manned the jukebox with equal skill...so, 2-2 going into the deciding frame between Alec and Andy where there was plenty of deft play on show, though unfortunately a few lost breaks in what was at times a close pairing...Alec played well but hit a couple of pins along the way and put both balls down on a ‘one up’ to lose a hard-earned break whereas Andy remained composed throughout and potted consistently to put the frame beyond reach, ultimately getting the JLB over the line...thanks to everyone for another fine night of Rix Cup billies.
The Old King John denied the Ashburnham Arms of a 100% record in the group stage with a 3-2 win at the Jenny Lind. Sandy Harmer got the Ash off to the perfect start although he didn't get it all his own way as Mark Bailey built a good 2k lead early on but Sandy managed a couple of decent breaks to secure the frame. The OKJ got themselves level as Roger Andrews produced a fine performance to beat Lynne Truslove, Roger ground out some nice breaks whilst Lynne couldn't get any rhythm throughout the game. The OKJ went ahead with a win from Nigel Doe, Nigel and Dave Pearce started quite evenly with Nigel just edging ahead, Dave failed to take any chances that Nigel gave him and Nigel raced clear in the final quarter of the game to give the OKJ the lead and they soon secured the match as Chris Lamb defeated Leigh Truslove, Chris got himself in to an early lead but Leigh managed to get near Chris and was looking to gain the lead until Leigh lost a 800 break and gave Chris a great chance who then managed to lose a 2000 break, but it was Chris who managed to keep scoring and make sure of the win. The final match was to be the spectacle of the night as Andy Ellison faced off against Mick Osborne, Andy started very brightly with a couple of good breaks whilst Mick couldn't get going, Andy was suddenly on a 2500 lead and looking to build on it, Mick managed to find his mojo and get the scores back on level terms with a handy break, both players started to make mistakes but keep within a few hundred of each others scores and it was Mick who managed to get ahead and stay ahead to just pip Andy to the win. A great night in good company, both teams would like to express their thanks to Andy Horsler for the superb spread of food which was devoured by both sides!
OKJ win whilst Ashburnham continue form
Sunday 14th May
The Old King John secured their first win of the Rix Cup with a 3-2 win against the Jenny Lind A at the Ashburnham whilst the Ashbunrham Arms cotninued their 100% record with a 3-2 win against the Jenny Lind B at the OKJ.
Jenny Lind A v OKJ
The draw pitted Ray Norton vs Andy Ellison to start, Andy started well, and Ray fluffed the break somewhat, and Andy's great consistency continued until the end running out an easy winner.
Nigel Doe and Jimmy then went into action, and whilst the scoring was nip and tuck, Jimmy managed to loose more than he scored, loosing 1k breaks on a couple of occasions,
Nigel was happy to keep his score and run out the winner. Andrew and Gary were next up, and whilst Gary scored really well from the break off, Andrew had little fortune.
Gary nearly managed a significant 2 whites into the 200 shot, including some running commentary on occasion, only to peg out shortly after, whilst Andrew could not operate
the break shot at all. As the bar dropped, Andrew threw caution to the wind and attempted a Gary style 200 shot managing to drop the black peg instead.
OKJ were then 3-0 up, and things were not looking good for the Jenny A to avoid a white wash.
Paul and Roger then kicked off and a short time later the traditional sausage and red hot roastie's turned up. Whilst most of the attention was away from the table that enabled Paul to score well,
and Roger adopted the theme of the night, that is scoring big breaks and pegging, losing at least 2 significant breaks. After all of the balls were cleared Paul was 30 points behind, and tantalisingly
both players had 2 attempts to pot the white until Paul came up the winner on his 3rd attempt.
Andrew stepped up gamely for the last frame, playing the late arriving Mark. I'm not sure if the memo about the OKJ scoring and pegging had been distributed ahead of the game,
but Mark stuck with that approach, whilst Andrew was unrecognisable from his earlier game, maybe the Sausages and Roasties had done their job, but after an opening nearly 1 k break,
Andrew was a force to be reckoned with, running out an easy winner.
The OKJ was the 'neutral' venue for the JLB and Ash teams to baize it out in the Rix Cup and yet again it proved a fine and friendly night with some quality play on show…Steve and Dave took to the table first in an excellent bout that was absolutely neck and neck throughout with both players giving little away…Steve hit a decent 2k break but Mr. White had the last word and sank the the final white Cluedo-style in the ‘200’ with the ‘junior cue’ to nail the frame…right on cue Jez took the somewhat slow table by the horns from the off and steadily amassed the night’s highest total of 5k+ with some flair despite Lynne’s worthy efforts and limited time on the baize…Alex sprinted out of the traps next against an out-of-sorts Mick who struggled to get into his usually guaranteed step - the frame wasn’t totally one-sided but it was Alex who barely put a cue wrong throughout capitalising on Mick’s inconsistent visits to put up a healthy winning total…so, 2-1 to the JLB and after OKJ’s top notch sarnies it was up to Brentford Dave to try and level proceedings against Andy…Dave’s play was steady and economic against Andy’s occasionally brilliant but ultimately luckless style and he deservedly put the frame well beyond the JLB veteran with a fine total…so, two apiece as Ian took on Sandy in a nervy final frame that threw up just enough chances to have gone either way…both players tidied up well and made some neat breaks, however Ian missed his one-up chance late on and Sandy blazed a trail to victory - further proof, as if were needed, that chances must be taken in bar billiards…well done to the Ash on their third win in a row after a really enjoyably night.
Ash lead the way as Stag spring a surprise
Monday 8th May
The Ashburnham Arms stay top of the table after a 4-1 win against the Jenny Lind A at the Stag, whilst just down the road the Stag defeated the league champions the Old King John 3-2 at the Jenny Lind.
The Ashburnham Arms continued their 100% start to the Rix Cup with a 4-1 win at the Stag against the Jenny Lind A. Mick Osborne put the Ash ahead with a win against Mary Lipscombe who produced a great performance. Dave White made it 2-0 defeating Ray Norton before Andrew Lipscombe beat Leigh Truslove to get one back for the Jenny. Dave Pearce edged out Paul Wickens to make it 3-1 before Lynne Truslove continued her superb form with another win against Paul Wickens to give the Ashburnham Arms a 4-1 win.
The Stag produced a fine performance to defeat the Old King John 3-2. Nigel Doe put the OKJ ahead with a healthy score of 4590. The Stag then went on to win the next three games, Alec Pope saw off Mark Bailey before Peter Payne scored 4190 to defeat Roger Andrews to make it 2-1 then Colin Southouse scored the highest score of the evening with 7670 to defeat Chris Lamb who amassed 5410 in defeat. Andy Ellison produced a fine score including the highest for the OKJ on the night with 5930 to beat Tom Pope to end the match 3-2.
Ash beat Stag while the B's win the Jenny derby
Sunday 30th April
The first games of this seasons Rix Cup commenced this week as the Ashburnham Arms started with all guns blazing beating the Stag 4-1 at the Old King John while the Jenny Lind B beat the A steam 3-2 at the Stag.
The Stag was the 'neutral' venue for both the Jenny Lind teams to do battle in the 2023 Rix Cup and a fine night on the baize it turned out to be - thanks must go to members of The Stag team for recently bedding in and levelling the table with some smart new flooring…Mary Lipscombe came off the subs bench after 25 years away to face Andy in a decent opening frame that wasn’t entirely all one way…though naturally a bit rusty and without any practice under her belt Mary made a few tidy pots and small breaks to stay in the game before Andy’s match fitness saw him over the line with a bit to spare…Paul squared off next against Ian and was having the rub of the green for decent periods, finally nudging himself in front with a fine run only to completely miss the target break ball after working hard to get back to it…Ian took his chance and capitalised with a couple of steady breaks to run out the eventual winner…so, 2-0 to the JLB however Andrew wasn’t going to stand for that over the next two frames against Alex and Steve, which ended up being quite similar in tone…some careful potting, consistent break building and a few choice shots saw Andrew keep his opponents at bay, particularly against Steve when there was barely anything in it and a cool ‘100’ shot was required…not to be outdone Alex knocked in a fine ‘200’ shot albeit too late to save the frame which put the JLA on level terms at two apiece…Paul stepped up yet again for his depleted team, this time against heavy-hitter Jez, and for a while the frame looked like it might go either way until the JLB stalwart got a handle on the table and into gear for the night’s highest total to nick the match…everyone agreed that the ‘neutral table’ angle worked for this variant of the Rix Cup and talk of summer ‘Six Shooter’ and ‘4-pin’ competitions was rife.
The Ashburnham Arms produced a stellar performance to beat the Stag 4-1 at the OKJ. Ash captain Sandy Harmer lead the way with a close win over Bob Osborne where a late break sealed the win. The Stag captain Tom Pope also lead by example as he produced a solid performance to get ahead early against Leigh Truslove and stay ahead for the entirety of the game to level the match, unfortunately for Tom his team mates couldn't replicate his winning performance as Lynne Truslove continued her winning streak to see off Alec Pope, Lynne and Alec were level early on until Lynne produced two small breaks to gain an advantage of 700 and at the bar Alec couldn't catch her. Mick Osborne sealed the win for the Ash with a great performance and the highest score of the night (6,470) before Dave White sealed the victory with a solid performance and a nice break near the end to defeat Peter Payne.
Rix Cup season to start
Thursday 6th April
After a meeting last night we have agreed to go ahead with the Rix Cup being played on neutral tables. The competition will be played in a league format, the top two at the end of the 'season' will play a final to decide the winner. All games are equal break and the team named first will have opening breaks 1, 3 and 5. The fixtures are below:
Week 1: 26-04-23
Stag v Ash @ OKJ
Jenny A v Jenny B @ Stag
Week 2: 03-05-23
OKJ v Stag @ Jenny Lind
Ash v Jenny A @ Stag
Week 3: 10-05-23
Jenny B v Ash @ OKJ
Jenny A v OKJ @ Ash
Week 4: 17-05-23
Ash v OKJ @ Jenny Lind
Jenny B v Stag @ Ash
Week 5: 24-05-23
Stag v Jenny A @ OKJ
OKJ v Jenny B @ Stag
Week 6: 31-05-23
Final between 1st & 2nd @ tbc
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