Monday 28 November

Cunningham and Brewer Celebrate Top Mini Series Successes

Emma Cunningham and Keith Brewer both won main event titles during the second and final Ultimate Pool Mini Series stop of the season held at the Mercure Hotel in Daventry last weekend.

Cunningham completed the Women’s double, making it 16 out of 16 match wins on the Mini Series this year as she added the Event 2 accolade to go with Event 1 which she won at the start of October.

The Northern Irish cueist finished top of her group with a 100% record before knockout phase wins against Lynne Pinches 4-2, Nikki Comrie 4-2, Mika Roonay 5-0, and fellow four-time world champion Amy Beauchamp 5-3 in the semi-finals.

Cunningham and Smith final.jpg

In the title match, Cunningham faced maiden finalist Lucy Smith who enjoyed a fantastic run having also won all her games and eliminating high profile names such as Kirsty-Lee Davies and Women’s Series number one Harriet Haynes along the way. In the last four, Smith denied Leanne Pearce 5-2.

A close match where there was never more than a frame between the players, Smith managed to level up at 4-4 with just over a minute to go, forcing the tie to a 6-red shootout. Smith registered a competitive time of 35.16 seconds but that was comfortably bettered by Cunningham.

One of the all-time legends of the sport, Brewer went one better than his runner-up finish last time out here several weeks ago by adding the Seniors Mini Series Event 2 title to his bulging career CV.

The evergreen 61-year-old has once again shown his class on the Series, adapting to the rules seamlessly. In fact, it was a perfect weekend for Brewer who topped his group with seven wins from seven and then dispatched Terry Humphreys 4-0, Vic Makh 4-3, Graeme Witton 4-3, Darren Childs 5-2 and Shane Balding 5-0 (semi-finals) to make back-to-back finals.

Brewer and Singh Mini Series final.jpg

Coming through the other side of the draw was former WEPF Seniors World Masters champion Steve Singh. The Indian qualified second from his group and survived three deciding frame finishes in the knockout phases – including a 5-4 victory over Oly Bale in the last four. A few rounds earlier, Bale had stopped newly minted WEPF World Champion Ronan McCarthy’s incredible run in singles competition.

However, Brewer would be the last player remaining as he recorded a brilliant 5-2 win for the top prize.

In the plate events, Sophie Gibbs-Nicholls defeated Beckie Watkins 5-2 in the final of the women’s category and Roy Whyatt was successful in the seniors after a 5-2 triumph over Wayne Lannie.

Sophie Gibbs-Nicholls.jpg

Roy Whyatt.jpg