THE TEAM at Barry West End Club are celebrating after they clinched a deciding frame to beat Ammanford Snooker World in the final of the South Wales Snooker Open.
The competition brought together 20 teams from throughout south Wales in a straight knockout format, with the winners receiving the trophy, along with a £1,000 first prize.
The Barry West End team was led by non-playing captain Mauro Zeraschi, and the players were reigning Welsh Amateur champion Alfie Davies, former Welsh under-19 champion Ryan Rowlands, plus Tom Vedmore and Matthew Laver, who both have vast experience in Welsh amateur competitions.
Last month, Barry West End reached the final by beating the Red Triangle A team from Cross Keys, including of former world number eight Darren Morgan, his brother Wayne, Brian Rees and Dylan Emery, winner of the European under-21 Championship in 2021 who recently earned a return to the professional tour after being relegated last year.
In that best-of-seven frame match, Barry West End trailed 3-1 before Davies made a break of 70 to keep his team’s hopes alive, after which Laver made a run of 50 in the next to force a decider.
The deciding frame between Davies and Emery went down to the wire, with Davies ultimately seeing the Barry team through by potting the final pink.
Barry West End’s opponents in the final were the Ammanford Snooker World team captained by Keith Murrels and consisting of Michael Dodd, Ben Thomas, Charlie Boulton, Mike Dance and Lyndon Cox.
The best-of-seven frame final took place at Penygraig Sports and Community Club on Friday, 16th May, and Davies put Barry in front as he took the opening frame with the help of a 66.
Ammanford pulled level, only for Barry to retake the lead thanks to Vedmore, though it was a close-run frame as Thomas fought his way back in after needing three snookers.
Davies took the fourth frame, aided by a run of 40 to put Barry one away from victory, only for the Ammanford team to claw it back to 3-3, which took the match to a decider.
In that decider, Davies faced Boulton, and Davies made a break of 48 early on before seeing out victory for the Barry side.
Team captain Mauro Zeraschi said: “I’m absolutely delighted with how well the boys have done this year. We won the inaugural South Wales Snooker Open two years ago and to regain the title now is a tremendous achievement.
“I was really impressed with how they fought back against the Red Triangle A team in the semi-finals. All snooker fans know how good a player Darren Morgan was at his peak, and he’s still very competitive in the amateur game at the age of 59, and Dylan Emery is one of the world’s best young players. To beat that team was some feat.
“The Ammanford team we played in the final didn’t have the star names, but they were certainly worthy of our utmost respect and they gave us a very good battle in the final.
“As a non-playing captain, I felt a bit like John Terry after the 2012 Champions League final when he was suspended but changed into his Chelsea kit to lift the trophy!
“We’ll be having a proper celebration with a night out very soon. We’ll head to Flight Club in Cardiff for a game of darts and quite a few beers.”
At the same venue two days later, Davies, 24, faced David John in the South Wales Snooker Open Singles final, where Davies made five half-century breaks on his way to a 5-2 victory. The win came three weeks after Davies beat John 8-1 in the final of the Welsh Amateur Championship.
News, Letters, Sport and advertising are welcomed by the Glamorgan Star – the largest newspaper or magazine in the Vale of Glamorgan. Contact us today here.
⭐ All of our social media in one handy place – here
Pencoed tangled up by ‘Seaweeds’
Primary school’s former deputy head is banned from teaching
I make no apologies for calling Plaid Cymru ‘separatists’
‘The importance of participation and continued learning’
Opposition leaders clash with First Minister over independence rally
How Kevin saved a stranger’s life
