Pickwick promoted at first attempt

This week they had two matches, the first of which was against their nearest rivals, North Heath Social Club and they took giant steps towards taking the title.

It was a scrappy affair with so much at stake but Pickwick held their nerve the best and won the match, with ease in the end by 3 sets to 0 & 11 frames to 4.

Paul Gafa was fortunate in scoring three out of three but the star of the show for Pickwick was Rob Taylor, winning both of his frames, including the deciding frame in the final set.

This win puts Pickwick seven points clear of their opponents with just eight left to play for and they put themselves out of harms reach in their second match of the week against Rose Inn.

This match was much tighter than the previous one, poised at one set and five frames all going into the final set, with the frames flying by on Rose Inn's speed cloth.

Paul Slater pushed Pickwick over the line, potting his penultimate ball while getting out of a snooker, nudging the black over the pocket in the process to make it impossible to miss, thus winning the match, the league title and promotion with a, 2-1 & 8-7 victory.

Pickwick's lead at the top was extended to nine points when Eltham Terrace Rack Pack stunned North Heath with a, 2-1 & 9-6 triumph.

North Heath took the first frame but Rack Pack bounced back, winning the next four frames for the set and they went on to take the next set, 3-2 for a, 2-0 & 7-3 lead.

The first four frames of the final set were shared before North Heath's Captain, Paul Baker won the deciding frame to keep his team one point ahead of third place, although they have played one more match.

Alex Thompson and Graham Levingbird played well for their two wins from three played but Tony Frost went one better with an unbeaten hat-trick.

Bellegrove Flyers are now just one point behind North Heath and look like pinching the promotion play-off spot, after their fifth win in a row.

Paul Dawson got Flyers off the mark but Foots Cray Social Club equalised, after they put Keith Mitchell in a horrendous snooker, which he failed to get out of and they cleared with two visits.

However, Flyers were bolstered by some Kent county players in their squad and they went on to win the set, 4-1 before whitewashing the second and matching the first set score in the third for an overall, 3-0 & 13-2 thrashing.

Flyers were ruthless in their performance, with Dawson winning all three of his frames, he was joined by Nick Stearns, on his return to the SLKPA, and Graham Lamb and Richard Marsh were also unbeaten with a brace each, while Peter Gray won two of his three frames.

The promotion play-off spot will go to either North Heath or Flyers, with Flyers going to the unpredictable Rack Pack in their game in hand next week.

CSC Mr's & Miss Q's made the most of Foots Cray's hammering by winning their fourth match of the season to lift themselves off the bottom and above Foots Cray.

It was a surprisingly close match considering Falconwood Club A were four places above them but each set was won by the odd frame, 3-2 with CSC taking the first two sets and Falconwood the last, for an overall, 2-1 & 8-7 triumph.

With the game being so close, there was only two unbeaten players, one from each side, with Lee Bushell scoring three out of three for CSC and Jamie Phillips did the same for Falconwood.

In SLKPA Tier Two West the top three played the bottom three and even though each match went to form not all of the top teams had it all their own way.

Top played bottom, as Eltham Terrace Nuthouse hosted Academicals and it was the visitors who surprised the table-toppers by taking the first set, 3-2 but it all went downhill from there, as Nuthouse won the second set by the same score and the third, 4-1 for an overall, 2-1 & 9-6 victory.

Academicals had the dependable Tony Bailey to thank for keeping them in the game by winning all three of his frames and he was supported by Kevin England, who was victorious in two of his three frames, with Gary Mason their other winner.

Jon Syta and Dave Sparey won two of their three frames for Nuthouse but Captain, Craig Jones went one better with an unbeaten hat-trick, including a dish from a dry break in the last frame.

This was an important point, not just because it brings Academicals one point behind Happy Hustlers but also because Sharks are now only one point behind Nuthouse, after their impressive victory this week.

Fox & Hounds shocked Sharks by taking a, 2-1 lead in the first set but Sharks won the last two frames for the set and went on to win the first three frames of the next set to secure that one as well.

The last two frames of the set went Fox's way to bring the score back to a respectable, 6-4 but that was it for them, as Sharks took all five frames of the last set to win the match, 3-0 & 11-4.

Clive Forrest kept Fox in the game by winning a frame in the first two sets but Sharks had three unbeaten players, Eno Idiong and Kevin Dempsey with two frame wins and Chris Mackenzie on a hat-trick.

Crayford Social Club Rugrats are making a late surge for the promotion places with a massive, 3-0 & 12-3 triumph over Happy Hustlers to go five points behind Sharks.

The two mid-table teams, Hustlers B and Bellegrove A met with six points separating them and that is still the case, as the team's shared the points.

Hustlers arrived with only four players and they all won in the first set, giving them a, 4-1 lead and they fought hard in the next two but it wasn’t quite enough, as they lost them both, 3-2 giving Bellegrove the win in sets, 2-1 but Hustlers held their nerve in the final frame to score more frames, 8-7.

Trevor Biggs, Hustlers Captain led from the front, with an unbeaten hat-trick.

Hotshots took a step closer to the SLKPA Elite League championship at Bellegrove Social Club but they had a shock in the first set, losing it, 3-2.

This woke Hotshots up, as they whitewashed the second set, 5-0 before going on to win the final set, 3-2 for an overall, 2-1 & 10-5 triumph.

Tony Wilson Connor Hewson and Richard Chapman all won two of their three frames but Ian Ali was unbeaten with three frame wins.

Bellegrove are still one point behind Falcons and Hotshots two points ahead of Falconwood, after Falconwood beat Falcons by 2 sets to 1 & 8 frames to 7.

It was a very close match, as each set was won by the odd frame, 3-2 with Falconwood taking the first two sets and Falcons the final set.

There were many players who won two of their three frames, Jon Runghen, Mark Brinkley and Nick Steadman for Falcons and George Covingtom and Richie Mitchell for Falconwood but their team mate, Tony Halpin was the only unbeaten player, winning all three of his frames.

Fourth played third, in the Eltham Terrace derby, as Rovers took on Eltham Terrace Club A.

This match swung one way then the other in a magnificent way, as Rovers whitewashed the first set, 5-0 but Terrace turned that around in the second set, taking it, 4-1 reducing the deficit to just two frames.

That became one frame when Dan Heinink won the eleventh frame but Ryan Francis made it, 7-5 with his third victory of the night.

Terrace took the next two frames to win the set and the match, 2-1 in sets but the score was finely poised at seven all in frames.

Rovers' Steve Dixon played Dan Vowles for the third time on the night, with both players winning a frame each, so whoever won this frame would not only secure the bonus point for their team but also the personal battle between the two and it was Dixon who held his nerve to take the frame and give his side the, 8-7 win in frames.

This means that there is still just one point between the two Terrace teams but Falconwood Club are now four points behind Rovers after their comprehensive, 3-0 & 10-5 triumph over bottom team Royal Oak.

Peter Whyte top scored for Falconwood, winning all three of his frames and he was supported by Barry Barham and Dean James, both successful in two of their three frames.

For more information on the SLKPA including league tables visit our website at www.slkpa.com or contact our Secretary, Paul Gafa on 07443 456662 with any queries.

The league is looking at potential sponsors; any interested parties can also contact Paul Gafa.