17 year old Matthew Andrews of Leeds has won the BPPPA Junior Midlands Championship, held at Rileys Stafford on the 5th March. It was Andrews' second attempt at a junior title after finishing runner-up in the Northern Championship in January. A regular Main Tour player, his big game experience helped him cruise to a 9-1 defeat of newcomer Nick Hall of Stockport in the final.
After a bye in the preliminary round, Andrews took out another Main Tour regular - 17 year old Mukhtar Summers - with a scoreline of 9-3 before meeting John-Ross Bristow. At 13, the son of the BPPPA President Ted Bristow did well to take four racks off an in-form Andrews in a race to 9, but with age and experience clearly on Andrews' side the match ended 9-4 and took Matthew into the single knockout stage.
15 year old Nick Hall wasn't so lucky with the draw and had to play fellow Mancunian John-Joe Martin in the prelims. At twelve years of age, rapid shooter John-Joe made a good fight of it, but was sent into the one-loss side with a 9-7 defeat. Although this was Nick's first BPPPA event, he is no stranger to competitive play, having cut his teeth in the Monday night tournaments at Replay in Stockport, a regular event for many of the BPPPA's Manchester-based Main Tour players. Nick Found himself in the one-loss side after his next match which was won 9-1 by Reading's David Hood, but redeemed himself with a 7-2 win over John-Ross Bristow that took him into the semi-finals.
The semi-final line-ups were Matthew Andrews versus Mukhtar Summers and Luke Pepperel versus Nick Hall. Pepperel, who had travelled from Reading with David Hood, beat his friend and practice partner 9-5 to make the semis. Luke, whose game has visibly improved in the short time since the Northern Championship in Doncaster, was playing well all day but had an unfortunate exit when Nick Hall fluked the 9 ball at 8 racks apiece to take him into the final.
The next youth event is the Southern Regional Championship in Rileys St Albans on 19th March, and like this event the winner will take home the biggest trophy, a cash prize and a pool cue, as well as receiving free entry into the British Junior 9 Ball Championships in May. The final event will decide who represents Great Britain in the European Junior Championships. Both events are open to all comers. For more information, see the calendar at http://www.bpppa.org/calendar.
