Imran Majid has shrugged off an early loss to be victorious at the Hull Open held at Mosconis American Pool Club on 12th September 2004. His efforts over the weekend mean that not only is he £1000 richer, but he earned the maximum possible all-important ranking points available for the weekend. Majid faced off with a resurgent Adam Clarke and won 11 - 6 in a tension filled final match.
Imran got to the final the hard way having been sent to the one-loss side of the draw in the early rounds of Saturday by an on-form David Walsh. Walsh took advantage of every opportunity presented to him and piled the pressure on the London-based Majid and took the win 9 - 7. However Majid regrouped on Sunday and after a close game against Andy Worthington (9 - 7), he produced a series of classy performances to knock out Adam Lewis, Stuart Colclough, and former European Champion Rico Diks.
Adam, who flies in from Holland for every tour event, had a very tough road to the final match. He managed to overcome Mike Rogers, Raj Sagoo, Martinho Correia, and Raj Hundal. The victory over Raj was especially sweet as he had defeated Adam in the final at the Basildon Open. Adam is an absolutely fearless player, and if he keeps his current form his turn in the winners circle will almost certainly be coming in the near future.
One of the matches of the day occurred in the last 32 stage on Sunday when the UKs number 1 ranked player Daryl Peach squared off against Holland's former European Champion Rico Diks. These two good friends knew that any mistake would be pounced on by their opponent and thus the game was highlighted by breathtaking safety battles that had the knowledgeable audience entranced. Diks eventually took the honours in this match 9 - 8, but plaudits should go to both players who fought out a fascinating match.
Quarter-final finishers were Steve Brown, and Simon Widlo. The rest of the last 16 were Steve Higton, Gareth Esprit, David Walsh, Dean Mazirel, James Popplewell, and Lee Chenman. For the updated ranking list, visit the BPPPA website at http://www.bpppa.com.
