Steve Knight is £1000 richer after his triumph at the Victoria Open on Sunday 15th August 2004 in the recently refurbished Rileys American Pool Club Victoria. Knight, who has made Victoria his home club, faced Euro Tour regular Krzysztof Gastman in a see-sawing final match before winning 11 - 7.
Knight came out firing in the final, winning the first four racks before Gastman found himself with an open shot. The man from Poland won the next 5 racks, impressing the knowledgable crowd with his simple yet effective position play and no-nonsense demeanour at the table.
His experience in high-pressure matchplay showed as he buried Knight in a series of increasingly difficult safeties that would have turned the average professional pale. Knight showed none of the pressure that he must have been feeling as he pulled off some sensational kick shots to get himself out of trouble and back into the match. Steve seemed to regain his concentration at that point and managed to close out the match 11 - 7.
Knight had an extremely difficult run up to the final. He had beaten number four ranked Paul Kellett 9 - 3 in the last 16, number five ranked David Walsh 9 - 1 in the quarter finals, and current UK number one Daryl Peach 9 - 6 in the semi! "I played very well early in the day, Paul and David hardly had a shot, however I struggled to find the same form against Daryl and Krzysztof" Steve noted after the final. He put down his return to form to a new found love for the game and lots of practice.
Krzysztof also had a challenging draw on Sunday. He beat Geneva resident Jonni Fulcher 9 - 2 in the last 16, Peter Smith 9 - 8 in the quarters, and an in-form Jay Trivedi 9 - 7 in the semi finals. With his solid temperament and fluid stroke, we will be hearing more about this young man in the future.
As usual the staff at Rileys American Pool Club Victoria, led by manager Joanne Bilings, prepared the club for the event immaculately. All players at the event commented on how well the tables played and complimented the layout and general presentation of the club.
Quarter-final finishers were Mark Cackett and Lee Chenman. The rest of the last 16 were Andy Worthington, Nigel Webb, Lee Tucker, Dean Mazirel, Raj Sagoo, and Matt Potter. Visit the BPPPA website for the updated ranking list.
