Cardiff & District Snooker League

Congratulations to Wellington Thursday for winning the Thursday League for the first time. Going into their match they only needed a point to clinch the title, and had done so in the first frame of the evening when Tuesday League ranking winner Rhys Capenter won. Welly Thurs ended up beating KO Cup finalists Rumney BL 4 – 1. Congratulations also go to Canton Libs A for taking it to the final week of the season and defending their title with honour, the turning point of their season was the 2 defeats against Welly Thursday and the shock of the season when Trec C beat them 3 – 2 in week 23. Roath Labour ended up in their highest position for several years as they finished 3rd although they did lose 3 – 2 against Trec B. SWS finished a point behind Roath Labour to end up in 4th place thanks to a 3 – 2 win against Canton Libs Z. Taffs Well finished in 5th place after another hard fought season and ending with a 4 – 1 win over bottom of the table Trec C.

Many thanks to everyone who sent Dan the player records, in the end only missed one team’s result for a match earlier in the season, so please find the top 16 at the end of the season. Once again congratulations to Steve King for coming top, and special mentions to Huw Carpenter, Kev Jones, Macauley Cole and Spencer Symmons for their impressive records. Spence won the highest break prize with a 65.

Fairwater, in memory of their captain of last year and many years before, Malcolm Keenor, won the Tuesday league by a clear margin, after a mid-season rivalry with Penarth British Legion. The Legion equalled their best finish in the league with second place, while quiet progress from Trecenydd later in the season was enough to put them into third place.

The league ended on a low note. Teams have not fielded sides as we would hope through till the end of the season, and it has been disappointing to have to penalise three sides for failing to complete fixtures in the course of the season. It is pleasing that no side had to face the ultimate penalty of exclusion from next year’s play, but the signs seem to be that if the league continues next year, we need to conclude fixtures earlier in the year.

Equally, we recognise that Fairwater were the best side throughout the season, and that the siutation where they felt compelled to make sure Rileys attended the final fixture to guarantee their league win was unfortunate.

The Cup Final next week will be hosted by Penarth Road, between Mackintosh and Fairwater, on new tables with new lighting, thanks to the support of Anthony Davies. Please attend if possible. Thanks go to Glyn Jones for making arrangements, and Dan Peacey for being willing to referee in my absence.

Mark Bennett’s 104 was the leading break of the league season, and we also congratulate rankings winner Rhys Carpenter for accumulating the highest number of wins in the season. More stats are available on the forum here if you are interested.

Full Tuesday League details here including results, highest breaks and rankings

Congratulatons to Steve King from Canton Libs ‘A’ whose win over Dan Peacey this week secured him the Thursday League player rankings title, with a remarkable record of only two defeats all season. No less impressive were the records of runner-up Huw Carpenter (just one defeat all season, but with fewer wins) and Spencer Symmons (100% after 16 matches).

The destination of the Thursday League looks set for Wellington Thursday if they pick up 1 frame next week against Rumney BL. Wellington Thursday beat Trec B 4-1 to match Canton Libs A result against Canton Libs B. Roath Labour have moved back into 3rd place after beating Trec C 5-0 and a win next week will capture 3rd place. SWS could capitalise if Roath Labour slip up next week as they find themselves in the final “Champions League” position. Senghenydd finished their season in style with a 4 – 1 over Canton Libs Z to be in 5th place for the time being. Taffs Well wind up the pressure on Senghenydd with a 3 – 2 win against Savoy and could overtake them with a win next week. Canton Libs Z and Trec B are in 7th and 8th places respectively after their defeats. Elsewhere the Gower beat Rumney BL 3-2 thanks to a 52 from Spencer Symmons.

Congratulations to Fairwater Cons who are confirmed mathematically as champions for the 3rd season in four after securing the 2 points they needed at Penarth British Legion last night. Penarth put up a fight, and went 2-0 up to delay the coronation, but a feathered white in the third frame proved to be the turning point and Fairwater got the match back to 2-2 ensuring Penarth could not catch them. The Legion won a consolation final frame but will be ruing two recent heavy defeats and have to settle for a second runners-up spot in five seasons.

Full details of this week’s matches and rankings to follow.