Cardiff Open Pairs, 2015/16

Canton Libs A’s Kishan Hirani and Ed Topham are the 2016 CDSA Open Pairs champions after an exciting 3-2 win over Huw and Rhys Carpenter of Taff’s Well B in the final.

The Canton pair looked to have put down a marker in the opening frame, with Topham making a fluent 67 when a century looked a possibility.

However, the Carpenters started well in the next and kept a 40 point lead throughout the frame to level things up at one frame each. They took the next in much more decisive fashion though as their relentless potting display ensured they won the frame handsomely, leaving them one frame from victory.

The one-sided frames continued in frame four as the Canton pair struck back, establishing an early lead that they maintained to win comfortably before reaching the colours.

So the last match of the season went to a deciding frame, with both sides missing balls early on. However, a series of misses when snookered gave Hirani and Topham the lead, which they extended to lead by a sizeable margin with only a few reds left. The Carpenters then got an opportunity to get back into the frame, but a missed black left Hirani in, and he finished with a Trump-esque exhibition clearance to seal the frame and an entertaining match by 3 frames to 2.

Final

Kishan Hirani & Ed Topham (Canton Libs A) 3-2 Huw Carpenter & Rhys Carpenter (Taff’s Well B) (Topham 67 break)

Breaks: Ed Topham (98, 76, 67), Twm Jones (65), Kishan Hirani (54)

Home players are drawn first.

1st round (best of 3, by Jan 10)	Quarter-finals (best of 3, by Feb 21)	Semi-finals (best of 5, by March 20)
H. Carpenter / R. Carpenter (Taff's Well B) 2	H. Carpenter / R. Carpenter (Taff's Well B) 2	H. Carpenter / R. Carpenter (Taff's Well B) 3
T. Garland / L. Pitman (Canton Libs A) 0
A. Grove / P. Evans (Cuesaders) 0	S. Thomas / R. Rowlands (Savoy) 1
S. Thomas / R. Rowlands (Savoy) 2
T. Jones / H. Thomas (Canton Libs A) 2 (T. Jones 65 break)	T. Jones / H. Thomas (Canton Libs A) w/o	T. Jones / H. Thomas (Canton Libs A) 0
J. H. Griffiths / M. Boucher (Senghenydd) 1
M. Bennett / A. Columbo (Savoy) 2	M. Bennett / A. Columbo (Savoy)
S. Flanaghan / S. O'Connell (Canton Libs A) 1
J. Wigmore / R. Wigmore (Canton Libs B) 0	K. Jones / A. Marchant (Taff's Well A) 2	K. Jones / A. Marchant (Taff's Well A) 1
K. Jones / A. Marchant (Taff's Well A) 2
M. Evans / S. Davies (Cathays Cons) 2	M. Evans / S. Davies (Cathays Cons) 1
S. Rees / R. Davies (Taff's Well A) 1
T. Cross / K. Brown (Taff's Well B) 2	T. Cross / K. Brown (Taff's Well B) 0	K. Hirani / E. Topham (Canton Libs A) 3 (E. Topham 76 break)
D. Standage / J. Coughlin (Cathays Cons) 0
C. Lane / G. Bailey (Savoy) 0	K. Hirani / E. Topham (Canton Libs A) 2 (K. Hirani 54 break)
K. Hirani / E. Topham (Canton Libs A) 2 (E. Topham 98 break)