Cippenham Super 6 Veteran’s 2-Star Open Championship

by Graham Trimming

Christos the star

Christos Hannides, who turned out for Cippenham in the first half of the Veterans’ British League this season, eased his way through to win the Cippenham Super 6 Veterans’ Open title on Saturday. Only octogenarian Mike Willimott managed to take a game off Hannides as he strolled through his preliminary round group.

In the knock-out stage, Andy Bugden briefly threatened by taking the second game of their quarter-final but Hannides went up the gears to win the third and fourth 11-4, 11-1. He again lost the second game in the semi-final against top seed Hon Kau Choy but eventually got the better of the man from Nottinghamshire 3-1.

Second seed Jon Bradbury injured his back during one of his group matches and unfortunately had to retire. That left the door open in the bottom half of the draw and the player who emerged was Phil Walker. Walker won his group but was made to fight all the way by Cippenham’s Paul Baker who eventually succumbed in the fifth game and had consequently to settle for runners-up place in the group.

Baker went on to beat Dave Randall 3-2 in the first knock-out round but then fell to Choy in the quarters. In the other half of the draw, Walker beat Steve Davis 3-0 and John McCance 3-1 to set up his final with Hannides. The final, itself, was a bit one-sided as Hannides triumphed 3-0 (11-6, 11-2, 11-4).

The consolation event provided Paul Martindill with revenge over Dean Rose. When the pair met in their closely contested group it was Rose that edged it 11-9 in the fifth but when they met again in the consolation final it was Martindill, showing little sign of the weariness expected of a man playing his tenth match of the day, that prevailed 3-0.

The event was organised by Graham Trimming and refereed by Steve Smith.