04 April 2023 18:15:00 Posted By Luton

Last Updated: 06 April 2023 15:17:00

AIPL SINGLES

The Quarter Finals of the AIPL Singles took place on the 22nd March, with eight players all looking to get their hands on the trophy for the first time. Peter Ward was the first player through after he secured a 4-0 whitewash over SP Blacks team mate Paul Ives in their match at Vic Club, and he was soon followed into the next round by another team mate, as Mike Chappell won 4-1 against New Zealand "B"'s Brian Keeble at John F Kennedy. They will be joined in the semi finals by two players from SP Bullets, as Sonnie O'Sullivan got past Dairy Maid 'A''s Grant Mullender 4-1 at Rothschild Arms, and Kyle O'Brien also won 4-1 against Dirty Ari's Steve Smith at Rivets

Quarter Final Results

Brian Keeble 1-4 Mike Chappell

Steve Smith 1-4 Kyle O'Brien

Sonnie O'Sullivan 4-1 Grant Mullender

Peter Ward 4-0 Paul Ives

Semi Final Draw

The draw for the Semi Finals will see both sets of team mates battle it out for a place in the Singles Final, which will take place at Rivets as part of the AIPL Presentation Night. Both Semi Finals will take place simultaneously at Shoot Pool & Snooker, and will see SP Blacks team mates Peter Ward and Mike Chappell face off, and SP Bullets team mates Sonnie O'Sullivan and Kyle O'Brien will be playing alongside them. These matches will take place on Wednesday 26th April.

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AIPL DOUBLES

The Quarter Finals of the AIPL Doubles also took place across March. Richard Ilsley and Justin Hooley of Shootpool 'A' completed a whitewash in their game at Rivets, winning 4-0 against Darren Stone and Oliver Burgess of The Vic Club. SP Bullets pair Wayne Thorne and Sonnie O'Sullivan were 4-1 winners over [t[TheRothschildArms[/t] pair David Gray and Dan McIntyre. There was a 4-2 win for the mixed team pair of Jarrad Cross and Gary Prince against Jimmy Surguy and Nick Tilley of Honey Bee Stingerz, and Top John pair Jordan Maxwell Hoff and Max Burgess went through 4-2 against Stuart Voller & James Connor.

Quarter Final Results

Jimmy Surguy & Nick Tilley 2-4 Jarrad Cross & Gary Prince

Wayne Thorne & Sonnie O'Sullivan 4-1 David Gray & Dan McIntyre

Jordan Maxwell Hoff & Max Burgess 4-2 Stuart Voller & James Connor

Darren Stone & Oliver Burgess 0-4 Richard Ilsley & Justin Hooley

Semi Final Draw

The draw for the Semi Finals sees Top John Jordan Maxwell Hoff and Max Burgess take on SP Bullets pair Wayne Thorne and Sonnie O'Sullivan at John F Kennedy, and Vic Club will play host to Richard Ilsley and Justin Hooley of Shootpool 'A' against Jarrad Cross and Gary Prince

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AIPL ANYTIME SINGLES

March also saw the Quarter Finals of the AIPL Anytime Singles Knockout take place, and the first player through was Mike Chappell of SP Blacks, who won at home 5-0 against Neil Roberts of The Roths. He was joined in the SF draw the next day by Shootpool 'A''s Richard Ilsley, who also won at home against The Roths opposition, winning 5-3 against Rory Sore. A week later, David Feore beat Larry Baker 5-1 at Rothschild Arms, and the final spot in the SF's went to New Zealand "B"'s Keith Jones, who won 5-3 in a close encounter against Troy Brett at Shoot Pool & Snooker.

Quarter Final Results

Mike Chappell 5-0 Neil Roberts

Richard Ilsley 5-3 Rory Sore

Larry Baker 1-5 David Feore

Troy Brett 4-5 Keith Jones

Semi Final Draw

The Semi-Finals will take place over the month of April, and the draw is as follows:

Richard Ilsley vs David Feore

Troy Brett vs Keith Jones

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AIPL KNOCK OUT CUP

Shootpool Sharks 5-4 New Zealand 'A'

Shootpool Sharks edged past New Zealand 'A' 5-4 in the first of the two Knock Out Cup semi-finals. Joe Mcloughlin and Robert Mutch won early to give Shootpool Sharks a 2-0 lead, before Dennis Walton, Stephen Page and Mark Frost all won back-to-back to give New Zealand 'A' a 3-2 lead. Wins for Gordon Sweeney and David Feore swung the game back to 4-3 in Shootpool Sharks favour, before John McLernon levelled the match at 4-4. But Martin Langley won the deciding frame for Shootpool Sharks to see them through to their third Knock Out Cup final.

Dirty Ari 1-5 SP Blacks

Despite going 1-0 down in the first frame thanks to an early win for Jason Harper, SP Blacks ended up making quick work of their semi-final against Division 1 side Dirty Ari, winning the next five frames through Dave Green, Paul Ives, Peter Ward, Troy Brett and Andy Taylor, to win the match 5-1 to reach their first Knock Out Cup final since 2018, and set up a clash against venue rivals Shootpool Sharks.

THE FINAL

The Knock Out Cup Final will take place at Shoot Pool & Snooker on Wednesday 24th May at 8pm. The two sides have played each other 21 times in the past, but never in the Knock Out Cup. There have been 14 SP Blacks wins, 4 draws, and 3 wins to Shootpool Sharks, however Shootpool Sharks did win the only ever cup game between the sides, a 5-2 win in the Plate Cup in 2014.

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AIPL PLATE CUP

Shootpool Blues 2-5 SP Bullets

Two-time Plate Cup winners SP Bullets made it through to their third final in four seasons, after a 5-2 win over neighbours Shootpool Blues. Jarrad Cross and Wayne Thorne both won early on to give SP Bullets a 2-0 lead, before Frank Almeida got Shootpool Blues off the mark. Wins for Kyle O'Brien and Daniel Englefield then extended the lead to 4-1, before Ben Bantham won to force the match into the second section. But a second on the night for Kyle O'Brien made sure of the win for SP Bullets.

Honey Bee Stingerz 4-5 Top John

Division 1 side Top John won a final frame decider to knock out Premier side Honey Bee Stingerz 5-4. Evan Wakelam, Danny Corcoran and Max Burgess all won early on, before John Massingham won to get Honey Bee Stingerz going. After Top John captain Jordan Maxwell Hoff made it 4-1, Honey Bee Stingerz came back strong, with Paul Seastram, Jeremy Collins and a second of the evening for John levelling the score at 4-4, before Max also won his second of the night for claim the win for Top John.

THE FINAL

The Plate Cup Final will take place at Dairy Maid on Wednesday 24th May at 8pm. The two sides have never met in any competition, and venue form for both sides is limited. SP Bullets lost their only match played at Dairy Maid back in 2020, and Top John have W1 L1 at the venue, not registering a win there since 2015.

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AIPL MIXED DOUBLES

The Mixed Doubles also took place recently, and a fantastic 18 teams turned out for the event, one up from last year, and only one team shy of the record set in 2020! The tournament was run as a straight knockout, same as in previous years, and after a great day of pool, the final took place between 2018-2019 runners-up James Connor and Zenya Heap and 2019-2020 champion Amber Carter playing with Kyle O'Brien.

James and Zenya received a bye in the first round, before claiming 3-0 whitewashes against Stephen Page and Hannah Howells in the last 16 and Brian Keeble and Tracy Playford in the Quarters. They then came through a tough semi-final against Ade Lansdown and Debbie Roberts 4-2 to make their way to the Final.

Kyle and Amber also received a first round bye, before winning 3-0 against Mark Tumilty and Michelle Friston in the last 16. They were then 3-1 victors against David Feore and Victoria Page in the Quarters, before edging past Robin Meads and Laura Hunter 4-3 in the Semis.

The Final started well for James and Zenya, taking a 2-0 lead early on, but Kyle and Amber soon came back into it and were level at 2-2 after a fantastic black from Kyle. James and Zenya then took the lead again at 3-2, but things were level again soon after at 3-3. But James and Zenya won the final two frames to claim the 5-3 victory, as both players got their hands of the Mixed Doubles trophy for the first time.