No Draws In Opening Premier Gameweek

Last season's runners-up are the Week 1 leaders in the Premier, after they secured the biggest win of Week 1, winning 9-3 away from home against Bradmoor Bullets. Keith Jones, Larry Baker and Julian Lefevre gave The New Roth'mans' a 3-0 lead, before Bradmoor Bullets pulled two back through Daniel Englefield and Daniel Whitbread. The trio of Keith, Larry and Julian all won second frames of the night, alongside wins for Ade Lansdown, Paul Kanchanlall and Scott Reader, as The New Roth'mans' won the next six to run away with the victory. Debutant Craig Pusey then won the final frame for Bradmoor Bullets.

Reigning league champions SP Blacks made a winning start to their title defence, but were made to work for it, needing to come back from 4-1 down to eventually win 8-4 against rivals Shootpool Sharks. Troy Brett had given SP Blacks the lead, but wins for Gordon Sweeney, Robin Meads, Martin Langley and Robert Mutch had Shootpool Sharks 4-1 up and in control. But SP Blacks won the remaining seven frames without reply to storm back and claim the win, a run that included a second for Troy, two wins for Adam Jackow, and a win each for Danny Lee, Mike Chappell, Wayne Thorne and Mitch Lee.

Shootpool 'A' stormed into 3-0 and 7-1 leads on their way to an opening-week 8-4 away victory against New Zealand 'A' to take a share of second place in the table. Wins for Kyle O'Brien, Justin Hooley and Chris Eley got the visitors off to a flying start, before a win for Stephen Page got the hosts off the mark. Shootpool 'A' strengthened their lead, as Richard Meek, Amber Carter, Richard Herring and James Connor all won to make it 7-1. Wins for Doug Campbell, Mark Frost and Dennis Walton helped New Zealand 'A' make the defeat a lot less heavy, before a second win of the night for Chris in the final frame for Shootpool 'A'.

The two promoted sides in the Premier faced off with each other in their first game back in the division, and it was the Division 1 champs Dirty Ari that got their noses ahead at the end, winning the final two frames to claim a 7-5 away win. Paul Freshwater and Kevin Smith gave Dirty Ari a 2-0 lead, before Joe Hitchins and Teresa Collins levelled things up. Both Jason Harper and Tim Moran gave Dirty Ari further leads, but Ben Collins and Phiona Musavengana were both at hand to again level the match up. Kevin won his second for Dirty Ari to make it 5-4, before Teresa matched the feat in the following frame. But at 5-5, the Dirty Ari pair of Elliot Riley and Steve Smith won the final two frames to claim the win.

The final match of the week saw The Brickslayers open up with a 7-5 home win over Bradmoor 'A'. There was first half wins for Jason Hoff, Steve Curran, Pedro Pestana and Darren McGeorge, as The Brickslayers opened up a 4-2 half-time lead, with Marc Reading and Dan McIntyre getting the points for the visitors. A win for Luke Butler and a second for Marc had the scores level at 4-4, but a win for Neil Bartholomew and a second for Darren McGeorge restored the two-frame lead for The Brickslayers. Bradmoor 'A' captain Stephen Smith kept alive the hopes of a draw with a frame win, but Steve won his second of the night to hand the victory to the hosts.

Looking Ahead...

Week 2 sees the top 3 all face away matches, with leaders The New Roth'mans' going back to their old stomping ground to take on New Zealand 'A', and two Shoot Pool & Snooker derbies as Shootpool Sharks host Shootpool 'A' and SP3 host SP Blacks, with both of the 'away' sides looking to build on opening-day wins. Elsewhere, there is another derby as Bradmoor Bullets host their neighbours Bradmoor 'A', while The Brickslayers are at home against Dirty Ari, with both sides looking to go 2-0 for the season.