9-16 May 2008 @ Pontin's Prestatyn

The past few weeks proved to be good for me as far as finishing well in the tournaments I played in, this I felt gave me the confidence to head off to Pontins and into the the spring festival which attracts hundreds of players from young to old from amateur to pro so the stakes are high and the standard is excellent I was hoping to finish well in this too.

The festival is split into 7 categories and are as follows:

The Pontins’s Open
All matches up to the last sixteen will be best of FIVE FRAMES and thereafter they will be best of SEVEN FRAMES up to the FINAL which will be best of NINE FRAMES. Open to all players, no age restrictions.
PRIZES WINNER Trophy + £4,000 + £25 Holiday Voucher
RUNNER-UP Trophy + £1,500 + £25 Holiday Voucher
SEMI-FINALISTS Trophy + £500 + £25 Holiday Voucher
QUARTER-FINALISTS Trophy + £200 + £25 Holiday Voucher
DEFEATED 8 OF LAST 16 £100
DEFEATED 16 OF LAST 32 £50

The Pontins’s Twenty40 Trophy
Open to all players aged between 20 and 40 years on 9th May 2008.
All matches will be best of FIVE FRAMES.
PRIZES WINNER Trophy + £300 + £25 Holiday Voucher
RUNNER-UP Trophy + £100 + £25 Holiday Voucher
SEMI-FINALISTS Trophy + £50

The Pontins’s Under 20’s Open
Open to all players aged 19 years  and under on 9th May 2008.

All matches will be best of FIVE FRAMES.
PRIZES WINNER Trophy + £300 + £25 Holiday Voucher
RUNNER-UP Trophy + £100 + £25 Holiday Voucher
SEMI-FINALISTS Trophy + £50

The Pontins’s Masters
Open to all players who have reached their 40th birthday by 9th May 2008.
All matches will be best of FIVE FRAMES.
PRIZES WINNER Trophy + £300 + £25 Holiday Voucher
RUNNER-UP Trophy + £100 + £25 Holiday Voucher
SEMI-FINALISTS Trophy + £50

The Pontins’s Under 16’s Cup
Open to all players under the age of 16 years on 9th May 2008.

The FINAL will be best of FIVE frames and all other matches will be best of THREE.
PRIZES WINNER Trophy + £200 + £25 Holiday Voucher
RUNNER-UP Trophy + £100 + £25 Holiday Voucher
SEMI-FINALISTS Trophy + £50

The Pontins’s Super SixtiesThe Pontins’s Plate
Open to players who did not reach the third round of the PONTIN’S OPEN.
Matches up to the Quarter-Finals will be ONE FRAME only.

Quarter and Semi-Finals will be the best of THREE FRAMES and the Final will be the best of FIVE FRAMES.
PRIZES WINNER Trophy + £300 + £25 Holiday Voucher
RUNNER-UP Trophy + £150 + £25 Holiday Voucher
QUARTER-FINALISTS Trophy + £25
SEMI-FINALISTS Trophy + £50

Open to all players who have reached their 60th birthday by 9th May 2008.
Matches up to the Final will be best of THREE FRAMES. The Final will be best of FIVE FRAMES.
PRIZES WINNER Trophy + £200 + £25 Holiday Voucher
RUNNER-UP Trophy + £100 + £25 Holiday Voucher
SEMI-FINALISTS Trophy + £50
 
I had entered the under 20's and the open the open had over 500 entrants and several pros such as Jamie Cope and Nigel Bond but this was not to be my event as I lost out to eventual winner David Grace so congratulations to David.

The under 20's proved to be more up my street and I got off to a good start beating Steven Giles and then Luke Godfrey. Onto the last 16 to meet Luke Higginbottom who I beat to progress to the semis to face Alex Taubman. I would have been happy to finish here and look forward to next weeks pro am but I beat Alex and drew my pal who has just turned pro Stephen Craigie, I knew it would take alot to beat him as he is such a quality player but it was my day today in a close match that ended 3 - 2 in my favor.

Finals are tough at the best of times but when you are up against one of the finest young Scottish talents then you have your work cut out, so it would be either myself or Anthony McGill who would take the title and after a solid performance I won the match 3 - 1, I now look forward to next weeks Pro am. (even my dad put in some hours check out the picture of him, I wonder if he knows howto turn it on).