Nelson show they have fine individuals

Kelvin Handley kicked off proceedings with a 3-1 win over Warwick University’s Matt Bradley in the Eric Briggs Under-35 Cup.

Bradley started confidently with a 22 break, but Handley responded well with a run of 36 to take the opener.

Handley made it 2-0 with steady, if unspectacular, scoring in the next.

Bradley reduce the arrears, but Handley’s experience told in the next frame as a break of 31 helped him claim the title.

The Pete Hiley Over-50s Cup was an all-Nelson affair, with Ted Mulls taking on Tony Baylis.

An evenly matched first frame swung Baylis’ way when he potted the last red and followed it with blue, yellow, green and brown to go nine points ahead.

Mullis took the blue but narrowly missed leaving a snooker on the pink, which Baylis took for frame.

Baylis then went on to take the following frame and the match after a couple of snookers allowed him to pull away for a 67-40 success.

Nelson were also destined for success in the EJ Riley Individual Singles, where Adam Ashley met clubmate Phil Parkin.

Runs of 31 and 37 saw Ashley open a 2-0 lead.

The third frame was closer, with Ashley again having the upper hand before going in-off when attempting to snooker Parkin.

Parkin made most of the let-off to half the arrears and then benefitted from another Ashley mistake to draw level at the interval.

Following the 15-minute break, Parkin looked invigorated and went through the gears.

A brilliant break of 70, the biggest of the finals week, allowed him to take the lead in the match for the first time and he went for the kill in the next, putting together a run of 54.

Ashley responded with 21 before losing position and missing a cannon pot to allow Parkin to make a match-winning break of 31 and seal his fourth successive title.

Nelson’s stranglehold was broken, however, in the Fred Cowell Cup final, where Warwick Cons’ Ian Carter gained a convincing 115-26 win over Richard Moore (Harbury 1sts).

Carter started strongly, compiling a break of 27 with his first visit and also scoring on his next two trips to the table.

An excellent safety then forced Moore into a mistake and Carter compiled a break of 44 to claim his first individual non-team title since winning the Pairs Cup in 1989.