What's the best shot you've ever witnessed ?

Tommo's in a nostalgic mood.

Not the jammiest, not perhaps the most perfectly executed, or even the best choice of a shot - but what is the single most skilful shot you've ever seen on a bar billiards table ?

I'll start it off.

Roffey Sports and Social Club, some time in late 70s/early 80s. Competition : The Sussex Champion-of-pub-champions event, last 32 stage. (This was a sponsored competition, Tarratt Tables had put up £500 prize money - hard to believe, I know). Posters incorporating an entry form had gone up in every single pub in the county with a b/b table asking them to find their pub champion. There were then a series of eliminating rounds, culminating in the last 32 in a straight knockout all in one evening at the Roffey club. It was estimated that hundreds had entered -equally hard to believe, I know !

Anyway, the usual suspects were there in the last 32 and it eventually got down to a final between Tommy Walters of Brighton, and Mick Holmwood of Horsham. The final was over two legs, and Mick was chasing a score in the second game. He was on a 6k break with little time left, he needed to bank this and the title would be his. We all gasped as he caught one too thin and left himself a ball slap bang in front of the right hand white peg and touching it.

What would you do ? Up and back ? I've seen Sue Mariner do it to perfection but I've also seen loads of other people try and either miss completely or have a peg.

With the difference between £350 and £150 riding on it (imagine what that would be in today's money !) Mick made his decision, went staight at it and somehow cut the ball away from the peg, sending the object ball away at right-angles, when such a shot had looked impossible. He banked the score and was a well-received champion.

I have never since seen such a stunning or brave shot under pressure, and in such important circumstances.

Anyone beat that ?

[FeedTheGoat]

Well, I managed to get 6 balls down in one shot in a Brighton League match at the Albion.

All 6 were in the back 5 holes, so although I meant it, I cudn't be completely sure which balls would go down which holes!

Once in a lifetime occurance I think!

Chris

Sounds good, Chris.

I've been impressed with how my teammate Graham Daniels tries to clear a table quickly, by playing hard off the side cush to clear several balls along the back, often shunning more obvious shots.

Sounds similar to yours and makes perfect sense.

[Kevin Pringle (R.I.P.)]

Richard Stowe used to clear them with 'pace' too, only most of his ended up on the floor ;)

[FeedTheGoat]

Getting a bit off topic now! But I think playing combination shots is usually the best way to go if it is obviously on. It doesnt necessarily need to be hard (the 6 ball shot wasn't hit that hard, it was just a quick table).

Just seems logical to try and clear more than one ball if you have the chance - how many times do you get down to one ball at the back, and then miss when trying desperately to get the break back!

It seems to have helped me improve my game - it virtually won me the game against KT at sussex masters this year.

Anyway, back on topic - anyone seen or played any other incredible shots?

[Kevin Pringle (R.I.P.)]

Apart from putting 3 balls down the 200 (different shots) to win the first round of the Plate, and then go on to win it (Oxon Open), most of mine are usually 'controlled' hit and hope ;) well they are according to my team mates :D

[H]

Chris' approach to clearing multiple balls at once is exactly the line of thinking I use (im obviously just not quite so good at it)...to further back up that method - the more balls you get moving with one shot, the more likely you are to stay on the table, because the more likely you are to pot at least one of them (provided you are careful about pegs). It does take some practice, but it is a method that works. As far as the best shot ive seen is concerned, i really cant say...i suppose if you were to talk about my amazement at the time, it would be the first time I ever saw someone play the split shot (im talking about my first season of playing here obviously) but that really doesn't qualify.

[Lord Cheeky]

Last season in the West Sussex League the Loci A were playing at the Maypole in Yapton, it was just a normal league game and i think we were 2-1 up so the fourth game would of made us safe. The game was between Dave Hampton and Pete Cowley, it was nip and tuck all the way Pete was on the table when the bar dropped he carried on playing until he missed and left just two balls on the table both whites. A quick look at the score showed that Pete was 380 ahead, so with the nearest ball coming back it left the last ball about a inch along the back cushion in the left hand corner. Dave knowing he needed both in the 200 to win played what can only be descrided as the best shot i have ever seen, with its eliment of luck. He played the shot off the left hand cushion fairly hard with lots of right side just clipped the right hand edge of his object ball sending his cue ball of the back cushion in between the 10 and 20 holes missing the peg, just, hitting the right hand cushion and smack bang into the 200 hole. That shot was obviously played but the luck came with keeping the object ball out of any other pockets which he managed to do so the ball came back he then duly potted it into the 200 to win by 20, a great two shots.

[Owners' Account]

I once potted a ball off the spot into the 200 hole without touching the cushions or hitting the black peg. Not only that the 200 hole I potted the ball down was on another table.... I'll explain.

In the Windmill there are two tables next to each other, apart from about 4-5 feet for the scorers to stand. In the old days myself and the former landlord were pissing around one night (and by that I mean about 3 in the morning) and we decided to invent a new game called "Cross table Bar Billiards". It was in this match I put my chalk on the spot on the left hand table, placed the ball on the top, got my cue under it and launched the ball from one table over to the other where it went perfectly down the 200 hole.

Had to stop after that as we didn't want to damage the tables.....

::)You should be ashamed of yourself!

However, Fantastic pot I wish I saw it :)

Not really a candidate for best shot, but more along the line of Glenn's - the strangest shot.
This was in the Horse and Groom, Horsham, where strange things often seemed to happen. (Another tale shelved for the moment to be told some other time).

I'm not sure who the player was but it might have been Dick Dewdney ("Young Richard" as he was known then). The ball mounted the cush, left the table at an angle, jumped over on to a piano, where it rolled along the top almost in slow motion. As it reached the end it dropped into a three-quarter-full pint of beer with a splash without breaking the glass. One of those moments where you blink in disbelief, it would not be possible had you not just witnessed it yourself. :o :o :o

Best shot I have ever witnessed was in the final of Jersey.

KT vs. Tony Walsh but can't remember which year. :-/

After Kevin had put Tony in in the first leg, Tony played the table out for about 21k (and to my mind, he thought he had done enough).

Kevin went into bat in the second leg knowing, as usual, he would need to play the table out.

He was doing great but was not really ahead on time but about level but then he managed to leave a ball directly behind the 10 hole. This could have been disasterous. But Kev, deapite all of the pressure of a Jersey final, played a magnificent shot under the circumstances to get the ball in the hole and continued his break to win.

It was awesome and inspiring to watch.

[fazza]

reformedcharacter said:

Best shot I have ever witnessed was in the final of Jersey.

KT vs. Tony Walsh but can't remember which year. :-/

After Kevin had put Tony in in the first leg, Tony played the table out for about 21k (and to my mind, he thought he had done enough).

Kevin went into bat in the second leg knowing, as usual, he would need to play the table out.

Sorry Darling LC, I must correct you in a few details:

1. Tony Walsh actually scored 16,540; amazing how men exaggerate things over the years.

2. Kevin actually did not play the table out as Tony made 470 in the 2nd leg after KT had made 17,800.

3. Oh, and the year was 1994.


A quote from BBQ16:

Put into break first, Tony was superb, playing out the table for 16,540. Kevin was going so fast, he reached the target too quickly. When he slowed down, he found himself in trouble. He expertly extricated himself, but, after playing two tough shots off the cushion, he was happy to come off. Tony only scored 40 (perhaps not expecting the chance) and Kevin pinned his next break. Tony made another 430 to the end, and lost 17,800 - 17,010 overall.

But everything else, elsie, was asbo-lutely correct.

[milko]

fazza said:

reformedcharacter said:

Best shot I have ever witnessed was in the final of Jersey.






I was just about to make a comment about this, but Mr F beat me to it. :o............... still it was good to look at the POT BLACK magazines again & look at all the young faces of yesteryear. 8-) ;D :).


Keith.

[milko]

WHOOPS, it went wrong. I'm not having a very good day at the moment, the other morning on my round i saw a beautiful white (albino) tame rabbit with lovely pink eyes on the path, it must have escaped. Today the same rabbit ran across the road in front of me, i had no time to break & i'm sorry but it has now gone to heaven. :( :'(


Keith.

Apologies for the cloudy memory - it was Jersey, I'd had a few and I have the momory of your average goldfish!

Kev, sorry for massaging your ego too much.
Pete, sorry for getting all the facts wrong.
Keith, thanks for being on hand to put me right.

I still think it was a great shot. Others probably did based on the volume of gasps, groans and the applause that followed it.

I will offer opinions in future - but only if I am sure of my ground!!

[fazza]

Oh no, please continue as you are. It enables me to retrace a few memories through my archives. Just better not to exaggerate too much........ 21,000, I ask you????

If you prefer not to be corrected, I will have a word with your better half.....

I'm always corrected!!

After some research on the Champion-of-Pub-Champions Competition I too stand corrected: MrMike007 points out that it was Brighton's Tommy Walters and not Bob Bungard whom he played in the Final the night that he played the "brave shot". And he and Tommy agreed to split the prize money before they started the final. The prestige was of course in winning and becoming a Sussex champion.

This what else I have been able to find out:

1. The first year it was run was 1979, and the last one 1983.

2. The 1982 competition had a total prize fund of £1008. The Final for the last 32 players was staged at the Inland Revenue Club, Worthing on Sunday 13th June. Bob Bungard of the Spotted Cow (Angmering) beat John Cutler of the Gratwicke Arms, Littlehampton in one semi-final and John Slee (Bell, Horsham) beat Gary Ridley (Crabtree, Lancing) in the other Semi.
Bungard was champion and received £300, Slee received £200 for being runner-up. Ridley won the third place play-off for £100 and Cutler received £40 along with the four losing quarter-finalists. There was £50 for the non-league player making the furthest progress and £50 for the best lady. The House landlord of the winning player got £25 and all those who had made the 32 got a trophy to keep. Raffle proceeds went to the "South Atlantic fund" (I have read all this off the programme).

3. The last-ever winner was Chris Ellmers of Mid Sussex (formerly of Brighton) who won as his prize his travelling expenses to/from Jersey later that year. The prize fund had been drastically reduced as the entry was down, and the finals night was dispensed with.