25 Mar 2019 A first venture into the four-pin world for John Slee and Jim Balchin as they took part in the 7th East Anglian 4-Pin Open on Saturday in Sudbury, Suffolk: 64 players featured in the line-up, ranged in groups of 4 with the top two proceeding to the final stages of the main competition and the bottom two qualifying for the Plate.
John at one stage looked like going through but finished 3rd in his Group (won by a bearded man wearing a red dress for a bet !); then in Plate John beat Alan Mee (Cheshire) but lost to Luke Cole-Watts (Suffolk) who went on to be beaten finalist.
Jim had a great run in the Main competition, finishing second in his group behind the eventual overall competition winner Dave Lillie (Sudbury). At the last 32 stage he knocked out last year’s champion Taffy Lloyd of Newmarket. Next to go was Clive Thompson (who was the runner-up the first time the competition was staged in 2013) and this win propelled Jim into the Quarter-final. But here he was blown away by the positive and sometimes reckless play of local lad James Baker. But a very impressive debut nonetheless. –Clive T