The last week of the South London & Kent Pool Alliance summer season and each of the three divisions went down to the wire, with Bull Tavern, Falconwood Club and Pickwick all winning their respective divisions. 

 

In SLKPA Tier Two West it was a three-horse race between Eltham Terrace Rack Pack, Pickwick and Bellegrove, with the top two playing each other.

 

Pickwick took charge right from the off, winning the first four frames to take the first set. 

 

Rack Pack’s Andy Mounger prevented the set whitewash with frame five.

 

 Pickwick’s dominance continued with Jamie Davis, Dave Pile and Paul Gafa taking the first three frames of the second set to win the match and put their team on the hill. 

 

This time Sam Kinsville halted the Pickwick’s progress with a brilliant break and dish however, Martin Storey won frame ten to secure the bonus point before the start of the final set. 

 

It looked as though Rack Pack might steal a point with Tony Frost and Chris Parlett taking frames eleven and twelve, but Paul Dawson, Pile and Paul Slater won the last three frames to give Pickwick maximum points, with a, 3-0 & 11-4 victory.

 

Pickwick hold onto top spot and are crowned Tier Two West champions however, Rack Pack need to know how Bellegrove got on against bottom team, Hustlers Daves to see who finishes in the play-off place. 

 

But Rack Pack’s hope soon faded, because Bellegrove’s dominance showed early on, as they whitewashed the first set and Dan Heinink made it six in a row, before Shelton D’Costa put one on the board for Daves in frame seven. 

 

Barry Barham, Dec Kelly, and Peter Whyte won the next three frames to have the match all sewn up at, 2-0 & 9-1 going into the final set. 

 

Heinink scored a personal hat-trick and made it four in a row for Bellegrove, before Mel Ma put another frame on the board for Daves.

 

However, that would be it for them, as Bellegrove won the remaining frames for a resounding, 3-0 & 13-2 triumph. 

 

Joining Heinink on three out of three were Barham and Kelly, to help their team into second place, with Daves remaining winless at the bottom. 

 

So, Pickwick finished two points ahead of Bellegrove, with Rack Pack three points behind them and Bellegrove A, who didn’t have a game this week, one point behind them. 

 

The final game in this division was between sixth placed Farmhouse and the team above them, Fox & Hounds with four points between them. 

 

The first two sets went the same way and unfortunately for Farmhouse, it was Fox & Hounds winning the first four frames and Farmhouse pulling one back with the fifth. 

 

This gave Fox the first two sets and an unassailable, 8-2 lead giving them the bonus point before set three. 

 

After winning frame ten, Steven Jeffcoate made it two in a row with frame eleven, but Neil Shelton levelled the set for Fox. 

 

Nick Brown and John Denahy then stole a point for Farmhouse, before Kerry Wyatt won the last frame, making the final score, 2-1 & 10-5 to Fox & hounds. 

 

Neil Shelton was the man of the match, winning all three of his frames. 

 

The race for the SLKPA Tier Two East title was between Falconwood Club and Bears, with two points separating the two teams. 

 

On paper, Bears had the slightly easier fixture playing seventh place Happy Hustlers, whereas Falconwood were up against Academicals in fourth.

 

The first two frames between Happy Hustlers and Bears were shared, but Paul Cobbold, Jamie Phillips and Gary Mason won the next three frames to give Bears a, 4-1 lead in the first set. 

 

The second set was equally as miserable for Hustlers, as Bears whitewashed it to string together eight frames in a row, giving them a, 2-0 lead in sets and, 9-1 in frames for the bonus point. 

 

Claire Stork pulled a frame back for Hustlers, then Jeff Bailey tied the set, before Angie Hobbs won her second frame of the evening to put Hustlers, 2-1 up and looking to steal a point. 

 

However, Bears had other ideas and Phillips and Mason won the last two frames for maximum points. 

 

Bears had three unbeaten players, Bailey who won both his frames and Mason and Phillips who went one better with unbeaten hat-tricks. 

 

This result puts Bears two points ahead of Falconwood, who now needed to win against Academicals to take the title. 

 

Academicals started well, with Chris Bracey and Paul Doherty winning the first two frames, but Akar Necati and Tony Garrett won the next two frames to level the match and send the set into a deciding frame. 

 

This was fought out between two Pauls, Falconwood’s Baker and Thomas from Academicals, and it was Baker who was cooking on gas, winning the frame to give his side the first set, 3-2. 

 

The second set followed a similar pattern to the first, swinging one way then the other, ending in a deciding frame. 

 

This time Baker was successful against Dean Williams to put his team, 2-0 & 6-4 ahead. 

 

Necati won frame eleven to put Falconwood on the hill, but Gary Mason tied the set, before Garrett earned Falconwood the bonus point.

 

Academicals’ Chris Gaunt won the penultimate frame sending set three into yet another deciding frame, which again was fought out between Thomas and Baker. 

 

This time Thomas was triumphant, denying Baker his hat-trick and giving his team a point. 

 

Doherty won both of his frames for Academicals, but Falconwood’s Garrett went one better with a hat-trick. 

 

This result gave Falconwood the three points they needed for the championship, with Bears having to face Bellegrove in a play-off for the remaining place in next summer season’s Elite League. 

 

Missing out on the promotion spot by two points were Bellegrove Flyers, after they beat bottom team Bexleyheath Working Men’s Club this week. 

 

Bexleyheath only had four players, but they started well, with Tony Hodsdon levelling after Jason Brunton had won the first frame. 

 

However, the remaining three frames of the set went to Flyers, giving them a, 4-1 lead. 

 

Brunton and Mark Porter quickly turned that into, 6-1 with the first two frames of the second set. 

 

Derek Corley and Hodsdon tied the set, but the lack of players meant that the deciding frame couldn’t be played, giving it to Flyers for a, 2-0 & 7-3 lead. 

 

Brunton scored three out of three and earned his team the bonus point with frame eleven. 

 

Porter joined Brunton on a hat-trick and Alan Boltwood gave his team maximum points and a, 10-3 lead overall. 

 

Hodsdon also scored three frame wins to pull another frame back for Bexleyheath, before the last frame was given to Flyers making the final score, 3-0 & 11-4. 

 

This result leaves Bexleyheath winless and pointless at the bottom of the division. 

 

The last game in this division was between New Eltham New Boys and Sidcup Working Men’s Club, who were fifth and sixth respectively, with just one point separating them. 

 

Jay Harris won the opening frame for Sidcup, but New Boys won the next four to take the first set, 4-1. 

 

Billy Russell made it a personal two in a row and five on the bounce for New Boys, with frame six, but Andy Welch, Harris and Jack Tattmar won the next three frames to give Sidcup the second set and reduce the deficit to, 5-4. 

 

Michael Barnes took frame ten to increase New Boys overall lead back to, 6-4. 

 

Welch brought Sidcup back to within one frame by winning the eleventh, but that would be it for them, as New Boys took the final four frames for a, 2-1 & 10-5 triumph. 

 

Russell went onto score an unbeaten hat-trick and he was joined by his Captain, Michael Barnes on three frame wins. 

 

The SLKPA Elite League still had half of the division gunning for the title, and the top four were playing the bottom four, so it was all to play for. 

 

Already relegated Rose Inn threw the season climax into turmoil by failing to fulfil their fixture against Hotshots. 

 

The league committee have ruled that Hotshots should receive a walkover win and maximum points, putting them on 21 points. 

 

This meant that Bull Tavern were the only team who could prevent Hotshots from retaining their title. 

 

They were at home to Eltham Terrace Nuthouse, who were looking to avoid relegation. 

 

Bull needed maximum points and they did just that with a convincing, 3-0 & 11-4 victory to be crowned champions. 

 

Nuthouse were now looking at the result between Cocked Hats and New Eltham New Stars as they were three points ahead of New Stars. 

 

This was an incredibly close match considering Cocked Hats still had sights on the title, whereas New Stars were looking to avoid relegation and it was New Stars fight that was slightly stronger, running out, 2-1 & 8-7 winners. 

 

New Stars join Nuthouse on twelve points, but leapfrog them due to winning one more game, relegating Nuthouse in the process. 

 

Cocked Hats have finished in fourth after Sharks ended on a high with a 3-0 & 13-2 triumph over bottom team Rugrats. 

 

Rugrats only had four players, but take nothing away from Sharks, as they won the first thirteen frames, with Mark Burton and Aaron Shephard preventing the total whitewash. 

 

An incredible four Sharks players were unbeaten, with Rahat Munim winning two frames, but Alex Biggs, Jeff Laporte and Dean Passer all scored hat-tricks.

 

After being top of the table for most of the season, Sharks have finished in third, one point behind the top two and Rugrats share an unwanted stat with the teams that have finished bottom in the other divisions, as they are all winless. 

 

Apart from the Tier Two play-off next week, that’s it for the shortened SLKPA summer season, we should be back on track with the winter 21/22 season starting soon. 

 

For more information on the SLKPA, including league tables visit our website at www.slkpa.com or contact our Secretary, Paul Gafa on 07443 456662 or secretary@slkpa.com with any queries.

 

The league is always looking at potential sponsors and any interested parties can also contact Paul Gafa.