Local potters in a league of their own

The league’s five-man side pocketed the biggest prize on the club circuit when they bagged the spoils at the UK Snooker League Tournament in Leeds.

Captain Paul Lloyd, Callum Downing, Robbie James, Adrian Rosa and Jack Harris served up two days of high-class performances as they side claimed the title for a record fifth time.

A total of 16 teams from up and down the country took part in he competition at the Northern Snooker Centre.

They were split into two sections with the top four from each group progressing to the knockout stages.

Lloyd’s boys secured a comfortable third-placed finish in group B before going on to beat hosts Leeds in the quarter-finals, Torbay in the last four and Preston in the shootout for glory.

The league is widely regard as they best in the country and now they have a piece of silverware to prove it, much to the delight of chairman Mark Gilbert.

“It was a great performance from the side over the two days, said Gilbert.

“This is the fifth time we have won this competition, but we hadn’t won it for four or five years so it’s nice to get the trophy back.

“The Staffs and West Midlands League is the strongest league in the country, without a doubt, and it’s great to show that.

“We have some excellent players in the league and it’s very difficult picking a side due to the quality of players available.

“It used to be a committee selection, but now we nominate a captain and he picks the team.

“Paul obviously knows the players and you have to to get the right blend and a good mix of characters. And he did just that.”

Staffs and West Mids eased to victories against Astland (5-0), Newbury (5-0), Thames Valley (4-1), Ormskirk (3-2) and Byfleet (3-2) to secure their place in the last eight, but were forced to dig deep in their next clash against Leeds.

They trailed 2-0 before a superb comeback saw Rosa, Lloyd and James secure a 3-2 success.

From then on there was simply no stopping the side as they beat Torbay 3-1 in the semi-final, with Downing, Rosa and Lloyd on target.

The final proved to be a one-side affair with Downing, Harris and Lloyd taking the first three frames to clinch the title.

“The lads travelled up on Saturday morning and were straight in action at 11am,” added Gilbert.

“They made a fine start with a couple of 5-0 wins and a 4-1.

“We lost a couple of group games, but we had already qualified by then. The first aim was to get into that top four.

“We were 2-0 down to Leeds in the quarter-final, but hit back back to win.

“I think from that moment, when we 2-0 down and at the point of no return, the lads really hit form. They played some really good snooker and it was pretty much one-way traffic after that.

“We beat Torbay 3-1 in the semi-final, and it was nice to gain a bit of revenge against them because they had beaten us in the knockout stage in each of the last two years.

“We knew Preston were a good side along with Torbay, while Leeds were going to be strong with home advantage.

“But we beat all three of those sides, it’s a fantastic achievement to win the competition.”