WHARFEDALE billiards and snooker titles have been decided with Andy Blamire of Guiseley Conservative Club picking up four titles, three individual and one team.

In the snooker open final Blamire beat Martin Kaye (Yeadon Liberal Club) 4-1. Kaye got off to the better of starts in most of the frames but Andy's overall game play won him the match with his experience shining through in a final he was expected to win.

The billiards open saw Blamire play Mick Miles (Rawdon Conservative Club and in a close match Blamire won 400-365. Both players had numerous breaks in the teen range with neither player having a break of any significance.

This year saw Nick Wingate team up with Blamire in the snooker pairs playing from Guiseley Conservative Club. They met Paddy Quinlan and Chris Granger from Hawkhill in the final. In a match where Quinlan and Granger received 35 points a frame start it went to the fifth and final frame. This saw Quinlan and Granger open up a 50 point lead but both Blamire and Wingate came back. Blamire came to the table requiring 22 points to win the match, which he did taking on some tremendous and risky pots.

The last competition in which Blamire was involved in was scratch team knock-out. He captained Guiseley Conservative Club against Yeadon Liberal Club, whose captain was Martin Kaye. The first match was between Lee Ross and Graham Jennings. Ross won the frame 74-32 which included a break of 37 to give Guiseley Conservative Club a 1-0 lead. Next up were Chris Kilsby and Mark Lofthouse. Lofthouse lost the frame 77-42 extending Guiseley's lead to 2-0. David Richardson then played John Dickerson and in a tight frame lost by two points, 44-26, gaining a frame back for Yeadon Libs at 2-1.

Finally the two captains played. Kaye took the frame 58-32 to level the match. In this competition where aggregate totals come into play, ie two points for winning a frame of snooker and two for the aggregate, the aggregate scores were 227-178 in favour of Guiseley Cons, the match therefore being won 6-4. Martin Kaye would have had to beat Blamire by 76 points to win for his team, and with Blamire's experience this was never on.

Guiseley Conservative Club fielded both players in the snooker handicap final. Nick Wingate, who received ten points per frame start, played Lee Taylor who lost the first two frames but his determination brought the scores level 2-2 before he clinched the deciding frame to win 3-2, giving him his first title.

Mick Hutchinson (Yeadon Libs) received 150 points start against Harold Longster (High Royds) in a 300 point billiard handicap final. In a game where the highest break was 36 by Longster Hutchinson won the match by 30 points, final score 300-270, giving him his first individual title after years of supporting this competition.

The Under-21s competition was held over a day at Guiseley Conservative Club eight players entered including 11-year-old Hayley Parry (Horsforth Social) who lost to the competition's winner in the semi-finals.

The final was between Leighton Gauci (Fairfax) and 14 year-old James Pickles (Horsforth Social). Gauci won the final 3-0, retaining the title he won in the year 2000, last year's competition not being staged due to lack of support.

All credit to Pickles who although beaten, only lost the second frame on a pink against an opponent who is nationally recognised as a player of much promise at his age group.

The veterans' competition saw Derick Wilson (Guiseley FW) playing Colin Rycroft (Hawkhill) in a game of one frame of snooker then 130 points at billiards, both handicapped. Wilson received 20 points at snooker against Rycroft's 10, and the saw a black ball finish Wilson winning 59-52.

At billiards Wilson received 25 against Rycroft's scratch mark and ran away with things with two 30 breaks to win this section 130-21 giving him an overall comfortable victory. Wilson was overjoyed at winning his first title at Wharfedale level.