ENGLAND pocketed all four team titles yesterday as the curtain came down on the 2004 European eight-ball pool championships at the Hotel de France.
The men’s A defeated France 8-3 while Wales were on the receiving end of 8-4 defeats in the men’s A, ladies and junior sections.England professional Darren Appleton, IPA-ranked number two in the world and four-times previous top seed, won the men’s individual final, while England were also victorious in the ladies’ final through Jackie Baker and the junior tournament through 17-year-old Adam Davis.Ireland’s Edward McGowan, runner-up last year, denied England a clean sweep of the eight trophies when he beat Frank Gillan to win the wheelchair event final - a remarkable performance by a player with only one arm.
Appleton, who played in the men’s B team section, defeated Scotland’s Darren Matthew 8-2 in the men’s final.
Matthew is a player with a promising future as he has already won three World and two European junior titles since coming into the game.Baker’s ladies’ victory, 7-3 against 2003 European champion Barbara Taylor, ended a 23-year drought of playing for an individual piece of silverware.The Channel Islands’ hopes of reaching the team finals were ended yesterday when Wales B came from 5-1 down to defeat the CI B 8-6, while the juniors lost in the 15th and deciding frame to Wales.Malta will host the 2005 European Championships next February.
Article posted on 27th February, 2004 - 12.00am
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