Hurst A win Harper Cup final

The Harper Cup Final held at the Lindfield Club brought together Hurstpierpoint A and United Services Club B, when the draw was made by the captains with referee Dave Dawson, the large audience realised they were in for an exciting evening of competitive snooker knowing the matching up of the contestants.

United Services Club B (left) and Hurstpierpoint A with referee Dave Dawson

The opening frame did not disappoint as numerous incidents kept changing the way the frame was going to finish, it was USC’s Martin Batchelor who dug in to defeat a determined Martin Payne 61-31. Hurst’s Stuart Williamson was in tantalising form when he outshone a game Jason Pelham 65-17, this followed with top guns Mark Bright and Barry Martin arriving at the table which saw Bright ousting Martin 41-0 to give USC a 2-1 lead.

Lee Morley produced a fluent potting display as his opponent Lee Cannizarro struggled to get his own potting skills into action, Morley secured the equaliser with a 55-14 win.

The Harper Cup was first competed for in 1953 and with the gleaming silver trophy awaiting for the victors, Hurst’s flamboyant Bill Cope was up against the rugged performer Frank Childs. In the early stages Cope took the lead to find Childs digging in to keep in touch, however, it was Cope’s match play experience that took him to a 71-45 win to lift the cup for Hurst.