On another dramatic Group A final day in Portsmouth, Andy Hamilton clinched the direct ticket to finals night, as he ended top of the heap on legs difference ahead of the unlucky Alex Williams of Wales.
Shaun Fox led the pack on day one with a flawless display, winning all five of his matches, but would see his progress checked on day two, as he ended four points off the pace, winning just once on ‘moving day’.
The leader at the end of Tuesday would be Williams, as he secured four wins from five to go two points clear of Andy Hamilton, who strung together a perfect run of results to catapult himself into contention.
So the final day saw a multitude of possibilities, and the drama started form the off, with Williams losing to Stijn Deklerck, who picked up only his second win of the competition. That, coupled with Hamilton opening with a 4-1 win against Shaun Fox, meant ‘The Hammer’ took pole position, only for Williams to get back off the canvas, inflicting a 4-3 defeat on Hamilton to return to the summit.
The nail-biting day went to the final round of fixtures, and it was Williams that blinked first, as Fox took a 4-2 win in their meeting to allow Hamilton the opportunity to win the group should he be victorious against Ted Evetts in his final fixture.
The former World finalist made no mistake, a 111 finish confirming a 4-1 win against ‘Super Ted’ that he advanced to Saturday’s play.
Williams finished six points ahead of Fox, and they will drop into Group B from Thursday, while Mitch Minnie of South Africa finished a further two points behind, a couple of points ahead of Evetts. Deklerck was marooned on just four points as he joined Minnie and Evetts in Group C later this week.
Image: Tip Top Pics
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