Peter Farmer won the first ever Thursday Night Merit after a corner masterclass in the final against Joe Killen. He didn’t give Joe much of a chance as he raced 17-3 up and didn’t allow Joe back in as he won 5. Pete had beaten Jamie King in the Semi Finals, again going up in the corners early on 11-3 before Jamie got back to trail 14-12. Pete went 18-12 up but Jamie got back to 20-17, however Pete got the one he needed. Joe had to play his brother Tom in the Semi Final, having a close game till 16-15 down when he ran out in the corners.
Thank you to Sir John Bayley for the use of their green, as well as June Lewis for sponsoring the event. Thank you to all measurers and markers today, and to Michael Cooper for helping me run it.
Full scores are here. Reports of the first two rounds are below the pictures.
Quarter Finals:
Jamie King went 14-5 down on Keith Wall and then 19-10, but found a mark to get back to 19-18 behind. Keith got a single but Jamie got out in the next two ends.
Pete Farmer went 6-1 down on Rob Roden but then went 8-6 up. He went further ahead at 17-11 and won 13.
Joe Killen took an early 5-2 lead which was pegged back to 9-8 by Paul Beer. But then he went 20-11 up and despite a late fightback by Paul, he won 18.
Tom Killen raced 11-3 up on Adie Rowe, but Adie put a run of 10 together to lead 13-11. Tom then went 16-13 up before Adie led himself at 17-16. It was 19 across before Tom got the two he needed.
Round One:
Jamie King fell 6-0 and 12-5 behind Martin Gaut but got back to lead 17-15, and went on to win 16.
Keith Wall built a 11-6 and 19-10 lead on Akeel Duncan before winning 13.
Rob Roden was 8-1 down against Pete Spragg but got back to lead 13-10. He then restricted Pete to single scores to win 13.
Pete Farmer raced 13-3 up on Dave Brown and kept this lead to win 13.
Paul Beer was 3-0 down on James O’Hara but then 6-3 ahead. He went 11-4 up and 15-6 and won 9.
Joe Killen trailed Will O’Hara 7-1 and 15-7 before he got in the corners to be 15-14 down. Will got in but Joe got back in to lead 19-16. Will won the block back and led 20-19, however Joe got the one he needed.
Adie Rowe took an early 6-3 lead on Jordan Millman, before Jordan went 9-6 up. Adie got in the corners to go 15-9 up and finished the game off 13.
Tom Killen was 10-6 down on Dan Corbett but got back to lead 12-10. He then went 18-12 ahead and despite getting back to 18-17 Tom held on to run out.