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Runshaw Snooker League Introduction & History
The Runshaw Snooker League began in June 2001 in readiness for the transition of Leyland St Mary's High School's 2001 Year 11 leavers to Runshaw College - many of whom only opted to go to the exam-driven den of Satanic activity in preference to the wholly religious alternative of Cardinal Newman due to the lure of snooker just over the busy trunk road.
The league's aim has always been to find out who's hot and who's not in the world of Runshaw College snooker, and after an initial 40 participants in the first season, more than 70 players have now taken part in the only known snooker league affiliated to the Langdale Road institution.
Richard Sherliker took the first title, followed in second place by Adrian Ward and third by Martin 'Gerbil' Stuart. A small league of nations was represented in the inaugural season, with not only English players, but also those from France, Northern Ireland, Scotland and South Africa.
In the league's second season, Richard Sherliker again emerged as league champion ahead of the Wards (Adrian 2nd, Ben 3rd), but couldn't hold on to his crown as the new play-off system (promised but then abandoned in the first season) was introduced. Fittingly, James Bethell and Ben Ward met in the inaugural final - a repeat of the league's first ever game - but James overturned the result of that first meeting by winning an enthralling final by potting the black with the infamous 'Gerbil Cue'.
The competition started brightly in its third season with a new influx of Runshaw College students, but after a brisk opening, the contest slowed down, with Adrian Ward taking the title on home soil after the play-off experiment was abandoned after only one year. Conspiracy theorists believe that this was a convenient ploy to ensure the title didn't leave Langdale Road for the first time, but there is no truth in that rumour whatsoever.
Since those halcyon days, the league has suffered, mainly due to the exodus of players to the rival 'Preston Poker Tour' (formerly Runshaw Poker League). However, the league continues, with Adrian Ward remaining undefeated in his only nine games to win a scaled down 2004/05 season, before the decision was taken to shift the competition's calendar to run from January to December from 2006 onwards in order to suit the change in college attendance trends (e.g. everyone buggering off to university).
The league operates on a "play who you want, when you want" policy, meaning that fixtures are spontanious and usually complete and utter mismatches. Points for league matches are awarded on the basis of 3 points for a win, and 1 for taking the game to the black ball but losing (0 points for outright defeat). In order to make sure that no single competitor profits from playing a massive number of fixtures and racking up a huge points total that no-one else can catch, the league table is organised in order of the average number of points earned per game. To qualify for the final end-of-season table (and indeed the play-offs for the top eight players when this system is utilised), you must have played at least 10 frames - a revision imposed from the beginning of the 2006 season from the previous figure of 20 that was adopted in the league's glory days.
To maintain law and order on a typical rowdy lunchtime (or these days, evening), yellow and red cards are often shown. These can be awarded whether you are playing or not, and amassing three yellows or one red (depending on the type of 'offence' committed) means that 0.1 points are deducted from a competitor's average total. With the maximum points average set at 3.00, losing 0.1 can have a fairly significant impact on a position, especially in the middle of the table where the points average is particularly tight. If a player amasses two yellows whilst playing - or a straight red - they forfeit the frame in progress to their opponent. Bookings have been awarded for a whole host of reasons in seasons past, including hitting the light fittings with a cue, making intimidatory or off-putting gestures (a Bethell and Farran speciality), slapping the wall or window in frustration, and causing a massive spillage of pot-pourri.
Records are kept for posterity, to see who can really claim to be the most (or least) talented player in the competition. The record break is held by Ben Ward, who put together 46 in one break against Adrian Ward in December 2001, and the highest points total in a single frame is 125, as recorded by Adrian Ward against Jay Bethell on January 23rd 2004 (narrowly eclipsing the 123 made by Andy Stunell against Steven McCartney in July 2002). The winning margin in the Stunell-McCartney frame of 115 is yet to be beaten. Aside from recording runs of consecutive defeats and worst starts to each season, the other negative record kept by the statisticians is that of the record lowest points total in a frame. It was initially held by the semi-Italian geezer Chris Gibirdi who posted a measly 1 (ONE) against Adrian Ward in November 2002, but it is now proudly owned by another man with foreign connections - the South African Nick Crowther who failed to score a point when also playing Adrian Ward on 30th May 2003. The frame finished 94-0.
Several competitors have yet to win a single frame in the history of the competition, with Martin Worden failing to win a frame in his first seven attempts. However, a solitary black ball defeats means that statistically he is not the worst player - a record held jointly by Sarah Cleave, Lyndsey Cottingham and James Goillau, who have each registered five defeats without managing to claim a point.
To view the latest league table, click on 'Standings' in the left hand column.
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Runshaw Snooker League
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