2023 DIVISIONAL TOP 8 REPORTS
Published 18/04/2023 at 11:24:41 by David Wackrill.
PREMIER
courtesy of Nck Howard
History for Howard as he makes it three in a row!
The culmination of the MK Premier Season is always an enticing prospect.7 of the top 8 made it to the showpiece final, with Biao having to drop out for the slightly more luxurious setting of sunny Portugal, with Nic Wong taking his place. Nic was the only player to play all 21 matches, and this proved crucial in securing 9th spot on the list, just a mere 0.8% ahead of Ricky Taiwo who played “only” 20 matches…..
Group 1 with seeding:
Alan Cherry (1)
Craig Brown (4)
Hakan Karaagac (5)
Nic Wong (
Group 2 with seeding:
Tomek Nowakowski (2)
Nick Howard (3)
Guy Sparrow (6)
Jecu Aurelian (7)
Group 1:
Alan dominated the group, winning 3-1 (Hakan), 3-1 (Craig) and 3-0 (Nic). A very successful start for the Percy Hyde Champion.
Things got a little interesting outside of that in the jostle for 2nd place.
Hakan, who is one of the most improved players this year, upset the odds to take down 4th seed, Craig, in 5 pulsating legs.
Craig dispatched Nic 3-0 to give him a fighting chance of going through.
So it came down to Hakan and Nic. If Hakan wins, he goes through. If Nic wins, neither go through, and Brown qualifies even before his eventual loss to Alan.
Nic won it in 4 to notch up his first win of the night, but ultimately it was too little too late for the youngster, as both Hakan and Nic lost out to Brown on count back.
Winner: Alan Cherry
Runner Up: Craig Brown
Group 2:
For a split second, it looked like we were going to get 2019’s version of Guy Sparrow. A below average season for the Kings regular by his own standards, and considering his average was above 70% until the last game of the year, you can see just how high those standards are!
Tomek, who lost out on the Percy Hyde by the smallest of margins (0.26%) came through the tussle with Guy to win it 3-1.
Nick had little trouble dispatching Jecu and Guy in quick succession (both 3-0), to put him within touching distance of winning the group.
This became even closer when Jecu beat Tomek 3-1 followed by Guy, 3-0.
Last match of the group was Tomek vs Nick. Howard just needed 1 leg to secure the group win, which he achieved comfortably in a 3-1 loss that also secure Tomek’s second place in the group whilst knocking out Jecu.
Winner: Nick Howard
Runner Up: Tomek Nowakowski
Semi Final 1: Alan vs Tomek
The nightmare of match ups for Tomek unfortunately. He’s never beaten Alan, and tonight was no different. A very comfortable 3-0 victory for the Percy Hyde Champion to secure his spot in the final for the 2nd year running.
Semi Final 2: Nick vs Craig
Teammate vs teammate here. Not only that, but Brown and Howard played together in the Northamptonshire County Championships at the weekend, securing the Runner Up’s medal in the Mens Doubles. They also faced off in the singles with Howard crawling over the line 11-9 in the 5th in a match that Brown felt he should have won.
No such dramas tonight as Howard piled on the pressure after losing the first, to comfortably win the next 3 and secure his own spot in the final for a 3rd consecutive Top 8.
Final: Nick vs Alan
So here we are again. For the 3rd time in 2 seasons Alan and Nick face off in a final.
2021/22 Top 8 - Nick wins 3-1
2022/23 MK Open - Nick wins 3-0
But if there is someone you’d not bet against when the odds are not in their favor, it’s Alan Cherry.
Howard fired off into a 1-0 lead with too much power for Alan to handle.
But that’s where the fun stopped for the MK Open Champion, as Alan controlled the 2nd and 3rd (nudging over the line 13-11 in the 3rd, having been 6 points clear at one stage).
At 10-8 down in the 4th, starring into the soul of a first final loss, Howard managed to reel off 2 fine power loops to each corner of the table. The point to make it 10-10 was quite literally 1mm away from losing, as it clipped the net on the way through.
10-10 turned into 16-16 in unbelievable scenes - Both players with the chance to take the game, and some excellent play all around was turning this into an epic.
Howard finally put 2 good sequences together to take the 4th end 18-16 and head into a 5th.
The 5th started in a very one sided manner….. SEVEN to ONE for Howard, and surely it was all over?!
Well, blink and you’ll miss it, Cherry comes steaming back to lead 8-7. The Great Wall of MK just couldn’t miss.
Until Howard found his groove once more, with the immortal words of Dave Wackrill ringing in his ears….. “Only Ian Musk has won it 3 times in a row…. Something to aim for”.
4 points later and it’s 11-8 to Howard in the most extraordinary match of the season.
So that’s 3 Top 8’s on the bounce for Howard, winning in 2018/19 (then 2 years off for Covid), before defending the title in 2021/22 and 2022/23.
That’s also the MK Premier Title, MK Top 8 Title and MK Open Championship for Howard this year. A very unexpected haul of wins!
As always, thank you to everyone who helps run these events from the organizers, to the players and especially those who give up so much time week in week out to make sure we can all enjoy this beautiful game!
Until next year, adios.