Ellis claims Ladies title at Chandlers Ford SC
JACKIE Ellis said she’d been “waiting a year for this” after edging Lorraine Colliss in the final of the Ladies Championship at Chandlers Ford Snooker Club.
The 51-year-old from Clyffe Pypard, North Wilts, had lost a marathon black-ball game in the semi-finals last year.
Determined to ease that pain, she produced the best snooker of the competition under extreme pressure on the final few balls.
Leading Colliss by a slender one point, she potted the green, the brown, a deadweight blue from an acute angle into a middle pocket and the pink with the rest for the evening’s highest break of 18.
Reflecting on the blue, she said: “I thought to myself, do not mess this up. You’ve been waiting a year for this.”
Ellis, who suffers from chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia, which causes widespread pain and affects balance, coordination, concentration and short-term memory, is ranked 33rd on the World Ladies Billiards and Snooker circuit .
She also competes on the Cuestars Seniors (40+) Tour.
Six of the nine entries have sons or daughters in the club’s junior section and it was the chance for the long-suffering mums to let their hair down.
And they certainly seized that chance. The cocktails took a hammering and club-owner Ray Cooper’s karaoke machine may never recover.
During the trophy presentation, Cooper described some of the snooker he had witnessed as “interesting”.
RESULTS
Group A: 1st, Jackie Ellis; 2nd, Lorraine Colliss; 3rd, Julia Kline; 4th, Zoe Thomson; 5th, Patti Cunningham.
Group B: 1st, Kelly Read; 2nd, Becky Pickles; 3rd, Lucinda Wyatt; 4th, Claire Sykes.
Semi-finals: Ellis 1-0 Pickles, Colliss 1-0 Read.
Final: Ellis 1-0 Colliss.
Plate final: Kline 1-0 Thomson.
Referees: Steven Hughes, Riley Ellis, Callum White.
Picture by Tim Dunkley
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Tim Dunkley (World Snooker coach)