Last updated 19:32, Thursday, 21 February 2008

KEVIN Basnett and Robert Sim are the new Cumbria County Billiards and Snooker Association doubles championship.

Workington Railway Club’s Kevin Basnett (left) and Robert Sim, of Marchon Club, winners of the County Snooker Doubles Championship

The pair won the title - the 50th time it has been competed for - for the fourth time at the Portland Club, Carlisle, which also sponsored the event.

The draw produced some exciting matches and a lot of them went all the way to the final frame in the best-of-five matches.

Defending champions Steven and Peter O’Hagan from Workington’s John Street Club turned in some strong play in the early rounds but in their quarter final match they came unstuck.

They were up against John Airey (Penrith Conservative Club) and Dave Currie (Portland Club), a new pairing this year, and it started well enough for the champions.

The O’Hagans took a two-frame lead only to see it pulled back with the help of a 114 break by Airey. Going into the decider it was anybody’s game, but with the help of a couple of 30-plus breaks it was Airey and Currie who took their place in the semis.

Carlisle pair Idris Ramdin and Andy Bell, both the Portland Club, were also booking their place in the semis as they saw off the challenge of Cockermouth Conservative Club’s Nigel Walker and Paul Hoad.

In the other half of the draw it was Derwent Club, Keswick, pair Chris Scott and Joe Bell who came through to the quarter finals only to meet three times doubles champions Sim (Marchon) and Basnett (Workington Railway Club).

Although the Keswick pair had won through their last match 3-0 they were soon on the end of solid snooker and went down by the same score.

In the semi-finals Basnett and Sim were well in control against Vito Shipley (Marchon) and Andrew Mitchelhill (Cockermouth Cons Club) in what proved to be a one sided affair. Basnett and Sim were both producing game-winning breaks that saw them comfortably through to the final.

Airey and Currie against three-times winners Sim and Basnett had all the makings of a good one as far as break building and attacking snooker was concerned, as both teams were very well capable of winning the frame on just one visit.

In the first frame it was Sim who got of to a good start with the help of a 49 break, and with only a reply of 18, Basnett came back to the table to make 22 and win the opener by a score of 71-18.

Frame two saw some good safety exchanges and a couple of cracking pots by Currie only to run out of position on a colour. This let in Basnett and he produced a frame-winning break of 74.

Frame three went pretty much the same way with both Currie and Airey having some bad luck in running. It was Sim this time who engineered a 45-break to leave the opposition in a snooker position with a score line of 61-17.

With only the colours remaining they put their hands out to congratulate Basnett and Sim on completing a four-timer in the championship.