Craig Steinmetz was in imperious form to capture the recent Waikanae Open 8 Ball Championship for the third straight year.
A National and North Island champion, Steinmetz was in dominant form in the knockout stages of the tournament.
However, illustrating that the Waikanae 8 Ball club is one of the strongest in the country, Steinmetz didn’t have it all his own way during the earlier round robin matches where he lost to talented cueist Rangi Halbert. As it turned out the two would meet again in the main draw quarter-finals where Steinmetz prevailed 3-1 in another quality encounter.
Having beaten Levin visitor Don Hughes in the Last 16 3-0 and Halbert 3-1 in the quarters the pre-tournament favourite met second top qualifier Paul Nouata in the semi-final.
The first frame was a close battle with Steinmetz potting the final 8 ball to win while a superb potting display saw Nouata level at 1-1. Despite being put under intense pressure in the next two frames Steinmetz prevailed with two top class clearances to take the match 3-1. This is the third year in a row these two have met in the semi-finals with Steinmetz taking the previous two matches 3-2.
On the other side of the draw Terry Morris was in similarly dominant form.
Morris was top qualifier for the knockout rounds having beaten all four opponents without losing a frame in section play. He carried on that form, beating 16th seed Chris Tubby 3-0 before being fully tested by quality cueist Brian Harrod to win 3-2.
The semi-final pitted Morris against the ultra consistent Vijay Vishwa who had earlier beaten Mark Crowe 3-2 and Nigel Wilson 3-1 in the quarters.
Vishwa started best against Morris, taking the first frame but from then on it was one-way traffic as Morris’ safety and superb potting combined to see him win three straight to set up the final with Steinmetz.
Saving the best for last
The final kicked off with Morris potting fluently and he looked like running out before an unlucky break put Steinmetz in for a punishing finish.
The second frame saw Steinmetz break and he potted six consecutive balls before a miss foul gave Morris a chance. A top run of pots came to an end for Morris with an unlucky pot that also sank the 8 ball. Steinmetz showed his fluency and inventiveness with a brilliant pot and position to take the final ball and a 2-0 lead.
The fast and furious pace continued in frame three with both players mixing great potting with testing safety shots. In the end it was Steinmetz who seized the opportunity to make two fine pots then a great double on the 8 ball for a 3-0 lead.
Again Morris had chances and was right in the fourth frame but the smooth consistent cueing of Steinmetz saw him run out with a series of brilliant pots to seal the victory.
The win gave Craig Steinmetz a hat trick of singles titles. He is also reigning Doubles champions with Rangi Halbert, and reigning Mixed Doubles champion with Jen Temaru.
The Plate event was won by fluent left hander Roger Beardshall who defeated Dave Law 3-0 in the final. Congratulations to Justin Fraser and his team at the Waikanae Club for running another top quality event.
