The International Ladies Tour Grand Final took place in Miscues, Barnsley
on 20th-21st October.
The provisional rankings were close with 4 of us in contention for the second
seed and it was in my own hands to hold onto it as I was going into the tournament
2points ahead of the others. Sue Thompson had secured 1st like
she had done for the last 4 years.
| Sue Thompson |
114 |
| Emma Cunningham |
62 |
| Barbara Taylor |
60 |
| Carly Smith |
60 |
| Collette Hendrikson |
56 |
I knew the pressure was on and felt I performed terrifically over the weekend.
I beat Maggie McMillan 5-1 in round 1, then Sonya Chapman 5-0 and to get me
through to the quarter finals on Sunday I had to beat Helen Littlewood who
is a player with great potential. The score was 5-3 and it was an entertaining
match to watch with both of us playing good pool. I was pleased to have come
through knowing Babs, Carly and Collette had reached the same last 16 stage.
I showed myself I could step up when I needed to. Unfortunately for Babs she
was the only contender that lost in the last 16.
On Sunday, I drew Stokes Karen Tomkinson in the quarter finals, again a great
player and former England International. I had to be at the top of my game
to beat her and I came through a 6-4 winner.
| Quarter
Final |
| Hazel
Dabrowski(12) |
1 |
6 |
Liesa
Conlin(6) |
| Sue
Ramsbottom(11) |
1 |
6 |
Carly
Smith(4) |
| Emma
Cunningham(3) |
6 |
4 |
Karen
Tomkinson(9) |
| Collette
Henriksen(5) |
6 |
4 |
Sue
Osborn(34) |
With both Carly and Collette still hot on my tail at this stage, I now knew
that it was in my own hands and winning the tournament would mean not only
my second tour title this year but a chance to be ranked second on the tour.
In the Semi Final against Collette I feel I played one of my best matches
to date, I think I missed one ball the entire match and came out as a 6-3
victor. Collette did put me under pressure at points in the match which is
why I feel it was one of my best performances.
| Semi
Final |
| Liesa
Conlin(6) |
5 |
6 |
Carly
Smith(4) |
|
Emma Cunningham(3) |
6 |
3 |
Collette
Henriksen(5) |
Carly also managed to win her Semi Final against the experienced Liesa Conlin.
It was a hard fought match for both these players and the difference being
a great last clearance for Carly to pinch it.
| Final |
| Carly Smith(4) |
4 |
7 |
Emma Cunningham(3) |
With 4 points being the difference between winner and runner up it was all
to play for. Carly went 1-0 up but it was to be the only time she was in front
with me taking 7 frames from the next 10. I dug deep and pulled out a consistent
performance to win my second tour title and secure 2nd spot. I’m
over the moon about my achievements on the tour this year and hope I can keep
my form and continue moving forward and winning more titles.
Final Provisional Ranking for 2008
Top 16 only
| Prov |
Current |
Player |
P |
M |
Pts |
| 1 |
(1) |
Sue
Thompson |
10 |
0 |
114 |
| 2 |
(3) |
Emma Cunningham |
11 |
6 |
76 |
| 3 |
(4) |
Carly
Smith |
10 |
0 |
70 |
| 4 |
(5) |
Collette
Henriksen |
9 |
5 |
64 |
| 5 |
(2) |
Barbara
Taylor |
9 |
0 |
64 |
| 6 |
(6) |
Liesa
Conlin |
10 |
0 |
50 |
| 7 |
(8) |
Michelle
Rooney |
8 |
4 |
46 |
| 8 |
(18) |
Jackie
Baker |
13 |
11 |
42 |
| 9 |
(7) |
Sharon
Lunn |
8 |
10 |
42 |
| 10 |
(25) |
Sharon
Dickson |
13 |
9 |
42 |
| 11 |
(9) |
Karen
Tomkinson |
11 |
1 |
42 |
| 12 |
(15) |
Clare
Seaman |
9 |
12 |
32 |
| 13 |
(13) |
Stacey
McConnell |
12 |
13 |
30 |
| 14 |
(19) |
Dawn
Woodcock |
9 |
12 |
28 |
| 15 |
(17) |
Anne
Louise Eaton |
8 |
13 |
26 |
| 16 |
(12) |
Hazel
Dabrowski |
9 |
9 |
26 |
My next tournaments will be:
Home Internationals: 26th- 28th October
National Ladies Singles: 9th November
National Champion of Champions: 9th – 10th November
National Ladies K.O. Cup: 10th-11th November
