The renowned GB 9 Ball Northern Masters was held over the weekend. It always promises gripping game-play and an astonishing array of skilled and talented players. This year’s contest did not fail to disappoint, with the climax in Bradford at a breath-taking final between Karl Boyes and Mark Gray.
Competitors from around the country and Europe tryied to up their rankings, get some vital competition practice in and ultimately try to get their hands on some silverware! Lots of local boys put up a good fight in striving to get a chance to play in their county in the first tournament in Yorkshire in four years.
Boyes started out with some comfortable victories over Brett Armer (9-2) and Jez Graham (9-5), securing him a place in the last 32. Next, Boyes played a dangerous match against the Italian Bruno Muratore, who proved to be a tricky competitor. Muratore played well, managing to keep the racks close until Boyes managed to win 9-8 and went through to the last 16. Sunderland’s Adam Benn Smith came up against Boyes in a match to secure a place in the last 8, Boyes coming out top with a snug 9-4 triumph.
It looked like Boyes had met his match when Sheffield’s Benji Buckley fought hard to get into the top four finalists. After a tense match, both competitors played well, but Boyes managed to save the game with another tight 9-8 win. Boyes’ next component was local boy Chris Hall who was out-played with a final score of 9-5. This game put Boyes in the final for the first time in 3 years in a main event.
While Boyes was making his way up the ladder to the final, Mark Gray was fighting his way to the top through a different route.
Grey started out strong by securing his place in the top 32 with an easy 9-3 win against Colin Conner and went on to thrash the Spanish Pablo Garcia Lagar with a 9-2 victory. Grey managed to defeat April’s Paul Medati Trophy runner-up Craig Osborne 9-4, comfortably securing his place in the last 16. Grey saw a couple of easy wins in the next matches against Andy Worthington (9-2) and Chris Melling (9-1). The semi-final against Imran Majid, again seemed relatively easy for Grey, winning 9-4, which secured him a place in the final.
The final was set to be a tense one with Grey looking strong, having reached the final without dropping more than 4 racks, and Boyes having fought his way past two local lads, but coming up against some tricky opponents.
When Grey and Boyes did finally come up against each other, the match was as close as expected. After many nail biting frames, Grey was ahead by two frames at 10-8. But Boyes managed to reign it in, until he made it an even 10-10. This was the perfect time for Boyes to make his final move, as Grey had already run four racks. He pulled out all the stops and secured the trophy.
This tense match bumped Karl Boyes up to No. 2 in the provisional rankings, with Mark Grey still above him at No.1
Keep your eye out for the exciting GB 9 Ball Southern Masters in London on the 9th of August.
Written By: Abi Ponton