No fewer than 43 Warwickshire Super league players turned out for the mens county play off of the Embassy World Professional Championship. The Belgrave Sports and Social Club, Tamworth, was the setting for the event. Many of the county’s top players fell by the wayside on the way to the latter stages, the last four comprising of Moe Whelan (Bedworth), Pat Koyce (Minworth), Steve Liddell (Kettlebrook) and Steve Hine (Coventry Howitzers). Whelan defeated Koyce and Hine accounted for Liddell to set up an all Coventry final.

Whelan won the first set of the final with Hine bouncing back to take the second. The deciding set went to a tie breaker, Hine made no mistakes and took the first three legs, the set and the match. He will now go forward to the next round which will be played at Lakeside Country Club on Thursday 26 November. Hine will join another Howitzer player, Andy Smith who earned his place in the next round by way of finishing third in the BDO average table last season.

1998-11-25