Thursday morning saw fifteen members of Warwick Pool Club set off to Vauxhall Park Great Yarmouth for the BUCS UPC 8 Ball Pool 2011. Apart from Rob Keogh, who only woke up when Dan Turner phoned him, everyone was on time and a few hours later were moving into the caravans and getting ready for the commencement of the singles event.

First on for Warwick was Mike Williams who proceeded to the next round with a comfortable win. Also joining him were Ryan Birt, James Brill, Rob Beasley and Joao Bento. However not everyone made it through, with Rob Sinden, Stephen Brooks, Graeme Woodward, Matt Blagden, Adam Rogozinski, Rob Keogh, Josh Cooke and Jon Bruce all making early exits. There were two more casualties in the second round, with James losing a tense deciding frame and Joao also failing to proceed. The second round also saw Dan Turner begin his campaign with a win. This left Warwick with five players still in contention - Mike, Ryan, Rob, Dan and sixth seed Matt Bradley - however they would have to wait until the following afternoon for the chance to progress further.

Friday morning saw the 2nd and 3rd teams up bright and early for their first two rounds of shield matches. The 2nd's, consisting of Joao (C), Graeme, Mike, Jon and Matt Blagden, began the day with a 5-5 draw against UCL 1st's, with Graeme holding his nerve to snatch the point. However the second match of the day, against Abertay 2nd's, ended in a 6-4 defeat. Results elsewhere led to a very tight group, and so all was still to play for the following morning. The 3rd team, consisting of Josh (C), Rob S, Rob B, Rob K and Adam, began with a 6-4 win over UCL 2nd's, with Rob S showing great character to win the final frame, providing valuable maximum points. The second match, against UEA 3rd's, ended in a 6-2 defeat, putting the 3rd's in a similar position to the 2nd's, making Saturday's matches vital for both teams.

After a nice lie in, the 1st's, consisting of Dan (C), Matt Bradley, Ryan, Stephen and James, eventually turned up and began their own team matches in the Championship/Trophy. Playing both of the first teams in their group meant that the results from the first two rounds of matches would most likely define whether they made it into the championship draw. It was good news then when they won both of their matches comfortably, and were left needing only a point on Saturday to progress to the championship knockout in first place in their group.

The third round of singles began in the afternoon with Ryan being handed a tough draw against the fourth seed, 'Bobby' Hutchison from Strathclyde. Losing 4-2, Ryan was joined by Mike and Rob B in exiting at this stage. This left Warwick with two hopes for the singles title - Dan and Matt Bradley. The next couple of rounds went well, with both progressing to the last 32. Dan was handed a tough draw against 10th seed Gareth Quinn, and unfortunately this brought about the end of his challenge for this year. Matt Bradley however continued, winning his last 32 and last 16 matches to reach the quarter final. By this point he had been playing pool solidly for six hours and despite doing very little wrong, he was unable to overcome the challenge of 3rd seed and eventual singles champion Will Jerram, meaning Warwick's chance at another singles title was gone for this year. Despite this disappointment, the focus quickly moved to the team event, which was to continue the following morning.

Another early start faced the 2nd and 3rd teams on Saturday, with both realistically having to win their remaining matches to qualify for the knockout phase of the shield. The 2nd's, with Matt Blagden replaced by Connor Thorogood, started with a close match against Portsmouth 2nd's. Going into the final frame they were 5-4 up, and with the win a distinct possibility the responsibility fell to an ever so slightly hung-over Graeme, whose night had definitely been one to remember! Unfortunately a foul led to Portsmouth salvaging the draw, and so the 2nd's were left needing a win from their last game and other results to go their way. Despite getting the win against Exeter 3rd's it was not to be and they missed out on the knockout stages on head to head results.

The similarities with the 2nd's were unmistakeable as the 3rd's played their remaining two matches. In yet another tense finish, Josh was handed the unenviable task of trying to close out the much needed win against Cardiff 3rd's, however fell just short and so in the same way as the 2nd's, the 3rd's were left needing a win and other favourable results. Again they produced the win, against Chester 1st's, but again they missed out due to head to head results, leaving any hopes of a team trophy pinned firmly on the 1st's, who had comfortably won their group and were heading to the Championship knockout stages on Sunday. That Saturday evening after the singles final had been won by Will Jerram, the three teams prepared to compete in the Speed Pool Tournament. Having reached the semi-final heat last year the 1st team were hopeful of a similar performance, however in a tough first round heat, with the pressure on and music blaring, the 1st's were behind and something special was needed from Dan to keep them in the competition. As Steven slapped his table he began a clearance in which he barely missed a shot, clocking a time of one minute seven seconds to win the heat and send the team through to within one win of the final. The ensuing semi-final match could not have been closer, with Warwick 1st's again just behind going into the final table. However it was Dan who produced his second special performance, clocking a time only one second slower than his last, to snatch victory and set up a final with Abertay and a chance to win £300. As the supporters gathered, tensions were high and when the music began playing the noise in the room was deafening.

It was a slow start for Warwick 1st's, and it seemed as though the title could be slipping away, especially when James' break sent the cue ball off the table. However it was then his turn to produce the special performance, clearing the table in one minute eighteen seconds to put them back into the lead. As the final table approached a small lead was still held but halfway through Dan's clearance it looked as though the Abertay player had sneaked ahead. Although this was the case, most of his remaining balls were in difficult spots, and as the final drew to a nail biting finish it was Dan who was able to sink his last ball quickest - leaving Abertay with only one left - and take the speed pool title for Warwick! Amongst the celebrations and chants of "We love you Warwick, we do!" it will be the video clip of Dan screaming into the camera "They did'nay want it!" that is most memorable. Warwick, on the other hand, definitely did want it!

Despite the 2nd and 3rd teams being unable to match the success of the 1st's, there were still two moments worthy of a mention. Both are on video, and highly recommended for a laugh! The first contains Dan and Rob Stat-man Sinden singing on camera to the song 'Scatman', while the second is of Rob Keogh falling over as he attempts to slap the next table. After the heroics of the night before, the 1st's began their attempt to win the team championship on Sunday morning. Having been handed a tough draw against defending champions Portsmouth 1st's in the last 16, the team found themselves 3-0 down after five minutes, with Portsmouth having three visits and making a clearance in each. At this point, the two frames in play were vital, with Warwick needing at least one to have a realistic chance. As both drew to a close, Ryan and Stephen held their nerve to win them, leaving the 1st's only 3-2 down. As the match continued, momentum swung to Warwick, before swinging back to Portsmouth who took the lead at 5-4. That left the pressure on Dan to force a three frame shoot-out. With his opponents remaining ball over a pocket he was left with little option but to double the black to middle. When it missed, most thought that was game over for Warwick, however Dan had obviously eaten some lucky KFC as the black hit the far jaw of the pocket and travelled back to the covered pocket to leave his opponent snookered, forcing a deliberate foul. Dan then used one shot to get the black out, and proceeded to produce a stunning pot to win the frame and force the shoot-out.

The shoot-out was won fairly comfortably, and the 1st's continued to the quarter finals where they met Lancaster 1st's, who they beat 6-4, to set up a semi-final with Queens 1st's. Again Warwick fell behind 3-0, and there were not many who thought a second comeback would be possible. However it was, and a match similar to their last 16 one ensued, leaving them needing the final frame to force yet another shoot-out. This time the task was left with Stephen, who showed incredible nerve to pot a long black to set up the deciding three frames for a place in the final. The shoot-out turned out to be reasonably comfortable, and so the stage was set for a Nottingham 1st's v Warwick 1st's final.

In front of the Cuesport TV cameras, and Mike's 'expert' commentary, the match began. As Warwick lost the first, the second, then the third frame, there were fears of a whitewash amongst some. They had obviously not seen any of Warwick's previous matches! Yet again the team showed resilience to battle back from 3-0 down to within a frame of the title at 5-3 up. From the two frames left in play, the 1st's only needed one; however it was not meant to be. Nottingham won the two frames to set up yet another three frame shoot out, and this time it was not comfortable. With all three frames played simultaneously, Nottingham took a quick lead, and with Warwick behind in the remaining frames, the defeat was inevitable. The heroics of coming back from 3-0 down in three matches were not enough - it was not to be Warwick 1st's year. Despite this the team got the loudest cheer of all when collecting there medals, and have every right to be proud of what they achieved. All that was left was to pack, head home, and look forward to listening to Mike's commentary!

As the two minibuses left, the player's thoughts were not on what might have been, but what will be next year. Everyone's except Graeme's that is - he was too busy worrying if Dan was going to get the caravan deposit back!

By Connor Thorogood