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Nick Pearce Wins English Over-55 Championship
Nick Pearce defeated John Welsh 3-0 in the final of the Next Chapter Financial Planning English Over-55 Championship to win the title for the first time.
Pearce, an ex-professional who reached the semi-finals of the 1996 International Open, came through a field of 28 players at the Tamworth Sports Bar, which included former winners Nigel Bond, Welsh, Ashley Beal and John Rees.
The 57-year-old cruised through the group phase in comfortable fashion with a trio of whitewash victories over Simon Snee, Colin White and Michael Machell.
As one of the best performers in the first round, Pearce was seeded directly into the quarter-finals where he came up against John Hunter.
Pearce initially looked comfortable as he moved one away from victory courtesy of breaks of 42 and 43 in the opening two frames. Hunter, however, hit back with a break of 61 to reduce the deficit before forcing a decider in a tight fourth frame.
A break of 44 eventually saw Pearce get over the line and he followed this up with a a 3-1 victory in the semi-final over Beal, which was rounded off with the tournament high break of 107, to set up a final meeting 2022 English Over-55 champion Welsh.
Welsh had topped his group before coming through the knockout stages with a trio of 3-0 wins – impressively ending the hopes of defending champion and former World Championship finalist Bond in the semi-finals.
The 2022 champion kicked off the final with a break of 39, but it wasn’t enough as Pearce came back to take it before moving one away from victory by winning frame two.
Pearce then completed the 3-0 victory with a break of 45 to secure the Next Chapter Financial Planning English Over-55 Championship title.
The EPSB would like to thank all the players, officials, staff at the Tamworth Sports Bar and tournament sponsor Next Chapter Financial Planning for all their support.
