The first round of action in Isle of Man Billiards and Snooker Association’s 2022 Champion of Champions took place last weekend.

This prestigious invitational event is once again kindly sponsored by Fowler & Co Chartered Accountants.

A field of 16 players had their eyes on the trophy and £130 first prize. These included the current and many former island and Masters champions, runners-up, plus winners and runners-up of individual competitions during the 2021-22 season.

The group one semi-final between the two Pauls was decent, with Smith overturning the form book to defeat Smyth 3-1.

In the other semi, Doug Kinrade potted well against Peter Crellin - especially in the third frame - but it wasn’t enough to stop Crellin winning 3-0.

In the group final, having already scored notable results in the past at this stage, Smith was finding his cue action and form as he led 1-0 and 2-1 before Crellin forced a decider.

Smith was first in and split the pack off the blue on 18, only to see a red go in the corner pocket. Crellin always had control of the frame thereafter and duly won through.

Group two saw Darryl Hill continuing his good form as he didn’t leave Chris Dagnall many chances - the majority of occasions that Dagnall came to the table he was stuck to the baulk cushion! Hill went through 3-0 in less than an hour.

The other group semi between Sean Corkish and Jamie Wilson was tough to call, with Corkish playing his first competitive match since Wilson knocked him out of the island championship last season.

Wilson started well hitting a 20-odd early into the first frame, but Corkish found his touch and erased Wilson’s lead with a 35 to go ahead. A 38 from Wilson levelled the score but Corkish won two close frames to go through 3-1.

In the group final, defending champion Hill looked to be comfortable, once again going 2-0 ahead, albeit frame two was won on the black following a doubled pink.

But Corkish wasn’t done as he took the third frame and, following a missed black from Hill on 30 in frame four, Corkish cleared with 53 to force the second decider of the day.

But in this last frame Hill was never in trouble and he ran out an 89-0 winner, aided by a 41 break. Nevertheless, a fine effort from Corkish and great to see him back at the table.

In group three Tom Miller was in good form, defeating Jez Hill 3-0 with a top break of 40 on the Star table.

On the Shender, there was another interesting encounter between Peter Kirkham and Dollin Mercer. The latter showed why he’s the Shootout champion, dominating the first frame with a 34 break and also looked good for a 2-0 lead before missing a red, allowing Kirkham to clear to the pink with 26 for 1-1.

Kirkham then took the lead with a 37 and, as the match looked set for 2-2, Kirkham took on a long blue, only to see it hit two cushions and go in the middle pocket, putting him 18 ahead with only 13 on.

The concession followed when the pink was rolled in. Having been knocked out of his last three majors by Kirkham, Miller looked in the mood to not let it happen again as he struck the tournament-high break of 66 in frame one of the group final.

He soon led 2-0 with a 32 before Kirkham dug in, kept things tight and soon the match was into a decider, the third group final to reach a fifth frame. It was nip-and-tuck with both players scoring 20+ breaks but Miller cleared with 26 to the blue to secure the win.

Group four concluded the weekend and looked the easiest to call - indeed John Kennish was comfortable taking a 3-0 win over Veteran’s champion Vic Rigby with a top run of 46.

On the other table though, Pat Maher looked keen to cause an upset as at 1-1 against Gary Conwell, he led frame three going into the colours. A difficult snooker meant Maher fell foul of the miss rule and it was 2-1 Conwell.

Close again in the fourth, Conwell again had Maher snookered on the brown only for Maher to concede 16 points, eventually hitting it and snookering Conwell back. After some safety, Conwell potted a good long brown and prevailed a 3-1 winner, but a good effort from Maher nonetheless.

The group final saw Kennish run out a comfortable 3-0 winner over Conwell to seal the last spot in the main semi-finals.

So ultimately the four pre-tournament favourites progress to the finals weekend starting this Saturday (December 17).

The semi-final line-up is Hill versus Crellin at 1pm and Miller vs Kennish at 7pm, both best-of-nine frames.

The first-to-eight final takes place on Sunday over two sessions, with seven frames in the afternoon and played to a finish in the evening.

It promises to be a fantastic weekend of action with more than a dozen island titles between Hill, Kennish and Miller, with Crellin also a previous finalist. All matches will be live-streamed on the association and Cue Zone Facebook pages and all are welcome to watch at the venue.

Tournament director, Darryl Hill would like to thank all players for being dressed immaculately and for their conduct throughout the weekend.

Well done to all who took part where it was noticeable how everyone stepped up their game over the weekend, with the lesser-ranked players giving the higher ones a scare or two.

Thanks also to referees Dave Kelly, Simon Gardner, Scott Campion and Darryl Hill, plus of course host venue the Cue Zone.