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 Northumbria Open 2016
01-06 Mar, Northumberland Club, Newcastle, UK, $5k |
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02-Mar, Qualifying Finals:
Four favourites through to main
draw
Dylan Younger reports
The bookmakers would have taken a bashing on Day Two of the
Northumbria Open - if they’d been taking bets, that is - as all
four favourites came through to reach the main tournament.
What a day for a whitewash it was as three of the four came
through with convincing 3-0 wins.
Welshman Emyr Evans - No 1 seed in the qualifying
competition - was first to book his spot in the main section of
this $5000 PSA tournament, clocking up a 3-0 victory over Kyle
Finch which was a lot closer than the scoreline suggests.
Evans had to work hard in a high-paced match, with the players’
similar hard-hitting, hard-running styles making for a
high-class tussle. Finch, the England Under 19 No 1, had his
share of moments but Evans - ranked 198 in the world - was a
touch more attacking and he found the nick several times with
some tight drops on his way to an impressive victory.
Next up there was a big crowd for the Northumbria derby as the
county’s top two players squared up against each other. Dave
Barnett, on home turf at Jesmond went into the match slight
favourite, and lived up to his billing as he edged into an early
lead over Liam Gutcher in the first game.
The county No 1 was rock solid, taking the ball early, and
getting good length on his drives. Every more consistent as the
match progressed, and looking hungry on every single point, he
found his rival out-of-sorts on the night and he racked up a
convincing 3-0 win.
 Austrian
Jakob Dirnberger had the third highest ranking of the
qualifiers, but he was given a tough task against England’s
ever-improving Miles Jenkins.
Bandana-ed and bearded, Dirnberger brought a touch of pirate
glamour to the Northumberland Club, and his freestyle frenetic
squash soon had Jenkins walking the plank (no apologies).
Taking everything early, the Austrian never gave his opponent
time to settle and he forced some uncharacteristic errors out of
the 20-year-old on his way to competitive 3-0 win.
 Nightwatchmen
Julian Tomlinson and Ben Coates went into late-night
battle for the prized scraps of the last slot in the main event.
Lancashire’s Tomlinson, No 2 seed in the qualifiying tournament,
was the fancied winner here, but his odds lengthened when he
lost close finishes in both of the opening two games - 11-9,
13-11.
However Tomlinson - a losing finalist on his last PSA appearance
in the North East - the Northern Open last October - was not
finished yet. Known for his athletic style and consistent
hitting, he noticeably upped the pace and increased the length
of his shots, to quickly get back on level terms 11-3, 11-2.
Surrey’s Coates was under more pressure now, and the clinical
kills which had helped him carve out a 2-0 lead were turning
into tins as the pace increased - Tomlinson (WR204) winning the
decider to four, and book a main event draw against sixth-seed
Ben Ford.
Barnett earned a tie against England’s Michael Harris (WR176),
while Emyr Evans drew second seed Joel Hinds and Dirnberger is
pitted against 5 seed Joe Green.
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Draw & Results
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Qualifying:
02-Mar, Qualifying Finals:
Emyr Evans (Wal) 3-0 Kyle Finch (Eng)
11-8, 11-5, 11-7
David Barnett 3-0 Liam Gutcher
11-5, 11-4, 11-4
Jakob Dirnberger (Aut) 3-0 Miles Jenkins (Eng)
11-9, 11-7, 11-9
Julian Tomlinson (Eng) 3-2
Ben Coates (Eng) 8-11, 11-13, 11-3, 11-2, 11-4
01-Mar, Qualifying Round One:
Emyr Evans (Wal) 3-0 Sean
Millington
11-5, 11-4, 11-5
Kyle Finch (Eng) 3-0 Michael Collins
11-7, 11-2, 11-5
Liam Gutcher 3-0 Xavi Blasco (Esp)
11-3, 11-7, 11-2
David Barnett 3-0 Elliot Selby (Eng)
11-3, 11-6, 11-5
Jakob Dirnberger (Aut) 3-0 Sam Broughton
11-8, 11-3, 11-8
Miles Jenkins (Eng) 3-0 Chris Wiggins
11-2, 11-5, 11-7
Ben Coates (Eng) 3-1 Michael Mattimore 11-9,
10-12, 14-12, 11-6
Julian Tomlinson (Eng) 3-0 Jamie Todd
11-5, 11-9, 11-9
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01-Mar, Qualifying Round One:
Local heroes upset the odds
Dylan Younger reports
Two local heroes upset the odds to reach the qualifying finals
of the Northumbria Open.
Liam Gutcher of Northern and Dave Barnett, on home
turf at Jesmond's Northumberland Club, both hit top form to see
off Xavi Blanco and Elliott Selby (younger brother of former top
10 player Darryl) respectively.
The top two players in Northumbria both won 3-0 and their prize
is a clash against each other on Day Two.
Elsewhere Tynemouth’s Sean Millington found Welshman Emyr
Evans too strong, the top seed among the qualifiers, winning
3-0.
 Qualifying
second seed Julian Tomlinson was given a challenge
against Jamie Todd, who celebrated his 18th birthday by
finding his form on the glassback, only to lose 3-0 - the second
two going right to the wire at 11-9. If the birthday boy could
learn to stop serving out after crash-nicking his opponent’s
serve, he could have given Tomlinson a real scare.
England youth international Kyle Finch prevailed 3-0
against Newcastle University’s super-fit Michael Collins, while
Austrian Jakob Dirnberger also won 3-0, against Northern
junior Sam Broughton.
Arguably the tie of the first qualifying round was between
Ben Coates and and local junior, Michael Mattimore.
Surrey’s Coates edged the first 11-9 but the underdog hit back
12-10 to level. The third game was a real tussle until World No
195 Coates prevailed 14-12, and his consistent game held
together from him to finish off a hard-fought 3-1 win.
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PREVIEW:
Northumbria Open back with a bang
Dylan Younger reports
The richest event on the North East squash calendar is back with
a bang this March ...
The Northumbria Open – now in its fifth year – attracts
professionals from around the country and beyond – and with a
prize fund worth $5000 (FIVE times last year’s total), the entry
list is jam-packed with talent.
Sanctioned by the PSA there will be precious world ranking
points up for grabs at Jesmond’s Northumberland Club between
March 4 and March 6, in a tournament supported by main sponsor,
North East financial services firm True Potential.
Entry is free so North East squash fans are in for a treat with
no fewer than 11 top-200 players on display in the main draw.
Top seed is former England Under 19 No 1 George Parker
(World Ranking 78).
The Leicestershire firebrand – an England youth international –
is starting to make a real impact on the senior tour, and
recently took a game from former World No 1 James Willstrop at
the National Championshps in Manchester.
Reigning Northumbria Open champ Joel Hinds is two seed –
the 28-year-old from Derbyshire is currently ranked 84 in the
world and earned many fans with his upbeat approach and stylish
play at Jesmond last year.
Other players to watch out for are 22-year-old Scottish No 3
Dougie Kempsell, and upcoming English youngsters Joe
Green and Patrick Rooney. International flavour is
provided by Finnish world No 135 Jaakko Vahamaa and
Tristan Eysele from South Africa.
Flying the flag for the North East will be 13-time County
Champion Dave Barnett, Tynemouth and Northern club
champion Cai Younger, Liam Gutcher, Sean
Millington, and stars of the region’s junior circuit
Chris Wiggins, Jamie Todd, Michael Mattimore and Sam Broughton.
Main event qualifiers start on Tuesday March 1st, with the main
tournament and the graded events for other North East players
kicking off Friday March 4th.
More on
NorthumbriaSquash.co.uk
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