As Lancaster alumni and bar sports lover Chris Bell stated so succinctly, “In many ways, college pool is much like university life. There are so many balls going in so many holes, it’s hard to know what’s going on.”
Supported by the slightly out of place but much appreciated Lion King soundtrack, the College Select pool was the perfect warm up to the University team pool games. Nine of the best players from both universities’ college teams went up against each other, playing to best of three frames.
The match was played on two pool tables simultaneously, leading to very different levels of support throughout the afternoon. Some games lasted much longer than others, while some very tense moments meant spectators were crowding round one table, adding extra layers of pressure onto the players while the players at the other table were free to carry on with few watching.
The longest game of the afternoon was one of the first to start, with a hugely drawn out second frame due to four balls covering one pocket, with both players reluctant to give in and disperse them, giving an advantage to the other player. The first frame had already been won by the York player, but Lancaster pulled through, winning the tricky second frame and the third frame as well, taking the score to 2-0 to Lancaster.
One of the liveliest games was between a very popular York player called Jimmy, who was heavily supported by his team, chanting his name to the tune of Ruby by Kaiser Chiefs and Gimme Gimme Gimme by Abba. This really brought an extra level of excitement to the room, especially when the Lancaster player beat him two frames to one, giving an extra point to Lancaster.
Lancaster eventually took the win on the eighth game of the night, with Andrew Kelday sealing it for his team, despite an unfortunate trouser related incident earlier in the night that led to him wearing a pair of jeans. The pressure was then on for the final game, which was won 2-1 to Lancaster, giving them an assured victory in the match.
Lancaster won the match 6-3, a deserved win although there were moments where York could possibly have triumphed. The strength of the Lancaster team made sure this did not happen.
