By Elliott West
Introduction
The English Amateur Championship is steeped in history. Founded in 1916, it the oldest and longest running tournament in snooker’s history. With many classic finals over the years, let’s concentrate and look out at one of these classic encounters. In 1980, Joe O’Boye met Dave Martin at Stantonbury Leisure Centre in Milton Keynes. Sponsored by the Milton Keynes Development Cooperation, this venue was described as one of the best, being just the right size and not having a bad seat in the house. A premier venue for a premier event.
In a final that pitted the experienced Martin over the youthful rookie O’Boye, this was described by some as not being a classic final but perhaps the location gave the meeting, the champagne sparkle that it required. One this occasion, youth triumphed experience and Joe O’Boye walked away with a convincing 13-9 victory.
The Final
The final nearly never happened with Joe O’Boye getting lost in transport on the way to the venue, one of the many players that took a wrong turning.This brought tension to the event even before the cue-ball was first struck. A small price to pay for a building that was located close to the sprawling M1 motorway.
The match opened with a flustered Joe, still trying to catch his breath whilst a composed Dave, got the ball rolling, so to speak, compiling breaks of 28 and 30 in the first frame. Joe replied with 23 but then ended in a foul. The Leicester lad decided to cut his loses and conceded the frame.
In the second frame Joe started to flow a little while his opponent grappled to get used to the table. Joe won the frame 74-36. This trend mounted in the third frame with O’Boye finding his groove and taking his chances. This was compared to an ill at ease, Dave Martin, who could make little reply to his opponent’s creeping onslaught. Joe made breaks of 39 and 47 to win the third frame 97-8.
Joe O’Boye, who was highly thought of in London and Leicester for being a good player with the fans starting to see how good he actually was, when he knocked in a 51 break to win the fourth frame 106-16. Martin needed to stop the increasing rot in this match. A credential that he did possess, coming close the previous year, to beating Jimmy White, narrowly losing the match 13-10.
With a 3-1 deficit on the cards, Martin struck back, taking the sixth frame with breaks of 33, 24 and 31 and a 89-31 score line. Martin spurred on, took the seventh frame as well, producing a tight safety game that left his young contender in trouble. Joe eventually conceded on the pink and the frame went to Martin 65-35. The balance sheet looked better for Dave as he finished the evening, taking the last frame. Both players finished the day at 4-4 and left the match evenly poised for its Saturday play.
The opening frame of the Saturday session, did little to raise the expectations of the audience. Both players were missing their shots. Joe failed to bring out his break-building skills but still managed to win the first frame on his return with breaks of 29 and 23 to win 88-42.
Dave won the tenth frame with a 16 break to the brown leaving Joe snookered. The match then came to life in the eleventh with Joe getting first blood with a break of 46. Dave replied with a 51 but Joe cleared up to the pink with a 20 break to win the frame 80-22.
Dave fought back with a 30 opening break in the next but then missed which was so characteristic of this game. Joe made 22 and 21 and then went on to make 12, stopped short by a foul. Dave had his chance to clinch the frame but could only reply with an 11 break, leaving Joe to win 72-54.
Again with a three frame deficit, Dave could do little right although it was clear that neither player was getting any run of the balls. Joe was always in front and won the frame with a 27 clearance of the colours.
The fifteenth was hit or miss with more misses than hits. Dave was trying to close his man down and showed his best safety play of the match. Joe left him five possible reds as a result and Martin managed to scrape over the line to win the frame with a 22 break, 77-43.
Joe’s waistcoat caused a foul in the next and allowed Martin to make a careful 28. Martin’s spirits were rising and he finished off the frame with a 22, thanks to Joe going in-off after an attempt at a long blue and a later attempt at multiple snookers.
Joe took a boring seventeen, 68-21 and in the eighteenth, Martin got in with a 20 but Joe struggled home with breaks of 35 and 32 to finish 76-28. This was followed by Dave winning the nineteenth – Martin clearing the colours up to pink to win 62-34.
O’Boye made a good 39 which ended with a bad miss on the red. A clever plant by Martin got him back in action but he could only make a 13 break. Joe made 21 and left Dave snookered. Martin got out of it and in turn snookered Joe three times but in the end a break of 17 from Joe made it 12-8.
Misses again dominated the 21st frame but Dave got a 31 in reply to Joe’s opening 17, missing an easy black. Martin cleared the colours to win 71-34.
A snooker behind the green forced Martin to leave an opening for Joe, making a 38 break. This break secured the crown on O’Boye’s head and shifted a victory to a young and promising player. A shock defeat for Dave Martin but youthful talent managed to outweigh experience on the day.
