By Elliott West
Introduction
Reanne Evans is undoubtedly the most successful female snooker player that has ever competed and her track record proves it, having won twelve world titles. After a devoid eighteen months of snooker due to coronavirus, the women’s tour finally got to play a tournament last week in the form of the UK Women’s Championship in Leeds. Reanne, having already accepted a two-year card on the main tour, joined a very strong female field to attempt to retain her title in Leeds, a title that she last won in 2019 at the Northern Snooker Centre.
Leading the Field
Evans got off to a flying start in this competition with wins over Connie Stephens and Chucky Preston in her early matches but was tested in her semi-final match against the Welsh number one, Laura Evans who stormed into a commanding 2-1 lead. However, like any true champion, Reanne dug deep and showed her mettle, using her reserves to reel off three consecutive frames to defeat her opponent 4-2 and book her place in this year’s final.
In the final, Evans would meet a formidable opponent and a player that I have tipped for the top for a while, Rebecca Kenna. Rebecca had a testing route to the final, coming back from 2-0 to beat Maria Catalano 3-2 before denying Emma Parker, the under-21 champion, a first crack of the whip at a major final. A match where Kenna was able to win the last two frames of the match to book her winning ticket to the final, finishing it off in style by potting the last blue and pink.
In the final Evans was too strong a match for Kenna and it was a final that Reanne’s name stamped on it. The world champion got the better of her opponent in the first two frames, edging Rebecca out of the mix and now two frames away from victory, she went on to claim a resounding 4-0 victory. However, it must be said that Kenna did score significantly in all four frames. It is a title that means Evans has now racked up an amazing ten UK titles at the Northern Snooker Centre and has the spectacular cut glass bowl trophy firmly secured in her trophy cabinet, dropping only two frames in the entire tournament.
With a very successful start to the women’s season and a tournament where Rebecca Kenna made the highest break of 81 in the opening frame of her semi-final match, the next event will be the Eden Women’s Masters at the end of November and scheduled to be held at Frames Sports Bar in Coulsdon, Surrey. Reanne will also be competing in the Scottish Open qualifiers on the main tour with a qualifying match against Mitchell Mann on 29th September.
