By Elliott West
“There was so much I wanted to say but when the time came I couldn’t say anything”.
Darren Morgan
Introduction
The Welsh Professional Championship was a tournament just for Welsh players and Wales was the first of the four home countries to revive its professional championship in a regular basis. A tournament that was steeped in snooker history and had produced winners such as Ray Reardon, Doug Mounjoy and Terry Griffiths.
In 1990, at the tail end of the the event’s existence, a young Darren Morgan won the first of two back to back titles, on this occasion against Doug Mountjoy, beating him 9-7 in the final. A fitting champion and someone was overwhelmed with emotions when he won, given a rapturous applause by the audience. A feat that was even remarkable as Darren had his own personal issues at the time with his mother having been seriously ill for two years.
The Tournament
Held at the Newport Centre between the 12th to the 17th February, 1990, the Senator Windows Welsh Professional Championship. Made up of some great of the Welsh game, the event was whittled down to Mark Bennett, Tony Chappel, Terry Griffiths, Wayne Jones, Doug Mounjoy, Darren Morgan, Steve Newbury and Cliff Wilson in the last 16.
Last 16 (Best of 11 frames)
Ray Reardon v Mark Bennett 6-2
Ray Reardon, provisionally the lowest ranked player of the full members, turned the clock back to produce a vintage performance in beating Mark Bennett 6-2. This included a 127 break and an exhibition of safety and tactical play which gave him four frames for victory after the intermission had been taken at 2-2.
Darren Morgan v Colin Roscoe 6-4
Darren Morgan who went on to win the title at his second attempt, could reflect that the first of his four matches was no easier than any of the others as he had to make a 40 clearance to avoid going two down with three to play against Colin Roscoe, whom he eventually beat 6-4.
Quarter-Finals (Best of 11 frames)
Doug Mountjoy v Ray Reardon 6-3
Doug Mountjoy, nine times in the final – or ten if the 1977 event in which he and Reardon were the only entries is included – ground out a 6-3 win over Reardon, who did not play to the standard he displayed against Bennett, perhaps because he was against an opponent who had become as adept as he was in the tactical exchanges.
Wayne Jones v Steve Newbury 6-3
Wayne Jones was 5-0 up against Steve Newbury but he to wait until the ninth frame before clinching his 6-3 victory.
Tony Chappel v Cliff Wilson 6-4
Tony Chappel showed some inhibitions in clinching important chances against Cliff Wilson but eventually won 6-4.
Darren Morgan v Terry Griffiths 6-4
Morgan, who nearly beat Terry Griffiths last year but instead lost 6-5, this time did so 6-4, thus prolonging the three match losing streak with which the former champion came into the tournament.
Semi-Finals (Best of 17 frames)
Doug Mountjoy v Wayne Jones 9-7
Mountjoy’s solidity and vast experience prevailed but only after the anticipated long struggle between two players who knew each other’s games inside out. Jones led 2-0 but was virtually frozen out for the next four frames. From 2-4, though, he led 5-4, winning the ninth frame on the black to avoid falling two behind but was again behind at 5-6 when Jones won the eleventh frame with a break of 80.
Three consecutive frames nevertheless carried Mountjoy to within a frame of victory at 8-6 and a break of 49 when the sixteenth frame was evenly poised clinching it.
Darren Morgan v Tony Chappel 9-8
There were all night queues halfway round the Newport Centre prior to this match but on closer inspection these turned out to be for advance bookings for a Jason Donovan concert some months hence. The more moderate but still substantial gathering which witnessed this contest saw Morgan win the last two frames for victory.
For most of the day, though Chappel appeared the more likely winner. Morgan missing several shots through dwelling on them too long and sometimes thinking himself into difficulty than the position of the balls merited, possibly a symptom of trying too hard.
Chappel led 2-1 and 49-0 but Morgan with a 40 and a brown to black clearance, levelled at 2-2 and went to 4-2 before Chappel won the last frame of the afternoon.
Chappel also played well in the first three frames of the evening, making a 100 break in the third to lead 6-4. Morgan struggled home in the next on the pink and levelled at 6-6 and was again behind at 6-7 and 7-8 before winning the remaining two frames.
The Final (Best of 17 frames)
Darren Morgan v Doug Mountjoy 9-7
A curiosity of Mountjoy’s career is that he never retained a title. Against expectations this match was to provide no exception although he led 2-0 and 3-1. Morgan won the fifth but missed an easy black after taking the initial red in the sixth. Mountjoy made 43 from it, had to play safe but Morgan fluked a red and made 85 from that to level 3-3.
Morgan also looked like if he might snatch the last frame of the afternoon in which he reduced a deficit of only nine points with one red remaining. He laid a snooker but Mountjoy fluked a snooker back and from the resultant opening clinched a 4-3 interval lead.
Mountjoy potted the first red of the evening session but unluckily went in-off as he did , so Morgan came to the table to clear with 130, superseding the championship record of 127 standing jointly to Terry Griffiths in 1980 and Ray Reardon earlier in this event.
Starting only with a one point difference in the scores, Morgan cleared with 40 to lead 5-4 and snatched the tenth frame in extraordinary fashion after needing two snooker’s on the blue.
The young left-hander maintained his momentum by winning the next frame with a break of 52 to lead 7-4 but Mountjoy came back strongly after the interval to close to 6-7. From his first decent chance in more than two frames, Morgan made 37 in the next and won the frame to lead 8-6. At 8-7, he seized the title and an admirably composed break of 80.
Summary
Darren was and still is a fine amateur player, winning a multitude of titles and had a long career as a professional, peaking at number 8 in the world rankings. A player who made his highest break of 145 in the 2001 UK Championship and made 111 centuries on the main tour. An outstanding break builder and someone who often goes deep into a tournament. A dear friend and just a nice guy.
