Ashley deposes Carter to claim the Leamington singles title

Ashley was immediately into his stride with runs of 29, 28 and 48 to race into a 2-0 lead.

Carter replied with a well-crafted run of 92, failing narrowly on the penultimate red down the side rail while employing the rest.

Ashley dominated the next but left Carter the opportunity to pinch it. However, the Warwick man over-cut the black when playing for the yellow and Ashley did the rest to lead 3-1 at the intermission.

Both players failed to rediscover the excellent early standard on the resumption and after swapping frames, Carter took frame seven to close to only one behind.

Ashley looked poised to take the title in the next but failed on a routine last red to the middle when leading by 23, handing Carter a lifeline.

With both players looking edgy, Carter missed the green from its spot when looking poised to send the contest its full distance.

A well-laid snooker from Ashley netted him 15 penalty points and he cleared green to black to seal his third title.

Carter did have the consolation of a victory in the final of the pairs, teaming up with Gordon Milling to beat Kelvin Handley and Mark Hanlon 3-0.

Carter was in inspired form, with breaks of 33, 76 and 37 proving pivotal.

Tony Baylis got the better of Mark Quinton in a tactical six reds final, taking all three frames after the break to win 5-2.

After taking green to pink to go in front, a 21 break allowed Baylis to open up a 4-2 lead and he went on to win a scrappy seventh frame after Quinton failed with several snookering attempts.

There was more silverware for Baylis with the veteran overcoming Ted Mullis to retain his over-50s crown.

After good safety play from both players in the opener, Baylis was first to get his potting boots on, winning the frame on the last red courtesy of a break of 20.

The run of the ball was certainly in the defending champion’s favour in the second frame and he made the most of his luck to clinch the title with runs of 15, 21 and 17.

Ian Carter produced a fine break of 58 to overcome a Paul Petrie in the Fred Cowell Cup final.

Carter was giving away 49 points on the handicap but potted four reds and all the colours on his way to a match-winning break and victory by 17 points.

The valuable table time Carter gained during his Fred Cowell Cup final earlier in the evening was not enough to help him overcome the steady billiards of Midland Counties League player Chris Hudson in the final of the Camkin Cup.

Hudson failed to win a second billiards final, however, with Ian Carter retaining his hold on the Kenilworth Trophy.

There was a predictable outcome in the final of the Birmingham Mail Cup with the experienced Geoff Barrett producing a number of steady breaks to overwhelm Alan Batchelder.

Pairs Final