YORK'S Mark Winskill won the Yorkshire Billiards Handicap Championship at the Northern Snooker Centre in Leeds, with Gary Rogers falling just short in the final of the Yorkshire Billiards Championship.

Winskill, who plays in York, beat 15 competitors to win the title, while Heworth Conservative Club colleague Rogers was one of 11 players to compete in the Yorkshire Billiards Championship.

The Yorkshire Billiards Championship’s format differed from the Handicap Championship with the former being a best score in 90 minutes in the knockout stages before a best of 120 minutes for the semi finals and final going through; with the latter being a first to 300 points and the handicap score based on the player’s ability.

Rogers reached the final of the Billiards Championship by beating former Yorkshire champion and current England international Steve Crosland and face Leeds-based Jon Bagley. However, his opponent outscored Rogers after the two hour time limit to keep the title at the host venue.

Winskill progressed into his final of the Billiards Handicap by defeating Huddersfield’s number one billiards player, Matthew Peaker (-50 points on the handicap) to face the opponent his teammate faced in the semi final of the other competition, Steve Crosland.

Going into the final, the York cue man had +90 points on the handicap to his opponent’s -50 points, leaving Crosland with a 140 point deficit to draw back. But the advantage was too much and Winskill brought the trophy back to York.

Rogers was proud of his friend’s achievements: “Mark saw me play in the Yorkshire Billiards Championships and I just encouraged him to have a go at the Handicap and then he won it so I’m happy for him.”