On Sunday 10th September, Sunderland hosted the 2017 ECBA Triples at Sherburn Community Centre.

Unfortunately 5 teams dropped out in the run up to the event which left an entry of just 16 to compete for the title, with 15 local teams plus the holders, a joint Suffolk/Sunderland team.

However, despite the small entry the event was as keenly fought as ever with the teams competing in groups of four, the top two of whom would qualify for the Knockout Rounds.

Group 1
Keith Wheatley finished top of the group, winning all three games while Joyce Woodward finished runner-up on 4 points.

Group 2
This one ended up being the closest fought group with just a handful of shots separating the top 2 teams. In the end Tom Haram with 4 points and 25 shots just edged out Nicky Manners (4 points and 19 shots) for the win.

Group 3
Wayne McMann took the group win with 3 wins out of 3, with Neil Jolly's 2016 winning team taking second with 2 wins and one loss.

Group 4
Steve Wilson took a comfortable group win with maximum points with Olwyn Gray coming home as runner-up.

Knockout Rounds
Quarter Finals
Wayne McMann came home to an 8-4 win over Nicky Manners. Olwyn Gray started out well and led 5-1 but Keith Wheatley came back strongly and went on to win 8-6. Tom Haram was just too strong for the reigning champions, Neily Jolly's team struggled with the mat and were beaten 10-1. Steve Wilson never let Joyce Woodward get a look in, winning 9-0.

Semi-Finals
In the end both games were fairly clear cut results with Tom Haram beating Keith Wheatley 8-3 and Wayne McMann taking an 11-4 win over Steve Wilson to also make the final.

Final
Tom Haram v Wayne McMann
As expected it was a splendid final game to round out the day but Tommy had the edge pretty much from the off, taking a 6-1 lead after just 3 ends. It was always going to be difficult for Wayne to fight his way back into the game. And so it proved as Tommy controlled it from thereon in to finish 8-3 winners.

Winners: Tom Haram, Adam Wilson and Kevin Hutchinson

We would like to congratulate the well deserved winners and thank everyone who supported the event.

You can find photographs from the day here.

updated 12/09/17