Halifax League Merit (Wilkinson Sword Trophy) 2021

Gareth Coates won the Halifax League Merit for a third time at Rastrick BC on Sunday. He defeated Mark Regan by 21-11 in the final of the event, sponsored by the host venue.

Coates, whose first success was in 2013, made his intentions clear from the start, taking an early 8-3 lead in his first game against Mark McGorlick, then after McGorlick responded to reduce the gap to two points, seized control of the game with a break of eleven and went on to win by 21-7. He carried that level of performance into his semi-final against Stuart King, racing into a 12-2 lead. His lead was still the same at 17-6 and although King rallied in the second half of the game, Coates remained unmoved, eventually winning by 21-15.

Regan too made an impressive start to lead Adrian Kenyon by 15-3 and went on to complete a 21-12 victory. In the semi-final against Peter O’Callaghan, he trailed by 2-4 but reacted quickly go ahead by 11-8. A break of seven widened the gap to ten at 18-8 and he resisted a late attack by his opponent to win by 21-16.

The final was closely contested in the early stages with Regan taking an early 5-3 lead before Coates reacted to lead by 7-5. The scores were level at 7 and 9 but, after that, Coates dominated the rest of the game, conceding only two more chalks as he went on to claim the Wilkinson Sword Trophy for a second time with a 21- 11 victory.

Quarter-final scores: D. Warburton 19 P. O’Callaghan 21;

M. Regan 21 A. Kenyon 12; S. King 21 T. Bannister 20;

M. McGorlick 7 G. Coates 21.