Home favourite Martin Spencer won the annual Spalding Open singles tournament after beating City of Ely’s Edward Elmore in the final.
The annual Spalding Indoor Bowls Club-hosted tournament, sponsored by Hughes Electrical, is part of the national Open Singles Circuit.
Ranking points were up for grabs, with the top 48 across the country being invited to the grand finals.
Spalding star Spencer came through a strong field, which included the current world number one and a former world champion, in matches played on December 27 and 28 at the Castle Sports Complex.
After nine sessions of play, just eight players were left with a chance of glory.
The quarter-finals saw Nicky Brett beat Matt Orrey 0-8, 6-5, 2-0, while Elmore saw off Billy Jackson 3-5, 7-2, 2-0, Mark Royal defeated Paul Roberts 6-6, 6-5 and Spencer battled past Ryan Atkins 5-9, 5-4, 2-1.
A strong semi-final line-up saw Elmore narrowly beat current world number one Brett (8-7, 8-6) to book his place in the final.
The other last four clash proved just as close, with world number 13 Royal taking the opening set against local favourite Spencer, before the Spalding IBC ace hit back to take the second set and force a tie-break.
It was there that Spencer found top form, taking the next two ends in the best of three tie-break to join Elmore in the final.
The stakes were high with £900 on offer to the winner – and the match was played in front of an expectant full house at the Castle Sports Complex.
The first set was nip and tuck throughout, which saw the scores level after six ends of the seven-end set.
Spencer held his nerve to take a double, securing a 9-7 set score.
The second set was where the South Holland ace took control, winning 6-2 to take the title for the first time.
Elmore’s consolation was £400, with losing semi-finalists taking £125 each and the losing quarter-finalists banking £50 each.
Spalding IBC’s thanks go to sponsors Hughes Electrical for their support of the event and generous prize money, which attracted some of the world’s best players.
Thanks also to Graham Smith and his daughter Beth for organising the event and ensuring things went smoothly on the day.
The club also thanks all of the markers and others who helped with raffles and other duties, especially umpire Colin Wilson who was on hand for every session across the two days.
