Chris Willies of East Tuddenham is the new Bure Singles Champion after an impressive performance earned him maximum points at Hevingham with defending champion Ryan Fox of Halvergate finishing in the runner-up spot. England international Willies showed his class right from the start scoring two full houses on the opening two ends of his first game against Horsford’s John Bugg in a game that finished 13-5 in his favour. On the other mat the always consistent Mandy Marshall of Thorpe Marriott also made a great start winning 10-2 against Hevingham’s Chris Brooks. Session two saw Halvergate’s Ryan Fox enter the fray but he found himself 4-1 down against John Bugg after three ends in a game that finished 6-6. Meanwhile Chris Willies was storming into a 12-3 lead against Chris Brooks but his shot difference took a hit on the last end as four shots to Brooks cut the winning margin to 12-7. The final session before the interval saw Ryan Fox beat Mandy Marshall by 7-2 while Chris Brooks recorded a win beating John Bugg by 7-6. The second half began with Chris Willies entering stormy waters for the first time on the night as Mandy Marshall fought back to level their game at 6-6 with two ends remaining. But Willies held his nerve to win the last two ends for an 11-6 victory on mat one. On mat two Ryan Fox proved too hot to handle for Hevingham’s Chris Brooks as Fox recorded a 13-6 win. Going into the last session Chris Willies led with six points and Ryan Fox had accumulated five points so their clash on mat one would decide who would claim the title. Chris Willies won the opening three ends to lead 4-0 but a single on the fourth end and a double on the fifth end brought Ryan Fox back into the game just 4-3 behind. But the title slipped away from Fox on the sixth end as a full house for Willies saw him pull away into an 8-3 lead. Halvergate’s young star fought to the end though scoring singles on the last two ends but it was Chris Willies who clinched the Bure Singles title with an 8-5 win. On mat two Mandy Marshall secured third place with a 9-2 win against John Bugg. This year marks the return for the Bure League’s three championship events in the singles, pairs and triples disciplines for the first time since they were last played in 2020 just as the Covid pandemic began to take hold. With the league now reduced to just five clubs after covid the events are just a shadow of what they were previously when a number of heats took place across the league’s venues to produce the final’s night line-up. This season each event is played on just one night on a round robin system with each club nominating just one entry. The defending champions from 2020, Halvergate’s Ryan Fox in the singles, Teresa & Selwyn Goldsmith of Hevingham in the pairs and Pat Williamson, Teresa Goldsmith & Selwyn Goldsmith in the triples, were guaranteed their club’s place on the nights of the championships. The Bure Pairs will take place at Horsford BC tonight (5-4-23) with the triples being played at Thorpe Marriott on Tuesday 11th April.
New Bure Singles Champion Chris Willies with runner-up Ryan Fox of Halvergate