Not feeling grand

As it was, there was no painting the town red for the 48-year-old decorator from Romsey.

Spiers had to settle for £700 and, most probably, a sleepless night. And there may also have been periods of wakefulness for Winchester’s Dave Nunn. His chance of claiming the £1,000 fell away in the final frame of the night. And that cost him £500.

Favourite to pocket the £1,000 jackpot, Spiers had led the Chandler’s Ford Snooker Club Roll-Up into the 113th and final tournament of the 13-month series with winnings of £876.

Southampton’s John Thomas, on £830, needed to win or split the final.

Third-placed Dave Nunn, on £808, had to win the final to overtake Spiers. A split pot would have left him 50p short. As we now know, Thomas beat Spiers and Nunn, both 2-1, to take top prize.

Certain shots will be relived many times over the next few years. For amateurs to play frames that are ultimately worth hundreds of pounds puts what the professionals go through in perspective.

So what happened three days later in the first competition of the 2011/12 series?

Of course, Spiers drew Thomas in the first round. And won. In the plate competition, Thomas met Nunn. And lost.

I bet all three had a jolly good chuckle about that!

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