Alma are National Pub Team Champions!

The Alma from West Street Deal represented Kent in the Tournament of County Champions held at Reading on Sunday 17th November 2002. The Deal team won the tournament the hard way beating three of the winners from the last four years in their passage to the title.

Eight counties were represented in two groups and the Alma were drawn with Barton Seagrave Club (Northants), The Stadium (Brighton, Sussex) and Caversham Working Men's Club (Reading Berkshire). Things looked bleak in the first match with the Alma 2 - 1 down against Northants, Chris Saville the only winner with 6770, and matches against two previous winning sides to follow, but a win from Ted Batchelor leveled it and a typically nail biting 8380 opening break from John Mitchell sealed the win.

The next match was against the Stadium, a side boasting the All England champions from this and last year and last year's British Isles Open Champion. First win came from Chris Saville against Jim Millward, last years BIOC champion. Playing on a particularly difficult table, Chris elected to play the defensive one-up on the third break and restrict potting to the left hand 50. Chris opened with 7750 before 'tapping' to secure the break and win. Tim Bourner supplied the second win with 7880, before John Mitchell pipped the AEBBA Champion Nigel Senior for another 3 - 2 win.

The third match against the Caversham side started brilliantly with wins for Ted Batchelor with 7120 and John Mitchell. The Stadium were the other threat and they had dropped their opening leg, meaning that the Deal Side needed one point from their last three legs to top their group, but it wasn't looking easy with Mike Callanan and Tim Bourner having matches against England players Paul Sainsbury and Bernie McCluskey and Chris Saville against the break in the third. After a shaky start Chris tapped a 4k break to secure the vital point for a 3 - 2 win that put the Deal Side in the final.

The Chequers from Oxford were the opposition in the final where four legs are played simultaneously and a timed fifth decider if necessary. The first four were Mike Callanan, Chris Saville, Ted Batchelor and Tim Bourner, with John Mitchell having the unenviable task of facing England number 1 Kevin Tunstall in the decider. The match started badly for the Alma break players, Chris Saville missing on 2k against Tony Martin, a former national Pairs champion, immediately after being disturbed by an escaped child being rugby tackled by his table and Ted opening with 2½k. All four Oxford players were now on the table and Deal could only stand and watch. England Player Mark Turner then fluffed a shot on 3½k to allow Mike Callanan on the table and he proceeded to compile a big break, finishing on 9k. After 13 minutes it was all over and the 'result' had been forwarded to the admin desk with Tim Bourner, Chris Saville and Ted Batchelor all on the receiving end of 6k plus breaks, the title was on its way to Oxford. In an amazing thirty seconds the pressure got to the Oxford side and both Chris's and Ted's opponents fouled to lose their breaks. In a nail biting last three minutes Chris Saville got back to break and secured his leg and Ted Batchelor hung on to win. It was only as the games finished and the Alma players exchanged glances across the hall that the agony turned to ecstasy as they realized that they had given the Alma an unassailable 3 - 1 lead and the coveted National title.

Chris Saville and Mike Callanan are the only surviving members of the side from the Lion at Ash that won the same title in 1993. The title is a remarkable swansong for Tim Bourner who is moving away from the area and is playing his last season for the Deal side.