The second major amateur event of the IPA season saw Blackpool’s Lee Anderson claim his first major IPA title, with a hard fought  6-3 victory over Dan Davy of Reading.

As well as the title of United Kingdom Amateur Champion,  he captured 16 priceless ranking points, which moves him into second place in the race for the end of season amateur play offs.

The Lancashire cueman was always in control throughout the final, building leads of 2-0 and 3-1, but despite his best efforts, Davy could never narrow the gap to less than 2 frames.

After the final, a jubilant Anderson said “Im so pleased with this win as its my first on the IPA Tour. This is a major breakthrough for me and I hope it will give me the confidence to win more events in the future “.

Davy himself had finally ended the winning streak of amateur sensation Giuseppe D’Imperio, with a nail biting final frame victory in the
semi final. Davy led 5-3, only to see his opponent draw level with some clinical finishing. Davy had the vital break in the decider, and made it pay, with a break and finish to wrap up the win.

Anderson had a relatively smoother passage to the final, with 6-3, 6-2 & 6-3 victories over Marc Fleming, Jack Whelan & Rob
Southey respectively.

Such is the strength in depth of the amateur events this season, picking a winner is virtually impossible. And when you watch players of
the calibre of Simon Ward, Danny Miller, Andy O’Hara and British Amateur Runner up Max Nosko were unable to reach the last 16, you get a feel of how tough it is in the amateur ranks.

The IPA Amateur Championships are a series of 5 events taking place throughout the UK. The top 8 ranked players at the end of the
season qualify for the inaugural play off grand finals. The English Amateur Open is the third event of the series and takes place at the Bradford Hilton Hotel, 9-10^th June.