Snooker round-up: Brown claims Grandmasters crown with superb century

Jamie Brown produced his third century break of the season to win the Grandmasters title.

Brown came out on top in a hard-fought battle with Chris Ward to become champion of the West Midlands Billiards & Snooker Association’s Grandmasters competition.

He had to concede 28 points per frame to Ward - a difficult task against an opponent who has enjoyed an impressive season, winning more than half of his Division One matches and reaching the semi-finals of both the Individual Handicap and the Individual Plate.

The opening two frames were shared before Brown compiled a superb 102 break to move 2-1 ahead. Ward levelled the match once again, but Brown held his nerve to win the deciding frame and seal a 3-2 victory to become the new Grandmasters champion.

It continues an outstanding season for Brown. He is part of the Division One title-winning Hotshots team, who have also reached the final of the Challenge Cup.

Brown has now added the Grandmasters Handicap crown to the Champion of Champions title he won last week, while also recording the highest breaks in the Grandmasters Handicap competition.

Elsewhere, Ash Barker and Roman Hutchings successfully defended their Pairs Medley title with a 432-348 victory over Spencer Hudson and Stephen North.

The key moments came in frames three and four, as Hutchings produced breaks of 38 and 33 to defeat North by 60 points, while Barker compiled a 36 break in a 74-point win over Hudson.

Barker and Hutchings went into the final frame as strong favourites and sealed victory by 46 points to retain the title for a second successive year.

Neil Beckley won the Secretaries Handicap Cup for a record-equalling fourth time after defeating Wayne Powell.

Beckley recovered from losing the opening frame to claim a 3-1 victory, winning the final frame on the black to join Tony Hollinshead as a four-time Secretaries champion.