Hurricane Potters booked their place in the Liam Tarrant Cup final with a 5-2 victory over The Crown

IT is the silverware showdown that promises to go down a storm this summer as King’s Cross Hurricanes take to the table against rivals Hurricane Potters in the final of the Liam Tarrant Cup – dubbed the Chalk Farm League’s answer to the FA Cup.

With the two sides also battling it out on the green baize for the Division One title, there was something inevitable about them meeting in the final of the league’s biggest cup competition, too. Northumberland Lions, however, did their best to stop that happening as they led King’s Cross 2-0, 3-1 and 4-3 in an epic first-to-five frames semi-final at The Crown in Holloway on Monday night.

The contest proved so evenly matched that when closing time was called the two teams had to switch to Cousins Professional Snooker & Pool Club to play the remaining frames.

Showing just why they are the best team in the league this season, King’s Cross battled back each and every time they were behind before eventually eking out a 5-4 victory. In the final frame Northumberland captain Francis Murphy missed a difficult black into the middle pocket, leaving Rupert Ward with a long-range pot into the corner which he took with aplomb.

Rupert Ward sealed King’s Cross Hurricanes’ cup final spot

“There were a number of moments when I thought we had them,” said Northumberland’s Shaun Pollard, who won his singles match against Quill Cheyne and then teamed up with Alex Stockl to beat Nick Phillips and Peter Berrie in the doubles.

“But King’s Cross Hurricanes are top of Division One for a reason. They never know when they are beaten, and have so much quality that they are always capable of putting a run of frames together when it matters most. Few teams handle the pressure better than they do.”

Meanwhile, there were more twists and turns at the Hornsey Arms where Hurricane Potters recovered from a 2-1 deficit against The Crown to breeze into the final.

Mark Dickens won the opening frame of the night for the Potters, but wins for John Beaney and Tommy Doyle saw The Crown spark the semi-final into life as they took a shock 2-1 lead. Far from being fazed, though, the Potters kept doing what they do best: potting. Sean McCollum levelled the scores at 2-2, before wins in the doubles for pairings Tony Dipace and Mark Piercey, McCollum and Pearse Mulvany and Dickens and John Hosein sealed a 5-2 victory.

Pollard, who is also league chairman, added: “We’re absolutely gutted that we didn’t make the final, but the two Hurricane teams have been almost unstoppable all season and, so long as they were kept apart in the previous rounds, the likelihood was that they were always going to be the last two teams standing.

“There is no doubt that they are going to put on a show come August 7 – one of them will be looking to complete a league and cup double, so it promises to be a classic.”