MARK Jennings is the new Blackburn With Darwen Snooker champion after a stirring 3-1 win over another former champ Ami Dippollito.

The players relished the new championship set up playing on a fantastic Riley Ambassador table installed for the finals by Sovereign Snooker Services.

Frame one showed what we were in for with both players attacking from the start. It was Dippollito quickest out of the blocks and a series of stunning single ball pots gave him the opener 60-34.

It was more of the same in frame two but it was Jennings who edged ahead and found himself 27 in front with just one red left.

Dippollito got his head down and potted superbly to clear up to the final black. It turned out to be the most crucial ball of the match as Ami, with the scores tied at 44-44 wobbled the black to allow Jennings to steal the equaliser.

From there on Jennings got stronger and stronger and was able to better anything that Dippollito could do. Ami knocked in a nice 23 before missing and had to sit back and watch as Jennings made one the best 35 clearances you could see to take the lead.

Frame four and once again Dippollito got himself in front only to miss an easy red over the bag. Jennings came to the table and looked in superb form as he calmly potted three reds and three blacks before going into the pack only to see the white stick to a red. It hardly mattered as he found another red before a quality safety shot put him firmly in control of the game.

Ami struggled on bravely but it was only delaying the inevitable and the pair shook hands with the scoreboard reading 60-17 in Jennings favour. It was the second time Jennings has lifted the trophy, the first being back in 2007.

The Ben Dickinson Memorial Pairs final was the classic youth v experience battle as Fox & Hounds young guns Jake O’Horo and Mick Webster took on ex-England international pool player Ian Harle and partner Jim Cummins from the Punch Hotel in Darwen.

It was the steady heads of Harle and Cummins who settled in quickly and controlled the opener from start to finish to take it by a score of 74-23.

Frame two saw the Fox pairing start to settle into the match especially O’Horo who capitalised on some unexpected misses from the Punch duo. O’Horo took control early on with a confident run of 32 only to see Harle hit back with a 30 of his own.

Harle looked as though he was going to clear the table but managed to put himself in a Chinese snooker on the yellow. The Fox lads didn’t need asking twice and pinched it to level proceedings. From looking as though they would take the match 2-0 the Punch boys soon found themselves scrapping for everything as O’Horo and Webster looked the more relaxed of the teams and gradually crept away to take the final 2-1.

League Secretary Shaun Pendlebury said: “It was a fantastic arena for the players to compete in and I can’t thank event sponsors Sovereign Snooker Services enough. Stuart and Graham did us proud. It allowed the players to experience playing conditions similar to those in lots of pro-am tournaments.”

n Role Of Honour Premier Office Supplies Division 1 Champions: VIP Snooker; Blackburn Mill Hill Eng. Division 2 Champions: Mill Hill A; Chris Green Young Player Of The Year: Murad Iqbal.; Highest Break Division 1: Jake Loftus 80; Highest Break Division 2: Jim Brookens 105; Danny Hogan Memorial Cup Winners: Longshaw B; John Greenhalgh Trophy Winners: Mill Hill B.