Snooker: Big day took a lot of stamina

Max Sherlock

Top marks for stamina at the weekend go to Central Hawke's Bay snooker player Max Sherlock.

"Put it down to a belly full of Red Bull," Sherlock, 66, said after beating Rotorua's Maureen Collier 3-0 in the final of the Everfresh Ltd Heretaunga New Zealand Masters Snooker tournament at the Havelock North Club yesterday.

Sherlock is the lead guitarist in the popular evergreen Hawke's Bay band Sir Duke and didn't get home until 3am yesterday after playing at a wedding 40 minutes drive from Waipukurau.

"It was a big night to have before the third and final day of a tournament like this. But I only dropped two frames today and apart from the two I dropped on Friday they were the only ones I dropped all weekend," Sherlock said.

Because the tournament is a handicap event, Sherlock, who has played for 51 years, had to give Collier a 23-point start in each frame. With a 52-point start Sherlock beat top seed Bayden Jackson of Havelock North 3-2 in his semifinal.

"This is the 10th time lucky for me at this tournament. I've only been in two finals and I've won them both with the last one being a masters tournament in New Plymouth in 2011," Sherlock recalled.

A member of the Central Hawke's Bay Cycling Club, Sherlock has won the over-60s title in the Tour De Beautiful on three occasions. The aerobic base Sherlock gets from cycling would have been just as beneficial to him as the Red Bull yesterday. He will attempt to retain his title in the tournament next year. Last year's winner, Napier's Baden Rawle, was eliminated in the second round of the weekend's 64-player tournament by Stratford-based former New Zealand coach Stan Bunn.

However, Rawle posted the highest break of the tournament with a 68. Jerry Toheriri of Hastings was the other Hawke's Bay player to make a final yesterday. Tauranga's Gill Mitchell beat Toheriri 1-0 in the plate final. Collier beat Steve Wainohu of Hastings 3-0 in her semifinal.