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UCU League 2023/24 final tables and board prizes

Report on the UCU Belfast & District League 2023/24
UCU League 2023/24 final tables and board prizes

Ross Harris of Strand receiving the Silver King trophy from Neil Gardner of previous champions Lisburn

Wednesday 17th April. Stormont Pavilion. Locked in a battle with Fruithill all season, Strand knew coming into the final fixture that only a win would do in their quest to win the Silver King trophy. They hosted Kelly's Heroes knowing that Fruithill had one further match to play and could take advantage if Strand slipped up.

Meanwhile, in Division 2, Lisburn were faced with the same situation as they travelled to face Civil Service in their bid to win the John Strawbridge Cup. The challenge of QUB and Bangor had fallen away in the final few weeks but Malone could still snatch the title if they bettered Lisburn's result.

As chance would have it, both those fixtures were scheduled to be played together. With tension in the air, the teams got down to the serious business of playing. As the evening progressed though, it became clear that things were going well for the title-chasing teams. Strand saved one of their best performances of the season for last as Scott Crockart, Modestas Razbadauskas, David Hill and Ethan Cole secured victories and Robert Wright got a draw. Lisburn also won in style as Jack Edens, Mark Robinson, David Corr and Odhrán Doody won their matches with Andrew Campbell getting a draw. Congratulations to both teams, worthy winners of their respective titles.

Strand were pushed all season by a very strong Fruithill team. One of the most contentious incidents of the season was when Fruithill missed the match at Lisburn due to a mix up over hosting nights, the decision to award the points to Lisburn and Fruithill's ultimately unsuccessful appeal of that decision. While it wouldn't have impacted the final league standings as they ended off 10 points adrift of Strand, it did cast a shadow over their season. Rule modifications to hopefully avoid a repeat will be discussed. For next season though, Fruithill should be well placed to challenge again.

Kelly's Heroes had their best season in several years in Division 1 as they finished 3rd. Lisburn finished 4th and Civil Service finished with three successive victories to finish 5th ahead of QUB.

RankTeamPlayedWonDrewLostAdjustPoints
1 Strand 15 12 0 3 73.0
2 Fruithill Ravens 15 10 0 5 -2.0 63.0
3 Kelly's Heroes 15 8 1 6 -1.0 55.0
4 Lisburn 1 15 6 0 9 -1.0 48.5
5 NI Civil Service 1 15 5 1 9 43.0
6 QUB 1 15 3 0 12 28.5

Division 1 winners Strand with the Silver King trophy

Above: Division 1 winners Strand with the Silver King trophy

 

In Division 2, Malone finished 2nd and appealed a decision about how Lisburn boards were ordered in their first fixture of the season. The appeal was unsuccessful and the rules will be clarified next season but as it turned out the decision did not affect the overall standings. QUB and Bangor also challenged for the title and ended off 3rd and 4th. In the midfield battle, Fruithill ended off ahead of draw specialists Citi Knights, with Civil Service, Greenisland and Lisburn 3 rounding out the table.

RankTeamPlayedWonDrewLostAdjustPoints
1 Lisburn 2 16 11 4 1 -1.5 79.5
2 Malone 16 11 1 4 +1.5 77.0
3 QUB 2 16 8 4 4 72.0
4 Bangor 16 9 2 5 65.0
5 Fruithill Falcons 16 7 3 6 58.0
6 Citi Knights 16 4 5 7 53.5
7 NI Civil Service 2 16 6 4 6 -1.0 52.0
8 Greenisland FC 16 3 1 12 +1.0 32.0
9 Lisburn 3 16 1 0 15 15.0

Division 2 winners Lisburn

Above: Division 2 winners Lisburn

 

Thanks to all captains and all 155 players for contributing to the success of the league.

 

DIVISION 1 TEAMS

 

Strand (1st)

Captain: Conor Spackman
Top point scorers: In a team effort, seven players contributed at least 4 points, Scott Crockart leading the way with 12 points and Robert Wright adding 9 points.
Best boards: Top performers in the league on both board 1 (12) and board 4 (10.5)

 

Fruithill Ravens (2nd)

Captain: John Monaghan
Top point scorers: Four players contributed 8 or more points, led by Ciaran Marron with 10 and Sergio Esteve Sanchez with 9
Best boards: Top performers in the league on both board 3 (11.5) and board 5 (10)

 

Kelly's Heroes (3rd)

Captain: Martin Kelly
Top point scorers: Both Gareth Annesley and Stephen Morgan scored 8 points over the season
Best boards: Points were evenly spread across the boards, board 2 was the highest scoring with 9

 

Lisburn 1 (4th)

Captain: Steve Scannell
Top point scorers: Ahmed Abas scored 6.5 points and Stephen Scannell 4.5 points in a season where 13 separate players contributed to the overall total
Best boards: Top performers in the league on board 2 with 11 points

 

NI Civil Service 1 (5th)

Captain: Mark Newman
Top point scorers: Mandar Tahmankar with 8.5 points and Christopher Kelly with 6
Best boards: Scored best on boards 1 and 5, with 8.5 points on each

 

QUB 1 (6th)

Captain: Paddy Magee
Top point scorers: Edward Khanzharov top scored over the season with 4.5 points
Best boards: Scored best on board 4 with 7.5 points

 

DIVISION 2 TEAMS

 

Lisburn 2 (1st)

Captain: Jack Edens
Top point scorers: Five players contributed 7 or more points, led by captain Jack Edens with 9 and Mark Robinson with 8.5
Best boards: Top performers in the league on board 3 (13.5), board 4 (13) and board 5 (10.5)

 

Malone (2nd)

Captain: Martin Kelly
Top point scorers: Top three contributors were Graeme McCormick, with 11.5 points, John Bryars with 11 and Robert Lavery with 9
Best boards: Top performers in the league on board 2 (11.5), also performing strongly on board 3 (11.5) and board 4 (12)

 

QUB 2 (3rd)

Captain: Paddy Magee
Top point scorers: Four players contributed 7 or more points, with Liam Ferris and Patrick McKillen each adding 8.5
Best boards: Top performers in the league on board 1 (12) and board 5 (10.5), also performing strongly on board 3 (10.5)

 

Bangor (4th)

Captain: Sam Moore
Top point scorers: James O'Fee with 10 points and captain Sam Moore with 7
Best boards: Points were evenly spread across the boards, board 2 was the highest scoring with 10

 

Fruithill Falcons (5th)

Captain: Conor McMullan
Top point scorers: Four players contributed 7 or more points, Pearse Rooney top scoring with 11 and then Liam Martinez with 8
Best boards: Scored best on board 2 with 11 points

 

Citi Knights (6th)

Captain: Michael Devine
Top point scorers: Shane Devine with 8 points and Oisín Cinnsealach with 7.5
Best boards: Points were fairly evenly spread across the boards, board 1 was the highest scoring with 10

 

NI Civil Service 2 (7th)

Captain: Mark Newman
Top point scorers: Six players contributed at least 4 points, Gareth Faul leading the way with 6 points
Best boards: Scored best on board 2 with 9 points

 

Greenisland FC Chess (8th)

Captain: Chris Dorrian
Top point scorers: Robert Rolleston top scored with 4 points and then Leah Worbey with 3.5
Best boards: Scored best on board 2 and board 4 with 6 points on each

 

Lisburn 3 (9th)

Captain: Neil Gardner
Top point scorers: Nine different players contributed points for the team, with most getting their first ever league points. Paul Nancarrow top scored with 3.5
Best boards: Scored best on board 5 with 5 points

 

DIVISION 1 BOARD PRIZES

 

Division 1 board 1: Scott Crockart
A very strong season from Scott Crockart, playing every round and opening with consecutive 5 wins to again take a highly competitive board prize from Mandar Tahmankar and John Cairns

 

NameRatingClubPointsPlayedPercentage
Scott Crockart 2128 Strand 12 15 80.00
Mandar Tahmankar 2024 NI Civil Service 1 8.5 12 70.83
Gareth Annesley 1958 Kelly's Heroes 8 13 61.54
John Cairns 1998 Fruithill Ravens 7 12 58.33
Steve Scannell 1961 Lisburn 1 4.5 10 45.00

 

Division 1 board 2: Ahmed Abas
Ahmed Abas excelled on board 2 as he edged out Stephen Wood and Sergio Sanchez to take the prize

 

NameRatingClubPointsPlayedPercentage
Ahmed Abas 1961 Lisburn 1 6.5 8 81.25
Stephen Wood 1954 Kelly's Heroes 7.5 11 68.18
Sergio Esteve Sanchez 1868 Fruithill Ravens 7.5 11 68.18
Robert Wright 1791 Strand 9 15 60.00

 

Division 1 board 3: Ciaran Marron
A fantastic performance from Ciaran Marron, who was undefeated as he won the board prize with the best individual percentage on any board, while Modestas Razbadauskas and Stephen Morgan also had positive records over the season

 

NameRatingClubPointsPlayedPercentage
Ciaran Marron 1766 Fruithill Ravens 8 9 88.89
Modestas Razbadauskas 1765 Strand 6.5 10 65.00
Stephen Morgan 1650 Kelly's Heroes 6.5 11 59.09
Richard Gould 1583 NI Civil Service 1 4 12 33.33

 

Division 1 board 4: Paul McNaughton
Consistency of selection was key as Paul McNaughton was the sole player eligible for the prize. Conor Spackman and Ben McIlroy just missed out having played 7 games each

 

NameRatingClubPointsPlayedPercentage
Paul McNaughton 1502 NI Civil Service 1 3 11 27.27

 

Division 1 board 5: Christopher Kelly
Christopher Kelly edged Ethan Cole with head-to-head results proving key. Michael Sheerin had a very good season on board 5 but missed out having played 7 games on the board

 

NameRatingClubPointsPlayedPercentage
Christopher Kelly 1566 NI Civil Service 1 4.5 8 56.25
Ethan Cole 1557 Strand 5.5 11 50.00

 

DIVISION 2 BOARD PRIZES

 

Division 2 board 1: Liam Ferris
A magnificent seven players all ended with 50% records or better, with Liam Ferris ultimately performing best on those head-to-heads, taking the prize ahead of Shane Devine and Jack Edens

 

NameRatingClubPointsPlayedPercentage
Liam Ferris 1680 QUB 2 8.5 11 77.27
Shane Devine 1511 Citi Knights 8 12 66.67
Jack Edens 1528 Lisburn 2 7.5 12 62.50
Liam Martinez 1483 Fruithill Falcons 5.5 9 61.11
Robert Lavery 1573 Malone 9 16 56.25
Sam Moore 1570 Bangor 7 13 53.85
Cathal Murphy 1426 NI Civil Service 2 4.5 9 50.00

 

Division 2 board 2: John Bryars
A highly consistent season from John Bryars, playing in all but one game and narrowly winning out over James O'Fee, Pearse Rooney and Tom Grey

 

NameRatingClubPointsPlayedPercentage
John Bryars 1578 Malone 11 15 73.33
James O'Fee 1528 Bangor 7 10 70.00
Pearse Rooney 1532 Fruithill Falcons 9 13 69.23
Tom Grey 1579 QUB 2 5.5 8 68.75
David Jackson 1363 NI Civil Service 2 4 8 50.00
David Corr 1457 Lisburn 2 4 9 44.44

 

Division 2 board 3: Graeme McCormick
Unbeaten in the league all season, Graeme McCormick wins a well-deserved board prize, with Oisín Cinnsealach his only competitor

 

NameRatingClubPointsPlayedPercentage
Graeme McCormick 1586 Malone 11 13 84.62
Oisín Cinnsealach 1313 Citi Knights 5 9 55.56

 

Division 2 board 4: Ashish Shambharkar
As with Division 1, consistency of selection was again key on board 4 as Ashish Shambharkar was the sole player eligible for the prize. Pat McKillen just missed out having played 7 games.

 

NameRatingClubPointsPlayedPercentage
Ashish Shambharkar 1166 Citi Knights 3.5 8 43.75

 

Division 2 board 5: Stephen McBride
In his first full season in the league, Stephen McBride won the prize ahead of Gary Johnston, with head-to-head victories proving vital.

 

NameRatingClubPointsPlayedPercentage
Stephen McBride 1396 Citi Knights 5 8 62.50
Gary Johnston 1213 Bangor 5 10 50.00

 

Action from the final fixtures

Strand v Kelly's Heroes 20240417 board 1 Strand v Kelly's Heroes 20240417 boards 2 and 3

 

Strand v Kelly's Heroes 20240417 boards 4 and 5 NI Civil Service 2 v Lisburn 2 20240417 board 1

 

NI Civil Service 2 v Lisburn 2 20240417 boards 2 and 3 NI Civil Service 2 v Lisburn 2 20240417 boards 4 and 5

 

 

Division 1 winners Strand and Division 2 winners Lisburn

Above: Division 2 champions Lisburn and Division 1 champions Strand