Last week 1st leg matches certainly gave us a mixed bag, three draws, two 6-2’s, two 7-1’s and two dishes.
There is everything to play for, and chances for all who will be in the Champions Draw and who will be in the Europa Draw?

The Sidings (1) vs (7) Gorton Con Club
First and foremost, it is great to see Dan Savery back on that baize.
The result, though, probably wasn’t what he wanted on his return to the captain’s chair. Neither team has started the season as they would have wanted and needs to get a run of results under their belts.
Coming off the back of two losses, Gorton started as well as they could, with Scott Livingston taking the first and league stalwart Frank Cheffings taking the second. Danny and Harry Mallender took the first doubles with wins, followed by Mark Beresford, and Neil McEwan and a second doubles win from Mark Turner & Dave Stanley. Gorton found themselves in a commanding position at 6-0.
Their only loss of the match came the way of the Sidings’ ever-reliable Jan Zalud beating Stuart Ingham in the seventh frame before Jay Gallacher took the last to take a 7-1 lead to the Sidings for the 2nd leg.
If one thing the history of the Gorton league does prove, though, is that you never write a team off.
The Sidings have some very strong and consistent players in their ranks and will need to look to everyone to bring their best games to the table. 
Can they do it?
Without a doubt, they have the players, but they will be looking to take it frame to frame, dig in and chip away at that ever-overlooking 7-1 scoreline.
Gorton, on the other hand, can’t be in any way complacent, and knowing Neil, he certainly won’t be. They will be looking to get it done early and inject more confidence into the team going back into league matches next week.

Holdsworth WMC (2) vs (6) Waggon & Horses
There aren’t many mirrored matches in this league, but here we have the exception: the same results as the first meeting of the year, down to which frames were won and lost.
As with the first meeting, Chris Birbeck led the Holdsworth out, securing a tight win to gain the early advantage. This advantage was short-lived, however, as the Waggon took the next three frames. Nerves likely rattled in the Waggon camp, but Holdsworth captain Lewie stepped up, continuing his unbeaten season and bringing the score to 3-2 with three frames left, setting up a tense finish. Ultimately, the Waggon maintained their home advantage, winning the final three frames for a solid 6-2 result going into the second leg.
The second leg is going to pose a few questions for both captains. The Waggon looked to have a few players missing from the 1st leg. Will Ian stick with the team that performed in the first leg, or will he twist with other players available to him? With the season starting to gain momentum, we can see that the Waggon has got strength and is now showing depth. Surely a convincing win here could tee them up nicely for a good run of results, but a loss could equally have the opposite effect.
Lewie and his Holdsworth team or on the hunt for a first win of the season, and we know it will come, but will it be this week?
The results so far certainly don’t reflect the potential of the Holdsworth; their players, individually, are all capable of winning frames. The question now is, can Lewie pull them together and turn a four-frame deficit to take a huge win for the team?

Prince of Wales (6) vs (2) Steelworks Tavern
A match that has the potential to swing either way in the results stakes, with the first half of the match proving just that, but could the Steelworks use their well-known home advantage to push the swing their way?
In short, no!
With wins for the Steelworks from Cody Chapman and doubles team, Mark McCann & Jamie Fletcher and the Prince’s Andy Robinson and Terry Townley, the match was poised at 2-2 at the half-time mark, but the Steelworks couldn’t push their home advantage.
Lee Acheson won the first of the second half with a doubles win from Scott Armstrong & Chris Ingham, followed by Thomas Leavy and Sharif Ghoorahoo singles wins, the Prince wrapped up a 6-2 advantage to take home for the 2nd leg.
The Steelworks need to start strong and can’t allow the Prince to get any foothold in the match. That said, Steve Christy [captain for the Prince], has steered a team to four out of the last five leagues, including one being undefeated and will not be looking to rush the match. He only needs two to win, but they still need to be won!

Clayton Con Club (4) vs (4) Studio Bar
What can be said here?!?
I am sure Clayton would have been an underdog to most, luckily for them, they didn’t feel that way, I know the layman would look at the match being a drawn result, but, as a lot of teams know, a draw at the Studio, especially when they have two dishes in the mix most certainly feels like a win.
Back to it, though, it is just that, a draw, and not a win.
Captain Martin returned this week for Clayton and was certainly refreshed and ready, taking the first frame, and most certainly, cheers from the away team. This was quickly answered in short with a dish from Liam Power, who unfortunately didn’t carry the win into the doubles match alongside partner Kev Kelly, which followed, losing to Alan Hardman and Bill Owen, swinging the advantage back to Clayton 2-1.
Studio captain Chris Eccleston, inopportunely, couldn’t carry on the swinging match back to the Studio with Steve Scholes taking the score to 3-1 in Clayton’s favour. The Studio’s second dish of the night, though, coming by way of Chris Wilson, stopped the momentum and set up a three-frame run and the score back in their favour, 4-3.
It was Alan Hardman who took his second win of the evening, the frame and the draw for Clayton to set up what, potentially, could be a thriller this week.
Looking ahead, who would be considered the favourite here?
On paper, we would say the Studio, it’s a one-game shootout and they are – certainly on paper at least – one of, if not the best in the league when at full strength. Chris will be wanting a full team to pick from, and each playing hitting form – in that scenario, I can’t see past them, they have played many a final at Clayton and will be comfortable there.
However.
Clayton are proving to be no mugs at all this season, a win over Gorton and draws against their, this weeks opponents, the Studio, as well as a reformed Waggon, they appear to be comfortable against anyone.

Waggon & Horses ‘B’ (1) vs (7) The Buxton
Second only to the first frame, the Buxton looked very comfortable at home last week, taking both doubles and five out of six singles. It looks, at least on paper, to be a well-rounded, dominant performance from them.
But, knowing the home advantage the Buxton holds, the results on paper may not have been entirely the story on the baize. This week will tell us more.
The Waggon ‘B’ need to put a performance in there is no question there, but they have a new table in an open, spacious environment. So, venue-wise and table-wise, there is no issue for them there. They hold the home advantage, and with enough people there, the Waggon can hold its advantage for the home team if their players and supporters get behind them as a team. They will have to play a very similar game to the Sidings, though and take it frame by frame, win the first, the second, the doubles, chip away at that lead, and who knows, they have the players and the captain. Have they got the game? Only Thursday will answer that question.

Strawberry Duck (4) vs (4) Prince of Wales ‘B’
In a slight back-and-forward match, both teams shared the spoils in every sense, both had three singles wins and both had a doubles win, should that keep up we’ll see the first play-off of the season.
The Duck went ahead with Dave Williams taking the first frame, only for the Prince ‘B’ to take the next two with a singles win from Kirt Hogan and a doubles win from Carl Jackson & Darren Scanlon to push the lead back to the Prince ‘B’ 2-0 with Dave Latham [Strabwerry Duck] stopping the run, with captain Darren Scanlon then taking his second frame of the night to restore the lead 3-2 in favour of the Prince ‘B’
A doubles win from Dave Latham, his second win of the evening & John Hughes, followed by a singles win from Pete James, gave the Duck the lead for the second time of the evening, guaranteed at least a draw for the return leg with the home advantage.
And that is exactly how it panned with Ste Gillard taking the last for Prince ‘B’.
The win this week – for me – will come down to team selection and patience, if a team can gain an early advantage and dig in taking no chances that could give them the best chance of winning.
Both teams have big hitters though and I’m sure this won’t be a drawn-out game, both will be in for the win from the start.

Gorton Con Club ‘B’ (4) vs (4) Strawberry Gardens
Here we are again – 4-4.
From speaking to Leigh in the week, I know the Gardens were struggling to get a team out, but a job from the captain for making sure they were there and gave a good shift against a very dangerous team in Gorton ‘B’.
This truly was a match of two halves, with them both mirror versions of each other, only for the opposing teams.
The Gardens struck first, taking a three-frame lead with Lee Corcoran and Aaron Deans taking the first two singles and Aaron Deans taking his second with Chris Dawson in the doubles before Pete Brielry struck back for Gorton ‘B’, making it 3-1 for the first half.
Shifting into the second half, Chris Dawson took his second win of the night and secured the draw, at least, for the Gardens.
Knowing Wayne [captain, Gorton Con Club ‘B’] and Gorton ‘B’, though there was no way they would give in without a fight and surely enough, that never seemed on their cards.
Wayne stepped into the doubles with Paul Sweeney to pull the score back to 4-2, and with wins following from Alan Sherratt and Rob Walton, the draw was secured for both.
Going forward and knowing both teams, I’m not sure a home advantage affects the match here; all are more than capable, and this truly will be a fantastic match to watch. I can’t imagine anyone will give room to anyone, and there will be plenty of attacking action.