John Schenck has affirmed he is one of the region's best after taking out his 28th Bendigo Billiards Championship.
Schenck went head-to-head in the championship match against Ryan Bowland, but the victory didn't come without its challenges.
Both players found it difficult to find the touch needed to build breaks they would normally be accustomed to, especially Schenck who made breaks of 156 and 144 in competition early that week.
However, there was still plenty of action on the table on Wednesday night at the Golden Square Working Men's Club.
Bowland put up a tough challenge for Schenck, but in his usual championship style, proved too good.
The final margin was only 31 points with Schenck victorious 399-368.
In the B-grade competition Marty Lemega secured victory over Russell Hargreaves,
Lemega had a 22-point margin over Hargreaves to seal the championship.
Recently the Bendigo Billiards and Snooker Association played its annual goldfields rivalry match with Ballarat.
Bendigo went into the match with the 2018 title to its name, but was unable to defend it from a defiant Ballarat.
Players had to overcome slow tables, but the standard remained at its usual high with six breaks above 30 scored by each side, the highest at 54 by Schenck.
The final margin was 4-2, but all games went down to the wire with the scores in the balance with 20 minutes left to play.
Schenck and Bowland won their matches, while Glenn Purdy, Tyson Howie, Gary McArdle and Lindsay Gordon were courageous in defeat.
With the trophy back in the hands of Ballarat, Bendigo aims to come back even stronger when they meet again next year on home tables.
Interested in playing snooker or billiards in Bendigo? Contact BBSA secretary Ryan Bowland at bendigobsa@outlook.com.
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