Frank Smith Pool League – Summer 2026 Season Review 🏆
What a season it has been!
The Summer 2026 Frank Smith Pool League has delivered some fantastic pool, brilliant competition, dramatic finishes and plenty of memorable moments across all three divisions and our competitions.
A huge congratulations to all our winners, runners-up and everyone who took part and helped make another season one to remember! 🎱👏
FIRST DIVISION
🏆 Champions – Sun @ The Meridian
What a season for the Sun @ The Meridian!
They didn't just win the First Division they absolutely dominated it, finishing a massive 46 points clear at the top. That's the biggest winning margin we have on record!
They lost just 61 frames from a possible 210, an incredible record, and backed that up by taking the top three places in the Rankings and two of the top three Top Gun positions.
An outstanding season from a team that set the standard from the very first week. Congratulations to everyone at the Meridian! 🏆🔥
🥈 Terrace Sharpshooters
The Sharpshooters fought brilliantly throughout the season to secure an impressive second place.
In only their third season in the First Division, they showed just how far they have come. The recruitment of some elite players certainly paid dividends, with the team producing an amazing 13 break-and-dishes during the season.
A fantastic achievement and one that sets them up nicely for the future!
😢 Relegation Battle
Sadly, it was another relegation for both the Belfry Rats and Plumstead Radical.
Both teams have become familiar faces in the promotion and relegation battle in recent seasons, yo-yoing between the First and Second Divisions.
Will we see them bounce straight back again next Summer? We certainly wouldn't bet against it! 👀
🏅 Individual Honours
Congratulations to Tony Gear, who took the First Division Rankings title after losing just one singles match from 27 games. An incredible record!
The Top Gun title goes to Jamie White, who made a flying start by winning all 12 of his first matches.
And there was no stopping Tony Gear in the doubles either. Tony went unbeaten in all 14 of his doubles matches, while Ryan Francis won all 11 of his.
That makes Tony and Ryan the best doubles partnership in the league. 🎯🔥
SECOND DIVISION
🏆 Champions – Falconwood Club A
Congratulations to Falconwood Club A, who made an immediate return to the First Division by winning the Second Division by 9 points!
After suffering relegation previously, they responded in exactly the right way and secured their place back at the top table.
🥈 Footscray Bears
Second place went right down to the wire, with the Footscray Bears finally securing promotion on the final day of the season.
They had been involved in a season-long battle with Blackheath Sports Club, who ultimately finished in third place.
A fantastic fight from both teams and a brilliant way to finish the season.
👏 Meridian Ultras & New Eltham Royals
A special mention must go to the Meridian Ultras and New Eltham Royals.
Both teams were playing in the higher divisions for the first time, and both competed strongly throughout the season, comfortably staying out of the relegation battle and securing their place for next season.
A great first campaign at this level! 👏
😢 Plumstead Common Working Men's Club
It was a difficult season for the Plumstead Common Working Men's Club, who managed just one match win.
They'll no doubt be looking to regroup and come back stronger in the Winter.
🏅 Individual Honours
Congratulations to Shane Hutley, who won the Second Division Rankings despite his team being relegated. A fantastic individual achievement.
The Top Gun title goes to Colin Broadbent, who won all 11 of his first matches an incredible campaign!
THIRD DIVISION
🔥 What. A. Season!
The Third Division produced one of the biggest battles of the entire season.
The Kirkham Street Sloshers and Falconwood Club B fought it out week after week for the title and, when the league season finally ended, the two teams were level on points.
That meant only one thing…
A PLAY-OFF!
And what a play-off it was.
The Sloshers eventually emerged victorious in a fantastic contest packed with excellent pool, pressure and plenty of nervous moments from both sets of players.
It was a brilliant end to a brilliant season for both teams. Congratulations to the Sloshers! 🏆👏
Welcome to the League!
We also welcomed two new teamsto the league for the first time in a long time - the Lord Hill Addicks and the Belfry Bees.
Both teams and their players were completely new to league pool and, although they managed just one match win each, they battled hard every single week and continued to improve as the season went on.
That's exactly what league pool is all about.
We look forward to seeing both teams back in action this Winter! 🎱
🏅 Individual Honours
Congratulations to Erron Baxter, Darren Petchy and Mark Longmore, who shared the Rankings title.
All three players won exactly the same number of matches, resulting in a triple award - something we don't see very often!
And congratulations to Tony Mehmet, who was simply unstoppable in the Top Gun stats, winning 12 out of 12. 💪🎯
🏆 COMPETITIONS
Another fantastic season for our competitions!
It was brilliant to see entries return to high numbers, and following popular demand we also introduced the brand-new Lower League Singles competition.
There was some seriously impressive pool on show throughout the competition nights, with some fantastic finals to round things off.
🎱 Singles Champion – Ryan Francis
Congratulations to Ryan Francis, who won the Singles title after defeating Nick Steadman 5–1 in the final.
Ryan even produced three break/reverse dishes in a row during the final - an incredible display of finishing!
👥 Pairs Champions – Jamie White & Tony Halpin
The Pairs title went to Jamie White and Tony Halpin, who defeated Dany Shaw and Michael Barnes 4–1 in a dominant final.
Jamie and Tony played some truly special pool on the night and barely seemed to miss a pot!
A thoroughly deserved title. 🏆
🎩 Cap & Secs Champions – Neil Hall & Richard Chapman
Congratulations to Neil Hall and Richard Chapman, who took the Cap & Secs title with a 4–2 victory over Dany Shaw and Michael Barnes.
It was a fantastic final that looked like it could go all the way to a deciding frame.
🆕 Lower League Singles Champion – Kevin Palmer
Our new Lower League Singles competition produced an absolute thriller.
Kevin Palmer defeated Dany Shaw 5–4 in what was one of the best finals we have witnessed in many years.
Kevin raced into a 4–0 lead, playing some excellent pool and looking firmly in control.
But Dany wasn't finished.
He fought back one frame at a time, finding his rhythm and potting balls that had been missing earlier in the match. Suddenly, the comeback was very much on!
Sadly for Dany, a missed vital shot gave Kevin the opportunity he needed to close out the match and claim the title.
What a final. What a comeback attempt. What a way to launch the new competition! 👏🎱
Congratulations to Kevin!
🔮 LOOKING AHEAD TO THE WINTER
As always, there were plenty of positives from the season, but there were also a few issues that required the Committee to get involved.
As a result, we will be introducing a new Complaints Procedure and Guidelines in time for the Winter season. More information will be released in due course.
Away from that, we want to say a massive thank you to everyone who played, supported, organised and contributed to another fantastic season of Frank Smith Pool League action.
The Summer 2026 season has given us some fantastic champions, brilliant individual performances, dramatic finishes and plenty of memories.
And we're not done yet…
❄️ WINTER 2026/27
The new Winter season gets underway on:
📅 Tuesday 13th October
The fixtures will be released on:
📅 Friday 2nd October
The fixture release will also include a full league diary, covering:
🎱 League matches
🏆 Team Knockout
🥇 All competitions
📅 Free weeks
We'll also advise everyone as soon as possible once the date for the Summer 2026 Presentation has been confirmed.
🎱 THANK YOU & GOOD LUCK!
Thank you to every player, team, captain, venue and supporter who helped make the Summer 2026 season such a great one.
Congratulations to all our champions and award winners, commiserations to those who suffered relegation, and a huge well done to everyone who battled through the season.
Now it's time to reset, get the cues chalked and get ready for another Winter of league pool!
Good luck everyone and we'll see you around the tables! 🎱
