Liverpool CC Open QF: Lee and Smith Gatecrash Last Four

The quarter finals of the Liverpool Cricket Club Open took place on Thursday evening, and there were a couple of surprises, as the English duo of Ben Smith and Joe Lee defeated higher-ranked opposition to join the top two seeds in the semi-finals of the Challenger 5 level competition.

No.8 seed Lee came up against compatriot Sam Todd, the tournament’s No.4 seed, and found himself two games down after losing the second on a tie-break 14-12. However, he was able to wrestle back some momentum by winning the third 11-9, before allowing Todd to score just five points across the next two games, winning in just under an hour to secure his place in the last four.

Lee will now face the tournament’s top seed, USA’s Spencer Lovejoy, after the American also needed five games to come through his last eight contest. He came up against Welshman Peter Creed, who had caused an upset in the opening round, and after winning a fourth-game tie-break 14-12 to save the match, there was every chance he could cause another. However, Lovejoy was able to win the deciding game 11-4 to move through to the semi-finals in Aigburth.

In the bottom half of the draw, it was guaranteed that there would be an unseeded player into the last four, after both Emyr Evans and Ben Smith won their first round matches. The pair then met in the quarters, and it was Smith, who sits 52 places below the Welshman in the rankings, that won out, takin victory in four games.

Smith will now face the event’s No.2 seed, Scotland’s Rory Stewart, after he overcame New Zealand’s Temwa Chileshe, another man to cause an upset in the opening round, in straight games, winning 11-4, 11-3, 11-5 in 33 minutes to advance to the last four.

The semi-finals of the Liverpool Cricket Club Open will take place on Friday, March 25, with the last two moving into Saturday’s final at the Challenger 5 level tournament.

Quarter Final Results: Liverpool Cricket Club Open
[1] Spencer Lovejoy (USA) bt Peter Creed (WAL) 3-2: 14-12, 3-11, 11-9, 12-14, 11-4 (75m)
[8] Joe Lee (ENG) bt [4] Sam Todd (ENG) 3-2: 6-11, 12-14, 11-9, 11-3, 11-2 (59m)
Ben Smith (ENG) bt Emyr Evans (WAL) 3-1: 11-7, 6-11, 13-11, 11-6 (57m)
[2] Rory Stewart (SCO) bt Temwa Chileshe (NZL) 3-0: 11-4, 11-3, 11-5 (33m)

Semi-Final Draw: To Be Played Friday, March 25
[1] Spencer Lovejoy (USA) v [8] Joe Lee (ENG)
Ben Smith (ENG) v [2] Rory Stewart (SCO)