Archer secures the league top prize

COLIN '˜ARCHIE' ARCHER topped the Sunday Singles League at Waterlooville Sports Bar by one point from Adam Lovegrove.
Colin Archer. Picture: Tim DunkleyColin Archer. Picture: Tim Dunkley
Colin Archer. Picture: Tim Dunkley

The 52-year-old from Leigh Park needed and got a 2-2 draw in his final match.

‘It was very tight,’ admitted Archer, who lost his lower right leg as a result of a horrendous accident.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

‘It means everything to me to win it. I didn’t expect to win it and I don’t think anyone expected me to win it. But it all came good in the end.’

Archer’s leg was amputated below the knee in 2013.

Taking up the story, he said: ‘I had an accident in 2001 at work.

‘I fell 40 feet through a roof and landed on my heels. It smashed both my heels to bits and broke my back in seven places.

‘I’ve had a few operations on my feet over the years and I’m still having them now.’

Four years ago, he was forced to make a decision.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

‘I couldn’t bear the pain and there was nothing more they could do so the only thing left was amputation,’ he added.

‘I could have kept it and had the pain but it was too much. It was an easy decision and I’m glad I did it.

‘My other leg is just as bad. In the future, I may lose that one.’

Once a keen footballer, Archer took up snooker seriously two or three years ago ‘because there’s not a lot else I can do’.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

He now turns out for Al’s Bar & Snooker Club, Portchester, in division three of the Portsmouth league.

‘I got into snooker and enjoyed it,’ said Archer, who is right-handed.

‘Then I got into the league. It was great and I loved it.

‘But I can’t play every shot because I need to use the rest more than most people.’

The Sunday Singles League suits all standards. Players are handicapped according to their abilities and they play one four-frame match every week.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

For more information, ring Waterlooville Sports Bar on 02392 256808.

Money winners: Colin Archer £900, Adam Lovegrove £650, Steve Charlton £450, Karl Smith £300, Lewis Wilson £200, Sam Tindall £100, Dale Waters £50, Shane Galmoye £50.

High-break prizes: Sam Tindall (52) £25, Rich Burnett (48) £25.

– Tim Dunkley