.png)
From Friday 1st September to Sunday 3rd September, we hosted our third Multi-Sport Champion of Champions tournament!
10 sports, 4 players, 3 days, 1 trophy. This year's lineup of players was our toughest field yet.
Our 4 players this year were:
Connor Heyes (Tonbridge) - Defending Champion (yellow)
Eddy Rounthwaite (Verbier) - Debut (pink)
Jonno Gilbert (SW London) - Debut (white)
Reece Foxon (N London) - 2021 Champion (black)
My name is Elliot Jones (in orange above), and I oversaw the whole weekend, including acting as referee. We also had Katherine Allen, head of media, and our host for the weekend was the superb Bay Lodge, in Minnis Bay. Hosted by the amazing Alan & Pamela Jones.
Our players competed in 10 sporting events. 9 of them are sports we have run leagues in, and one mystery sport. The players found out the mystery event on Friday evening, with the event taking place on Saturday morning. Lets just say, Jonno was happy! Here they are, in order:
Snooker (Friday evening)
Parkun (5km run) (Saturday morning)
Petanque (Saturday morning)
Tennis (Saturday afternoon)
Squash (Saturday afternoon)
Pool (Saturday evening)
Darts (Saturday evening)
Badminton (Sunday morning)
Table Tennis (Sunday morning)
Golf (Sunday afternoon)
My pre tournament predictions had been pretty accurate the past 2 years, and this year we expected Reece to win back his title, with Eddy finishing as runner-up and 3rd place 50/50 between Connor & Jonno. Unlike the previous 2 years, these 4 players had similar skillsets, with all of them very competent with a racket in their hands.
The scoring for each event was as follows:
1st & unbeaten - 5 points
1st & one defeat - 4 points
2nd - 3 points
3rd - 2 points
4th - 1 point
Usually we start with a welcome speech, and a photoshoot. But unfortunately, 3 of our players were very late, and we headed off to Frames Snooker Club in Margate to start the Snooker. Half an hour later than intended.
Reece Foxon was favourite for the snooker, he is a former EJMSL snooker league champion and in fact the only one to have played in any of our snooker leagues. On paper, 2nd place was up for grabs.
The first fixture draw of the weekend threw up Foxon v Rounthwaite and Gilbert v Heyes. Foxon started superbly, thrashing Rounthwaite, and we saw a thrilling opener in the other match, with the players level on points with just the black left on the table. Gilbert then fluked it in off 2 cushions (see video below). Much to Connor's despair. The second set of fixtures saw a huge upset, Gilbert ran his luck at times, and managed to beat an off form Foxon on the final black. In the final fixtures, Foxon then scored an impressive break of 28, as he beat Heyes comfortably. Then all eyes turned to table 2 where Rounthwaite had a solid lead on Gilbert. The maths meant that Eddy needed to beat Jonno by 25 points to finish in 2nd place ahead of the South African, but Jonno would finish in 1st place if he could get any win. 1st, 2nd and 3rd were all still possible outcomes for him. Eddy got close to the points he needed but was reeled back in by Jonno, before Eddy got the win, by 17 points.
Full Snooker (event 1) results:
Reece Foxon 62-12 Eddy Rounthwaite
Jonno Gilbert 42-35 Connor Heyes
Eddy Rounthwaite 52-32 Connor Heyes
Jonno Gilbert 38-33 Reece Foxon
Reece Foxon 64-44 Connor Heyes
Eddy Rounthwaite 47-30 Jonno Gilbert
With 3 players ending on 2 wins and 1 defeat each, no one was able to gain the full 5 points.
Here were the standings after Event 1:
1st: Reece Foxon (4)
2nd: Jonno Gilbert (3)
3rd: Eddy Rounthwaite (2)
4th: Connor Heyes (1)
Event 2 was our mystery event, and this year it was a 5km run! Off we headed at 8:30am on Saturday morning to Margate Parkrun. Jonno Gilbert had been training for an Ironman and was a strong favourite for this event. Again, on paper, 2nd place appeared to be up for grabs.
It was actually Connor Heyes who set the early pace. Much to everyone's surprise, he flew out the blocks, running the first km in 3 minutes & 25 seconds! Gilbert was 2nd, with Foxon & Rounthwaite further back together. Heyes began to walk, and after about 2km was overtaken by Gilbert. But the question was, could Heyes hold on to 2nd? The answer was yes! His unorthodox tactics of running and walking worked! Meanwhile Eddy turned on the gas to overtake Reece, and looking ahead to a full weekend of sport, Foxon resisted the urge to go all out for a 3rd place finish.
Parkrun (event 2) Results:
1st: Jonno Gilbert (20:14)
2nd: Connor Heyes (23:05)
3rd: Eddy Rounthwaite (23:29)
4th: Reece Foxon (24:31)
This meant that the South African took the lead after 2 events!
1st: Jonno Gilbert (8)
2nd: Reece Foxon (5)
3rd: Eddy Rounthwaite (4)
4th: Connor Heyes (4)
After a beautiful breakfast at Bay Lodge, one which featured pancakes, blueberries, strawberries, yoghurt, toast, coffee and more. We headed to Minnis Bay for event 3. Petanque! Eddy was the favourite for this event, having played in our petanque league in Verbier. However, Reece won this event 2 years ago, unbeaten. And Connor came runner-up in the petanque last year. This time the opening fixtures threw up Foxon v Gilbert and Heyes v Rounthwaite.
Petanque (event 3) results:
Reece Foxon 13-10 Jonno Gilbert
Eddy Rounthwaite 13-6 Connor Heyes
Connor Heyes 13-10 Jonno Gilbert
Eddy Rounthwaite 13-7 Reece Foxon
Reece Foxon 13-9 Connor Heyes
Eddy Rounthwaite 13-10 Jonno Gilbert
Some close games, but the event pretty much went as suggested on paper, and this left Eddy on top for the first time. A lead he would stretch and ultimately never relinquish. After 3 events:
1st: Eddy Rounthwaite (9)
2nd: Jonno Gilbert (9)
3rd: Reece Foxon (8)
4th: Connor Heyes (6)
We headed back to Bay Lodge for a delicious lunch, then off we went to Broadstairs & St.Peters Tennis Club for our 4th event. Again Reece was the favourite for this event, he won all his matches 2 years ago, but we knew he would face tougher opposition this time from Eddy & Jonno, and of course Connor who won the tennis event last year. The fixture draw saw the same opening fixtures as the previous event. Gilbert started superbly against Foxon, leading for a lot of the first set, but Foxon played solid when needed, to get the win. While Connor pushed Eddy hard in his first set, before also falling in straight sets. The middle two matches saw 2 classics play out, with Gilbert saving 6 match points against Heyes, and Rounthwaite coming from a set down to shock Foxon.
Tennis (event 4) results:
Reece Foxon 10-8, 10-7 Jonno Gilbert
Eddy Rounthwaite 10-8, 10-4 Connor Heyes
Eddy Rounthwaite 8-10, 10-7, 10-7 Reece Foxon
Jonno Gilbert 9-11, 11-6, 15-13 Connor Heyes
Eddy Rounthwaite 10-7, 10-2 Jonno Gilbert
Reece Foxon 10-2, 10-6 Connor Heyes
Standings after 4 events:
1st: Eddy Rounthwaite (14)
2nd: Reece Foxon (11)
3rd: Jonno Gilbert (11)
4th: Connor Heyes (7)
We then headed to the amazing Thanet Squash & Rackets Club for event number 5! Now, if we had to put our house on 1 outcome in this tournament, it was Eddy winning the squash, however, again, 2nd place was up for grabs, with Connor winning this event last year. Former county player Eddy put on a show, and remarkably, made it 9 straight wins across the last 3 events.
Squash (event 5) results:
Reece Foxon 11-3, 11-6 Connor Heyes
Eddy Rounthwaite 11-6, 11-0 Jonno Gilbert
Eddy Rounthwaite 11-1, 11-4 Connor Heyes
Reece Foxon 11-5, 13-11 Jonno Gilbert
Jonno Gilbert 11-9, 11-5 Connor Heyes
Eddy Rounthwaite 11-1, 11-3 Reece Foxon
After these results, Eddy was running away with the title, and Connor was in danger of being cut adrift, with 2 of his weakest events coming next.
Standings after 5 events:
1st: Eddy Rounthwaite (19)
2nd: Reece Foxon (14)
3rd: Jonno Gilbert (13)
4th: Connor Heyes (8)
After another fabulous meal at Bay Lodge, the players headed to Frames again, this time for the pool and darts! Reece was favourite again for both these events, and he needed the points if he wanted to reel in Eddy. Connor finished 4th and 3rd in these events last year. The pool event often throws up some shocks, and this year was no different, in fact, this event was craziest single event we've ever had. The matches took such a long time, we had to change to best of 3 for the final 2 games, and we had to shorten the darts format to best of 3 too, as a result.
Pool (event 6) results:
Connor Heyes 3-2 Reece Foxon
Eddy Rounthwaite 3-2 Jonno Gilbert
Eddy Rounthwaite 3-1 Reece Foxon
Connor Heyes 3-2 Jonno Gilbert
Reece Foxon 2-1 Jonno Gilbert
Connor Heyes 2-1 Eddy Rounthwaite
Eddy extended his win streak to 11, before he lost to Connor in his final pool match. Connor won a valuable 5 points, much against the odds. 4/8 frames he won because his opponents fouled on the black, but overall he played solid pool, not giving too much away, and his lack of fouls was surely a great contributor to his win. Reece & Jonno were left to rue missed opportunities.
Standings after 6 events:
1st: Eddy Rounthwaite (22)
2nd: Reece Foxon (16)
3rd: Jonno Gilbert (14)
4th: Connor Heyes (13)
Over 30 minutes later than scheduled we started event number 7; darts! Due to the time taken in the pool though, we had to shorten the darts format to best of 3, rather than best of 5.
Here were the Darts (event 7) results in order:
Jonno Gilbert 2-0 Reece Foxon
Eddy Rounthwaite 2-0 Connor Heyes
Eddy Rounthwaite 2-0 Reece Foxon
Jonno Gilbert 2-0 Connor Heyes
Reece Foxon 2-0 Connor Heyes
Jonno Gilbert 2-0 Eddy Rounthwaite
A disastrous outcome for Reece, who came third, in his losing matches, both Eddy & Jonno took out the doubles immediately. While Jonno won his second event of the weekend, and Eddy added another 2nd place finish in a hugely successful day for the Yorkshireman.
So after day 2 and 7 events, the standings were as follows:
1st: Eddy Rounthwaite (25)
2nd: Jonno Gilbert (19)
3rd: Reece Foxon (18)
4th: Connor Heyes (14)
Looking ahead to day 3, Eddy was a huge favourite. Perhaps the only player that could catch him, was Reece, but Reece would need 2 wins in the badminton and table tennis. Two years ago Reece won the badminton and finished 2nd in the table tennis. However these are Connor's two strongest events, and he won both last year.
On Sunday morning we headed to Hartsdown Leisure Centre, Margate. The opening badminton fixtures were drawn as Reece v Eddy (massive game) and Connor v Jonno. This would be the first time that Jonno had even held a badminton racket, so well done to him. Eddy v Reece was a classic, and despite Reece winning more points, Eddy won 2 sets to 1, which pretty much won him the title.
Full Badminton (event 8) results:
Eddy Rounthwaite 11-9, 4-11, 11-9 Reece Foxon
Connor Heyes 11-5, 11-0 Jonno Gilbert
Reece Foxon 11-2, 11-0 Jonno Gilbert
Connor Heyes 15-13, 11-8 Eddy Rounthwaite
Eddy Rounthwaite 11-4, 11-6 Jonno Gilbert
Connor Heyes 11-3, 11-6 Reece Foxon
Connor had won his second event of the weekend, and earnt a valuable 5 points as he looked to avoid bottom spot.
Standings after 8 events:
1st: Eddy Rounthwaite (28)
2nd: Jonno Gilbert (20)
3rd: Reece Foxon (20)
4th: Connor Heyes (19)
On to event 9; table tennis. Eddy Rounthwaite was on the brink of the title. Eddy knew he just needed to avoid bottom spot in the table tennis to officially become champion. He would have to wait a little longer though. He first match was against the favourite, and Connor put him to the sword, Reece and Connor then recorded straight set wins versus Jonno, before we were treated to a thriller between Eddy and Reece. What a match. Eddy won it, again. This was the 3rd time Eddy had edged Reece in a deciding set in a racket sport this weekend. The title still wasn't confirmed though, and he would need 2 sets against Jonno to absolutely guarantee the title. He did exactly that, but Jonno then nearly produced the comeback of the weekend, just losing out in a deciding set, 13-11.
Full Table Tennis (event 9) results:
Connor Heyes 11-6, 11-3, 11-4 Eddy Rounthwaite
Reece Foxon 11-5, 12-10, 11-6 Jonno Gilbert
Connor Heyes 11-3, 11-5, 11-6 Jonno Gilbert
Eddy Rounthwaite 7-11, 12-10, 11-9, 8-11, 11-7 Reece Foxon
Eddy Rounthwaite 11-3, 11-8, 7-11, 7-11, 13-11 Jonno Gilbert
Connor Heyes 11-7, 11-7, 11-7 Reece Foxon
As he did last year, Connor won without dropping a set and this was his third event win of the weekend, and he had now won 3 of the last 4. With that, Connor moved off the bottom for the first time.
Standings after 9 events:
1st: Eddy Rounthwaite (31) (C)
2nd: Connor Heyes (24)
3rd: Reece Foxon (22)
4th: Jonno Gilbert (21)
The competition was finely poised going into our final event; golf!
On paper (and handicap), Jonno & Reece were the favourites, Eddy 3rd and Connor last.
Reece got off to the perfect start with a par, while a triple bogey left Connor at the back. However, a triple bogey from Eddy on the 3rd hole saw him go to the bottom, a position he would stay for the remainder of the event. Things at the top changed after the par 3 4th hole, where Reece saw his 2 shot lead evaporate after a lost ball. After hole 6, Jonno & Reece were still level, with Connor a further 4 shots behind. Hole 8 made things interesting though, Connor made par while double bogeys for Jonno and Reece meant they only held a 1 shot lead over Connor going into the final hole. A lot was at stake with 2nd place overall up for grabs. To claim 5 points in the golf, the winner needed to win by 2 clear shots, which looked unlikely at this point.
On the 9th, Jonno hit a near perfect drive, while Connor miss-hit his drive but it stayed central and in play. Reece meanwhile hooked his drive into the bushes to leave him in big trouble. That meant a dropped shot, but a beautiful 3rd shot landed him on the green. Connor also made it onto the green in three, while Jonno made it onto the green in two after a pinpoint approach. Connor two-putted for a bogey, while Reece holed a 5ft putt to also bogey the hole, meaning he beat Connor by just 1 shot. Jonno meanwhile was facing a 4ft birdie putt that would see him win by 2 clear shots and claim 5 points overall, finishing as runner-up overall. He made no mistake. Huge putt.
Golf (final event) results:
1st: Jonno Gilbert (+5)
2nd: Reece Foxon (+7)
3rd: Connor Heyes (+8)
4th: Eddy Rounthwaite (+25)
An incredible effort from Connor who's handicap on paper is at least 3 times higher than Jonno & Reece. Eddy's last place finish was his only one of the weekend and came at the perfect time for him, with the title in the bag.
That left the overall standings as:
1st: Eddy Rounthwaite (32) (C)
2nd: Jonno Gilbert (26)
3rd: Connor Heyes (26)
4th: Reece Foxon (25)
A dramatic end saw Jonno & Connor finish on equal points, so it then went to most event wins. With both players winning 3, it then went to head to head, with Jonno beating Connor 6 times to Connor's 4.
(Scroll down)
Wow, what a weekend. Personally, as the organiser, this was my favourite CoC. Some of the matches were outstanding and all 4 of our players this year were truly great sportsman. Congratulations to all four of them, their effort was superb all weekend. I cant wait for next year, can Eddy defend his title? and which 3 players will qualify to take him on?
