Blackstairs Lounge player Ryan Cook won his first ever Captains Cup title on Saturday after defeating four time champion Ryan Carter 6-4 in an outstanding final.  Wick & District Pool Leagues premier singles event was hosted by the Francis St Club, where the top players from the league battled it out in the 33rd annual installment of the Captains Cup.  The top half of the draw looked extremely tough on paper, with three former champions in Carter, Arthur Bruce and Martin Hill.  The upset of the opening round saw Francis Street Club's Danny Innes play some exceptional pool to defeat Arthur Bruce 3-2.  Innes took a 2-0 lead before Bruce fought back to take the match to a deciding frame, in which the FSC player held his nerve well to progress.  Crown player Martin Hill seemed to be on form as he defeated Amir Ahmed 3-1 in round two, and Christopher Green 4-1 in the quarters to book his place in the semi final.  Ryan Carter seemed determined to clinch his fifth captains cup title and got off to a perfect start as he defeated Stuart Steven 3-0.  Carter and Innes went head to head in the quarters, and even though Innes was in great form, Carter dug deep to win the match 4-2.  The semi final between Hill and Carter would be a repeat of two previous finals, and was sure to be a tight encounter.  Hill started stronger and went 2-0 ahead, but he would not be given any more opportunities as Carter reeled off five frames in a row for a 5-2 victory to reach his seventh captains cup final.  Ryan Cook impressed early on with a 3-1 first round win over Sinclair Bay captain Greg Simpson.  Cook then went on to defeat Camps2 captain Bruce Honeyman 3-2 in round two, before winning another final frame decider to defeat Andrew Edwards 4-3 in the Quarter finals.  He would then face Russell Miller in the semi finals, after Miller defeated James Dow 3-1 and Colin Banks 4-2.  Miller was playing some excellent pool in the semi finals, and had a chance at 4-3 up to win the match but missed the all important black ball.  Cook took full advantage and came back to win the match 5-4 to set up a final showdown against Carter.  The final was expected to be a high quality, and the two Ryan's did not dissapoint.  Cook took an early 2-0 lead but the match would be quickly tied at two each through some nice finishing by Carter.  Cook would take three of the next four frames for a 5-3 lead, thanks to some great clearances.  Cook had a chance to seal victory in the next frame but missed the black as the pressure mounted.  Carter pulled it back to 5-4 and looked to be on his way to taking the match to 5-5 before he found himself in a nasty snooker.  Carter escaped the snooker, but left Cook with a chance to win the match.  Cook potted his last two reds and then held his nerve to sink the black which crowned him the 2015 Captains Cup winner. 
The last event of the winter league season is the Bfest Pairs, which will be held on the 18th/19th of April in the Blackstairs Lounge.  You can enter by contacting the league secretary on 07788477738.