HOTSHOTS Snooker Club B have made a terrific start to the Premier League season competing as a newly-formed team.

Having defeated last year’s runners up West Midlands Police in their first match, they had a comprehensive 5-0 victory over their own A team - the reigning Premier Division champions.

Luke Garland, Callum Downing, Jon Bate, Richard Haney and Luke Higginbotham all won with something to spare; two of the young players, Garland and Downing, are both being sponsored by the Langley based club.

After last week’s setback, West Midlands Police bounced back by taking all five frames on the tables of Moor Pool and Snooker B, although Maria Catalano was taken to the black by Lee Whitehouse.

Two other teams, Norton Social A and Brandhall Labour, third and fourth respectively last year, maintained their unbeaten starts with narrow 3-2 victories.

Steve Mason, Adam Ness, with a 42 break, and Rob Pitt, in the decider, saw Norton edge past Pockets SC A, for whom Andy Smith and John Betton won comfortably, while Chris Price and Richard Brookes did well to take a frame each at Brandhall but the home team responded through Alan Hooper, with breaks of 32 and 41, Paul Bateman and Chris Southall in the final frame.

Danny Rees, of Pockets SC B won a black ball decider at home against Netherton Sports and Social’s Paul Bowen in another close game; earlier Steve Howell and Rich Barnsley both won on the pink for the visitors while Bob Moran and Gavin Evans, with a break of 40, won for the hosts.

Amblecote Institute A responded to last week’s 5-0 home defeat by Norton by outpointing their own B team 5-0 even though some of the frames were well-contested.

In the First Division, newcomers Hotshots SC C are the early-season leaders after a hard fought success at Baggeridge Social.

Luke Whale and Martin Collingridge won for Baggeridge but Steven Phares, Dawid Konior and Paul Caldeira just did enough for the visitors.

Kingswinford Cons A beat their B team 3-2 thanks to Wayne Whitmore, Martin Hughes and John Rees, with Gary Male and Sam Mattocks, making his debut, replying.

Two Kinver Constitutional teams registered their first wins in narrow fashion; the B team’s Keith Rollinson and Dean Banks won comfortably, and although Luke Grosvenor and Joe Davies hit back for Norton B, they had to concede the last end.

The C team’s Steve Nicholls won the decider at home to Kingswinford RBL A, after earlier wins for Adam Sprague and Dave Simmonds for Kinver and Andrew Brown and Tony Davies for the Legion.

Stourbridge Institute A also won their first match; Richard Rudge, on the black, Alan Atherley, in only his second frame, and Paul Garbett, reliable as ever in the last, combined to defeat Moor Pool and Snooker C 3-2, with Dennis Pickett and Darren Corbett on the mark for Moor P&S.

In the Second Division, two weeks into the season, Stourbridge Institute B have still to drop a frame, dismissing the challenge of their C team 5-0, to follow on from the route of their D team last week, yet there are four other unbeaten sides challenging them for leadership.

Colin Homer won on the black against Mark Robson to give Amblecote Institute C a 3-2 win against their D team; earlier Ray Vanes and Mark Colbourne’s victories had been offset by Ian Manley and Steve Butcher.

Amblecote RBL extended their good start with a 4-1 victory at home to Kingswinford Cons D, with Barry Young in form with a 36 break, and although Stourbridge Old Edwardians enjoyed a 5-0 success against Stourbridge Institute D, four of the frames were quite close.

Kingswinford RBL B also continued their good start but had to recover a 2-0 deficit at home to beat Kinver Constitutional D’s young team. Marcus and Mitchell Hines had given the visitors a fine start but John Jennings, Mick Hughes and Dave Woodall turned the match around.

Neil Thompson and the prolific Leigh Bennett won a frame each at home for Kingswinford Cons C but the match went to the visiting Wombourne team, through the vastly experienced trio of Dave Flavell, John Wooldridge on the final black, and Bob Mason, in prime form with a 36 break.