Hot shots - Oldham community pub team wins national pool tournament

The Junction, a traditional community pub in Oldham, has won a national pool tournament hosted by one of the UK’s leading community pub groups, Admiral Taverns.

Pool teams from each the 1,300 pubs across Admiral Taverns’ leased and tenanted division were invited to enter into its Annual Pool Tournament, competing against each other for a chance to be crowned champions and win £1,000.  

This years’ tournament started in January 2023, and teams had to go through a local knockout stage.

The final, which was closely contended between 11 teams, was held at the Phoenix Club, in Easterton, with The Junction pub crowned champions. 

The team was made up of Oldham locals Gary Smith, Aaron Davies, Ryan Davies, Mick Smith, Dean Smith, Aidan Hughes, Jack Mann, Guy Burdon, Steve Heyes, Matt Brierly and Martin Davies.

The Junction hosts weekly pool competitions on a Tuesday night, competing against other local pubs in the area.  

David Foote, licensee at the Junction, said: “Huge congratulations to the team on this fantastic achievement – it’s a pleasure to host them every week at our pub.

"Even if you aren’t interested in the sport, I would recommend anyone to come and watch, it’s a great evening.

"Thank you to Admiral Taverns for hosting the tournament, it’s a really fun event to be involved with.”   

The annual pool tournament, which has been running for 19 years, is also played simultaneously with Admiral Taverns’ national darts tournament, which was won by the Kings Head in Walsall.

Admiral Taverns recruits passionate, community-minded individuals to run its pubs and actively encourages them to support their communities through a regular schedule of events, including darts and pool nights and charity fundraising initiatives.  

Emma Cottam, Marketing Manager at Admiral Taverns, said: “What a fantastic event and huge congratulations to the team at the Junction.

"They were very impressive throughout all their games and worthy Admiral Taverns 2023 Champions.  

“At Admiral, we want all our pubs to be at the heart of their communities and join together as a wider pub community.

"We are constantly providing events and initiatives for our pubs and their locals to get involved in - the feedback we had this year was wonderful and we can’t wait to host both our darts and pool tournaments next year, marking our 20th year of the event.”  

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