With Ramesh "Ramma Jamma" Gokhul going out in the first round last week, and Rod "the God" Altes taking full advantage to close in on the top spot, this week was going to be a tense affair.  The whole talk in the arena was whether Ram had lost his form or could Rod finally sneak into the top spot in time for the season end.  With the final round of the year to take place on December 12th, it was vital that Ram and Rod perform, as there would only be one more round after this one, to clinch the coveted top spot.  The arena was buzzing with excitement as the draw took place, and to everyone's relief, Ram and Rod were in opposite ends of the draw.  Could there be a a Ram vs Rod final tonight to make the final tournament of the year an absolute nail-biter?

As we know, it's not all about the top two players, though.  Ram and Rod might strike fear into opponents almost as much as the Destroyer does, but there were 28 of London's finest pool players chomping at the bit to upset the apple cart.  Noticeably, in the first round, Gauhar Khan and Dhari Alduraibi played out the most dramatic match.  Khan has had a pretty decent November, with a 50% win ratio, whilst Dhari pushed Craig "Bear" Laurie to hill-hill last week, so couldn't be underestimated.  A tense affair, littered with mistakes, great safety, and some wonderful potting saw Khan summon all of his powers to overcome Dhari 5-4.  Well played big man!  Meanwhile, Craig was firmly focused on flexing his grizzly like muscles, disposing Ervin Demiraj 5-0 to set up a tasty encounter against Rod in the second round.  Craig told ESPN: "I'm in good form, I can beat anyone, and I want a rematch against Rod after losing to him in last week's final.  I'm not attending as much as I want, yet I'm still ranked 10th, so it's obvious I'd be challenging for top spot if I'd been able to get here most weeks".  Fighting talk indeed from the highly dangerous Grizzly Bear.  Another to lay down the gauntlet was another of the best players in the house.  Gabriel "Hitman" Vasilache was looking imperious as he easily picked Sorin Stancu apart 5-0 to set up a mammoth match up against Ram.  Gabriel had no comment when interviewed, and just stared into the camera menacingly before sitting down to watch videos of car-washing.

Of course, pre-tournament favourite, Dan "the Destroyer" Suh had to face Henri Linnainmaa, but under trying circumstances.  With South Korea getting absolutely hammered by Brazil on the TV screen next to the table, the Destroyer was somewhat distracted and Henri sent Dan crashing out early doors. 

Into the second round, and tie of the round goes to Joe Granville for holding his nerve to win 4-3 against Hassan Aljumaili.  Doug "the Shark" Clark also kicked into a different level by beating Andrew Phan 4-1, telling Sky Sports Arena: "I couldn't miss.  Every pot was perfect and not even Joshua Filler would have taken more than 1 rack off me".  Meanwhile, Ciaran "Big Boy" Boylan squeezed the life out of Carl Locsin, not giving Carl a chance to win even 1 rack.  Certainly, all eyes were on some of the big guns battling out for supremacy.  Rod faced Craig in a re-run of last week's final and came out with the same scoreline as last week, 4-2 to Rod.  Meanwhile, Ram played out a 4-2 win against the very dangerous Gabriel.  The wins for Rod and Ram meaning that 2 of the highest ranked players in the tournament had been knocked out early.  Was this to leave a clear path to the final for the both of them?

Into the quarters, and some of the challengers were trying to leave their mark on the evening.  Geordie Glen Hargreaves was looking a bit like his normal self again.  Ruthless in his attacks, Glen went for it and easily overcame Joe to win 4-0.  Ciaran was determined to disrupt Ram's progress, but Ram was on a mission to win, and came through unscathed, 4-1.  Meanwhile, Doug had another impressive performance to send Saman home early with a 4-2 win.  And finally, Shadi did everything he could to beat the immortal Rod, pouncing on Rod's mistakes and taking it to hill-hill.  But Rod called upon his supreme powers to nick it at the death to continue his advancement.

The semi-final line-up looked very tasty indeed.  Doug had been playing some beautiful stuff, and over recent weeks, had been displaying the kind of form that earnt him a top 10 place earlier in the year.  1 loss in the last 5 games, so Doug was bang up for taking on Rod.  Meanwhile, Glen had showed earlier this year, that he's capable of winning tournaments, but had suffered from a loss of form over summer.  But as they say, form is temporary, and class is permanent.  Glen was equally ready to come flying out of the blocks against Ram.  Glen's record against Ram in 2022 hasn't been good, though.  In two previous encounters, Glen was yet to take a rack off Ram, but this time round, Glen pushed Ram all the way, looking like there might be a famous victory...but Ram finished Glen off to win 4-3.  In the other semi, despite Doug's fine form, Rod had one eye on the final and nothing was going to stop him from getting there.  Rod had already beaten Doug twice earlier this season too, and as the magic apple juice flowed through Rod's veins, an easy 4-1 victory ensued to ensure a Rod vs Ram final.

As we know, Ram had recently been a little off-form by his standards, since his return from his world tour.  Only 2 wins from 4, losing to Rod and going out in the first round last week to, admittedly, a top top player in Craig.  With social media awash with stories of Ram's decline, all eyes were on this final.  I had previously requested interviews with Ram about his recent performances, but his refusal to provide a pre-match interview demonstrated his focus on this final.  And what focus Ram showed...winning 4-1.  The cool-headed Ram answered his critics but didn't let it get to his head.  Offering up some words at the end of the match, Ram said: "it's been a brilliant season so far, to be pushed by God who has missed a fair few weeks shows his high standards.  This win means that it goes to the wire, just want the fans wanted!".  Rod offered up his congratulations too by saying:  "Ram's a great competitor and missed weeks too.  It's great to have a target to aim for, and I'll do everything I can to overtake Ram and end the season as number 1".  

Amazingly, just before the final, Rod had briefly gotten to number 1 spot, but the loss to Ram meant that Ram was back on top with one week left to go.  

Finally, remember that December 19th is pencilled in for the End of Season Christmas Special.  It would be great to see as many of you come down for the awards ceremony, and loads of mini tournaments, plus food and drink.  Next Monday 12th December is the last official tournament of 2022.