HAVING beaten Norwich 3-2 in the group stage, Bradford could not repeat the dose against the same opponents in the final of the National League Championships the following day at the Northern Snooker Centre in Leeds.

Gareth Green set off well with a break of 62 last Saturday, but opponent George Pragnell snatched it with a superb break of 67.

Wayne Cooper then fell to Grant Miles – his only defeat of what was a magnificent competition personally – and Sam Betts wrapped up the 3-0 victory for the East Anglians, beating Anthony Green, which meant that Kevin Firth and Mark Slater were again frozen out.

However, defeat in the final for Arco-sponsored Bradford, having progressed past some of the country's best sides, including holders West Midlands, who have been finalists for the past six seasons, and with Cooper picking up the best player award, has only whetted their appetite to go one better next year.

Having won the Yorkshire Inter-District League for the past three seasons, this was the first time Bradford had been invited to the event, with the title-winning trio of Cooper, Firth and Slater being boosted by brothers Gareth and Anthony Green.

There were two divisions of eight teams, with the aim being to finish in the top four to qualify for Sunday's quarter-finals, and Gareth Green set the tone with a 50 break in the first match – a 4-1 win against Bristol – followed by 3-2 victories against Cleveland and Norwich before closing the day with a 5-0 drubbing of Newbury to head Division A overnight.

Despite an opening match loss to Ormskirk 3-2 on Sunday, Yorkshire and Bradford champion Cooper hit breaks of 62 and 60 in the next match against Reading, with Firth making a 73 and Slater finishing with a 45 in a 4-1 victory, which was also the score against Stourbridge in the final group match, with Cooper hitting a 67 break.

Bradford were drawn against holders West Midlands, winners four times and runners-up twice in the past six seasons, in the quarter-finals.

Cooper and Gareth Green gave Bradford a 2-0 lead and, although Anthony Green came unstuck in frame three, Firth made a 57 break to set up a mouth-watering semi-final against Leeds.

The top two players up to this point were Cooper and Leeds' Kuldesh Johal, with eight wins each and a 100 per cent record.

Johal got the first chance, making a 29 break before missing a red, after which Cooper showed true class to smash a 78 break for a 1-0 lead.

Gareth Green took on Scott Raper in a repeat of their 2010 Yorkshire final, with Green taking the honours again, and brother Anthony secured a place in the final with a comfortable win against rising star Lewis Gillen for a 3-0 Bradford win.

In the Bradford Snooker Championship first round, Cooper and Firth play tonight (Thursday) at Undercliffe Cricket Club (7.00), where the duo will battle it out in a best-of-seven frame 7 match.

The deadline for matches to be played is this weekend.