STUART King (Asa Briggs) has won the Wednesday Merit, sponsored by Adam Mellor, for a second time.

King beat Gareth Coates (Akroydon Victoria) 21-11 in the final to repeat his 2012 success.

It was the second runner-up berth in as many years for Coates, who lost to Clayton player Paul Gill in 2016.

Semi-finals: Coates 21 Edmondson 14, King 21 Gardner 13. Final: Coates 11 King 21.

* BRADFORD scored a great 21-11 win over Warrington in their second Federation match, following up a 24-8 win over Bolton in April.

Shipley Club always proves to be a good home banker and nine winners ensured a great 11-3 success.

Two-times Shipley Classic winner King and home bowler Matthew Jacques were the pick of the home players with 21-7 winning cards as Bradford won that aggregate by an impressive 60 chalks.

The away match at Banks Park was always going to be tough and Warrington made the better start, with Damian Morrison (21-4) and Dave Penketh (21-5) starring.

Late stand-in Ian Gould (Spen Victoria) produced a great 21-11 win and with Trevor Benn (Wyke) starring with a 21-12 effort, Bradford were still in the game after four jacks.

Three winners out of the middle four games, including a super 21-8 victory by Mark Cunningham (Shipley Club), swung the advantage towards Bradford but a late rally from Warrington ensured they took the aggregate by 16 chalks, although Bradford managed a creditable six winners.

Next up for Bradford is a match against Menai on Sunday, July 23 and a victory over Menai should guarantee promotion to Division Four.

Home scores – Bradford 237 (11) Warrington 177 (3) (Bradford names first): Stuart King (Asa Briggs) 21 Carl Armitage 7, Tracy Preston (Shipley Club) 19 Dave Twigg 21, Scott Bloodworth (Ladyhill) 21 Kyle Chapman 17, Tony Throup (Spen Victoria) 14 Matt Humphrys 21, Matthew Jacques (Shipley Club) 21 Dawn Hayes 7, Andy Denton (Asa Briggs) 21 Mark Budworth 13, Richard Bloodworth (Ladyhill) 21 Ron Jones 17, Andrew Fowler (Clayton) 21 Clare Frangleton 10, Jack Bowes (Littlemoor) 15 Simon Harrison 21, Chris Wilson (Clayton) 21 Chris Goodhand 17, Paul Gill (Clayton) 21 Alex Heeps 12, Ashley Southwell (Asa Briggs) 21 Rob Lawrenson 14.

Away scores – Warrington 212 (8) Bradford 196 (6) (Bradford names first): Jordan Brown (Asa Briggs) 4 Damian Morrison 21, Ian Gould (Spen Victoria) 21 Alan Manual 11, Trevor Benn (Wyke) 21 Danny Woodward 12, Graham Baggley (Shipley Club) 5 Dave Penketh 21, Lisa Rice (Pudsey) 21 Neil Dolan 19, Kevin Wood (Spen Victoria) 10 Sandra Gilfedder 21, Chris Ellis (Spen Victoria) 21 Mike Widocks 17, Mark Cunningham (Shipley Club) 21 Mark Maloney 8, Peter Ellis (Spen Victoria) 16 Neil Douglas 21, Craig Fenton (Shipley Club) 21 Colin Dean 19, Andrew Wood (Spen Victoria) 20 Ian Porter 21, Neil Tordoff (Wyke)14 Steve Gilfedder 21.