BRADFORD'S Josh Walker won the Yorkshire Snooker Handicap at Cue Gardens at the weekend, defeating fellow Bradfordian Gerard Smyth in the final.

Smyth certainly had it in for Bradford's team captains, defeating Bradford No 2's Hanif Rafiq 2-0 in the first round and Bradford No 1's Kevin Firth 2-1 in the second round.

After 3-2 victories against Kevin Baxter and Michael Whaley, both from Huddersfield, Smyth then defeated 2004 Bradford champion Howard Mawson 3-1 in the semi-finals.

Walker progressed to the final thanks to victories over Sheffield's Terry Crofts (2-0), a hard-fought duel with Undercliffe Cricket Club player Wayne Downey (3-2) and had a 3-0 success against Andrew Owen before securing his place in the final with a 3-1 victory over Lee Roberts.

Both players deserved their place in the decider, having played consistently well through the day, and it was Walker who was quickest off the mark, a 78 clearance to black giving him a 92-22 win.

It was soon 2-0, another solid frame from Walker ending with a 74-38 scoreline, but Smyth had competed strongly all day, and this was no more evident than in his 66-30 third-frame win.

It looked as though the match was going to level up, but a rare mistake from Smyth let Walker in and he duly cleared from brown to snatch the frame 64-52, and with it the title. For full results see www.bsa-cuesports.com.

Bradford No 1 travel to Castleford No 2 on Sunday in the Yorkshire Inter-District League, while Bradford No 2 travel to Huddersfield. Bradford travel to Leeds tomorrow in the billiards section.