WAYNE Cooper became Bradford snooker champion for a record ninth time with a 4-1 victory over Mark Slater at Great Horton Conservative Club.

The last time Cooper won the title was in 2008, the year he also won the Yorkshire Championship, the National C&IU competition and also qualified for the professional main tour.

His opponent that night was Slater, when the match itself was a masterclass performance from Cooper – and so it proved again.

One of the amateur game's finest players over the last couple of decades once more reminded everyone of his ability to turn on the power on the big occasion.

Slater (Clayton Liberal Club) thoroughly deserved his place in this year's final, having seen off Paul Davey 4-0, Peter Hamilton 4-0, Darren Goy 4-2 and Kevin Firth 4-3, and did very little wrong in the match.

Bradford No 1 team-mate Cooper had previously beaten Josh Walker 4-0, Paul Jackson 4-0, Anthony Green 4-0 and Howard Mawson 4-1.

Both players started nervously and took time to settle, with Cooper the first to draw blood thanks to a 90 clearance to take the first frame 110-0.

Slater hit back in fine style and showed the qualities that gained him that superb semi-final victory over Firth, a break of 34 midway through the frame levelling the contest with a 65-24 success.

Cooper opened up a 36-point lead in frame three but Slater fought back with another 34 break mid-frame and looked good to take a 2-1 lead.

The final red was tight on the side cushion and white close to the green pocket – but the pot of the night led to a 26 clearance from the Undercliffe Cricket Club player for a 62-47 win.

Cooper then came racing out of the blocks after the interval, making a superb 101 break to lead 3-1 and narrowly missing the final yellow when it looked like he would beat his own tournament high break of 105.

All credit to Slater, who never gave up, but consecutive breaks of 21, 23 and 33 clinched the match for Cooper with a 100-14 frame win.

This was an emphatic result and a statement of intent from Cooper, who contests this year's Yorkshire final on June 5 looking for his fourth county title when he takes on Gyles Behbood of Harrogate at the Northern Snooker Centre in Leeds.