Awards night, January 20th, 2005

The trophies set the scene

ABOVE: Will the real Richard Cartwright please stand up? A night to remember for Richard, who is seen here with three of his prizes: for (left to right) winning the Intermediate Trophy, the Gammonitis sponsored Rookie of the Year Award, and the Intermediate Grand Prix. BELOW: Co-starring with Richard for the evening was Ed Turner. He is pictured (left to right) receiving his three prizes: the OGP Shield, the Most Improved Player award from sponsor Martin Hemming, and the John Chidgey Cup from Ian Tarr -- is that a salute?

Martin Hemming (above left) seen defeating Steffen Nowak in a tense final held over from the January grand prix.

(Above right) the "Musicians' Union", looking on with varying degrees of interest. Unusually Steffen Nowak, Roland Herrera and Simonetta Barone all went home without prizes.

Juanita Ferrer and Phillip Hill (below) display their runner-up prizes for the IGP and OGP respectively.

As the Review of 2004 is delivered, it's difficult to tell whether the audience is either asleep, or paying attention.

Richard Owsley and Cynthia Roberts were the worthy top two in the Conference.

Paul Watts (left) took the Premier Two title, while Mark Dixon finished third. Whatever happened to runner-up John Ould?

ABOVE: The elite of Premier One! No Bristol Backgammon Awards Night would be complete without Stuart Mann (left) striking this pose. This year he "merely" retained his Premier League crown, and finished third in the OGP. Elliot Smart (centre), now an avowed "League only" player, also managed to retain his Premier League runner-up spot, the sort of consistency only two Premier League players have ever managed to better. Martin Hemming (right) appears to be suffering from a slipped halo in this picture. He had a season of two halves, but third place is still a personal best, and there is surely more to come.

Photos courtesy of Neil Young, on behalf of Bristol Backgammon