Blackpool’s Lynette Horsburgh won the UK Ladies Championship after a nail-biting 4-3 final win over Dudley’s Reanne Evans at the Northern Snooker Centre, Leeds.

Pocket dynamo Horsburgh – just 5ft tall - re-affirmed her world number 2 spot in the opening event on the 2004-5 World Ladies Snooker tour as she collected the £200 first prize.

The 30 year old BBC Web Producer was delighted to beat Evans who is one of the favourites to win the IBSF World Ladies Championship later this month in Holland.

Horsburgh joked: “It’s a great win for me - there’s life in the old dog yet!”

She thinks that 19 year old Evans will go down in history as one of the greats.

”Reanne is now playing full-time and competing on the men’s circuit. I think she’ll be the best lady player to hold a cue before too long.” 

Horsburgh who lost in the semi-finals of last year’s event in China isn’t going due to work commitments.

The Anglo-Scot is also busy competing on the ladies pool circuit – she represents Scotland at both pool and snooker – but it doesn’t seem to have affected her form.

Horsburgh said: ”I haven’t played a snooker match apart from one frame league snooker since the Luton event in March – I’ve been playing instead on the Ladies pool circuit.

“I wish I was going to the World Championships now!”

Horsburgh hit the highest break of the tournament too – with an 82 during her 4-1 semi-final win over Kent’s June Banks. There were breaks of 43 and 40 for Banks in an entertaining match.

Evans scored consistently well all day. She smacked in breaks of 70, 58, 60 and 81 in a 4-0 demolition of Katie Henrick in the quarter finals, and followed that up with 45 and 60 in beating Maria Catalano 4-2 in the semi final.

She also constructed a run of 68 in the final, while Horsburgh compiled 52, and won the vital deciding frame.

Horsburgh compiled breaks of 41 and 57 in a 4-1 quarter final win over Ireland's champion Michelle Sherwin, who stroked in a run of 45 in her frame win.

Kent snooker club owner Jenny Poulter beat Mary Hawkes, from Dunstable, in the final to win the Seniors event for Over 40s. Michelle Brown beat Poulter to win the Plate event for first round losers.

Despite the disappointments over the past year, of first the WSA withdrawing their support, and then EASB promising a full season only to cancel all their events, the Ladies Association, led by the indefatigable Mandy Fisher, have rallied round to arrange a full calendar of events.