Emu Point star bowler Matthew Mitchell wins Champion of Club Champions singles title to win place at nationals

Emu Point star bowler Matthew Mitchell defeated Wagin’s Warren Holt to secure first place in the Henselite ‘Choice of Champions’ Champion of Club Champions singles competition at Yokine Bowls Club in Perth on May 15. Mitchell is now set to play in the nationals on the Gold Coast in October as a result of his victory in the WA comp, which consisted of five finals fixtures, including his thrilling three-shot victory over Holt. Fifty-six men and 42 women contested this year’s two-day event with sectional play starting on Saturday, May 14. Mitchell progressed to the finals and went on to defeat Warnbro’s Dennis Patullo 21-17 in the first round and Corrigin’s Stephen Sloan 21-7 in the second round. In the quarter and semifinal fixtures, Mitchell eased past Glenn Pauling 21-15 and then Kardinya’s David Rankin 25-19 to secure a berth in the final. The decider was tightly contested but the expert Emu Point player got over the line in a thrilling 25-22 victory. Mitchell has come agonisingly close to winning the same competition in previous years and was delighted to chalk up the victory. “I was ecstatic, I’ve been up there a few times and lost the final a few times before so to get over the line was pretty satisfying,” he said. “The matches all the way through were tense, once you get to that tournament, everyone that goes in is a pretty decent singles player so you have to be on for each game.” Great Southern bowlers were a strong force at the event and Mitchell believes the community continues to flourish in the region. “There was great representation of the Great Southern zone in the last four bowlers, three of the last four representatives were from the region so that’s great.”