This was the first year that we held end-of-season playoffs, where the team finishing 3rd in each division challenged the team finishing 3rd bottom in the division above, with an extra promotion/relegation place at stake! 

The matches certainly didn't disappoint and the atmosphere across the 3 nights at Northern was excellent! Here's how things played out:

DIVISION 4 v DIVISION 5

Eldon 3 (Div 4) v Tynemouth Social (Div 5)  [Eldon 3: 3-2]

Eldon just managed to hold on to their spot in division 4 against challengers Tynemouth Social. The tie was sealed in Eldon's favour when no.4 Matt Barnes came from 2-1 down to beat Ed Henien and help Eldon to a 3-2 victory!

DIVISION 3 v DIVISION 4

Boldon 3 (Div 3) v Consett 2 (Div 4) [Boldon 3: 3-2]

The tie started off with both teams registering an early victory, but 3-0 wins at 1 and 2 settled the fixture in Boldon's favour! Consett did manage to another claw win in a mammoth 3-2 battle at no.3 but it was all in vain in the end. Boldon won 3-2 overall to stay in division 3 for another season!

DIVISION 2 v DIVISION 3

Eldon 2 (Div 2) v Hexham 2 (Div 3) [Eldon 2: 5-0]

Eldon dominated this tie from the start and, despite a valiant effort from the Hexham team, Eldon proved too strong and took a 5-0 victory! The match of the tie was definitely Dan Hookway v Andrew Wilkinson at no.2 which went back and forth all the way until Andrew, unfortunately, had to retire due to injury at 12-10 down in the 5th!

DIVISION 1 V DIVISION 2

Westoe 2 (Div 1) v Northern 3 (Div 2) [Westoe 2: 4-1]

Northern took an early win at no.5, in a match that included an epic 19-17 in the 2nd game! That would be the last time Northern were ahead in the tie, however, as Westoe swept through the remaining games to win 4-1 and stay in division 1 for next season!

PREMIER v DIVISION 1

Northumberland 2 (Prem) v Eldon 1 (Div 1) [Northumberland 2: 4-1]

Eldon 1 were unable to make it 3 wins out of 3 in the playoffs for the club, as Northumberland 2 proved too much for the division 1 side. Eldon weren't without chances, losing a number of tiebreaks including a 16-14 in the match between Mark Steven and Jack Hunter! Wins at 1, 3, 4 and 5 gave Northumberland a comfortable victory in the end, with Rajat Kumar picking up Eldon's sole victory.

In the end, all of the defending teams managed to stave off the challenging teams, but the playoffs certainly add an extra element to the end of the season and help put increased importance on every match in the league!

For the full playoff results click here