Mat Black Ashley Diamond from Upper Hutt Valley won the national final of the New Zealand Indoor Bowls Henselite Champion of Champions Singles for the second time at the Warnes Indoor Bowls Stadium, Stoke, Nelson on Saturday.
This capped of an amazing year in which he won two Australasian Medals with the successful Mat Blacks against Australia and also a Gold Medal for four national championship titles.
He also won this event in 2015 and has won two national Singles titles in 2014 and 2016. He has a fantastic singles record having won the Auckland Invitation Masters Singles four times in 2011, 2014, 2015 and 2016. He earned his National Championship Gold Star this year for five titles, Singles 2014, 2016, Pairs 2011 and Fours 2007 and 2017. He also has a South Island Championship Gold Star from 2013. He came through the junior ranks and was runner-up in the Junior Singles in 2003.
In the final he defeated Alex Reed, Auckland 11-8 who is a current North Island representative and was runner-up in the Junior Singles in 2009 and third equal in the Junior Singles in 2011 and third equal in the national Triples in 2013. Reed was in the successful Auckland team that won the Inter-District final for the Welch Trophy recently.
In the semifinals Reed defeated Tauranga's Paul Smith 11-7 while Diamond defeated Bruce Meyer, Manawatu 11-10.
The plate event was won by Sharon Peters, North Harbour who defeated Brendon Kenny, Wanganui in the final.
