A POOL player from Chartham, near Canterbury, has become the sport's natonal deaf champion.

Bobby Rogers, 26, clinched the title in Chatham after a dramatic final against Paul Cannon from Northern Ireland.

The final should have been played over five frames but was curtailed to three because Cannon needed to catch a plane home.

Rogers, who plays for Tally Ho and Canterbury, trailed 1-0 down against an older, and more tactical player, who was at the top of his game.

He almost lost the second which would have meant curtains but he clawed back to pot the black after forcing an opponent into a mistake.

Rogers won the toss for the decider and had to use every trick in the book to out-think Cannon. The decisive moment came after he had placed his red right by the pocket with Cannon's two yellows behind. He then played a tactical shot which made it very difficult for Cannon to get at his yellows.

This forced a mistake from the Irishman giving Rogers a free ball which he made full use of by using one Cannon's yellows to sink his red. It left the winning black a formality.

Rogers, who was runner-up in 2002, had been in top form for the earlier rounds and the opening round of the final was the only one he dropped all day.