Michael Rhodes of Durham moved to the top of the table with an odd point victory at Ashington against former England international, John McCallum in front of a good crowd.

Rhodes went ahead by taking the first and added the second after needing a snooker on the blue. McCallum reduced the arrears with a 61 in the third but Rhodes restored his lead with a73-0 win carved out with low breaks and tight safety.

McCallum fought back to level by taking the two frames after the interval, one with a 90 break. In the decider Rhodes got in early with a 42 break and waived away determined opposition to win.

Paul Davison of Spennymoor sent the visiting David Craggs of Tow Law to his first defeat when the pair met at Durham Snooker Club in a match that proved a chronicle of missed chances for both players. The first frame was hard fought when black, pink and brown went on the cushions early but Craggs moved into a slight lead. Davison took brown to pink to go five ahead and tried to double the black. After he missed, a series of safety shots followed until Craggs potted it to win 53-51.

From Craggs break in the second, Davison made 46. Both players then missed good chances but Craggs should have completed a clearance from the last two reds but snookered himself on the brown and lost 69-46.

The third frame went to Craggs but both players broke down when a high break seemed certain until a 75-38 win clinched the point. In frame four Davison put in an early 44 break but Craggs replied with 40. It was then Davison's turn to fail at a good clearance chance with Craggs taking yellow to pink to win 64-55. Craggs made a very slack safety shot with two reds left and allowed Davison to clear to the pink to win 66-52. This boosted Davison's confidence and he was first in for the sixth frame with 32. Craggs replied with 24 but again missed a red along the cushion, allowing Davison to complete a very good 57 clearance to win 116-30. In the decider Davison established a 50-8 lead but let Craggs in for a possible match winning chance but again he missed a red along the cushion and Davison closed the frame for victory.

Antony Parsons of Guisborough, who won the North-East rankings last year, came very close to causing a major upset when he visited the world ranked number 55, Mike Dunn at Hartlepool Snooker Centre. Dunn, the clear favourite to land this first Premier League title, made a confident opening by knocking in a 74 break to take the first frame at 100-25.

However Parsons shocked the home crowd by taking the next two at 64-29 and 63-18. Dunn showed why he is so high in the world rankings with a fight back to take the next three frames at 72-29, 72 (including a 52 break) - 8 and 86 (including a 56 break) - 18. However Parsons replied with a 54 break, which gave him the final point with a 69-24 win.

The two youngest members of the league met at Whitley Bay, where Chris West, the host, managed to take the first frame against the Wallsend Wizard, Gary Wilson. Both players commented on the weight of the balls, and with the consent of the referee, a new set of balls was provided for the second frame. Wilson levelled with a clearance of 62 and opened the third with a break of 51 but West recovered to win by one point. Wilson could have made a 138 clearance in the fourth, but failed on the yellow and finished on 111, a point behind the current highest break. West surprisingly conceded the next when only 37 behind with 67 on the table, but squared the match with an 89 break. Wilson won the decider at 80-2 following a 49 break.

Andy Craig's match at Stanley Central against Michael Rudd of Hartlepool was postponed after Craig had an accident and suffered minor injuries.

Fixtures for week beginning 29 March - Monday Michael Rhodes v Mike Dunn at Durham Snooker Centre; Michael Rudd v Paul Davison at Hartlepool Snooker Centre. Tuesday - Antony Parson v Gary Wilson at Ormesby Institute. Wednesday - David Lilley v Chris West at Fairholme Social Club; David Craggs v John McCallum at Tow Law Workingmens Club. All matches start at 7.30pm. Anyone potential spectators should confirm the game before travelling. Further information on 07830101228.