Hallam have won the 2024 UDUK National Finals title, defeating Bangor 6-4 in Sunday’s event.

Hosted once again at Loughborough’s Spot On, the North Central champions followed up on a Canvas Big Weekender teams win to be crowned national champions.

The final, which saw North Central face off against North West, began around 5pm.

After triples, it was 1-1, with Morgan Shillito, James Buckby and Oliver Wilson taking the win for Hallam, whilst Dan Marsden, Adam Roe and Luke Simon were the winners for Bangor.

But with three pairs games to play, Hallam did just what was required to grab the game by the neck and establish the lead at 3-2.

Wins for the Tofts/Burgess and Shillito/Buckby pairings helped the North Central champions sneak ahead.

As the singles bouts began and we moved to a one board setup, Bangor’s James was the first to take the win, a comfortable 2-0 win over Tofts sending the game level.

Daniel Marsden did well to send the following singles clash to a decider but his scoring was some distance behind Burgess in the decider, who won the match to take Hallam to 4-3.

But a win from Luke Simon would put the match back on level pegging, some late double trouble from the Bangor player not enough to deny a fourth win for the North West winners.

Up stepped Hallam’s ever-reliable Morgan Shillito, who took out two 100 outs to defeat Stephen Williams and put the Sheffield-based side one away.

And it was then down to Filip Brom to seal the deal, as he delivered a 2-0 win over Adam Roe to deliver the victory.

The group stages kicked off around 11am, with early victories for Sheffield, Wembley, Bangor and Gloucestershire.

Gloucestershire’s Alfie Element registered an early leader for highest checkout with a 115.

The second round of games proved crucial for Manchester, who were defeated 6-3 by Trent and thus ousted from the competition, a 137 from John Lynch a consolation to an otherwise disappointing day.

A 9-0 drubbing for Bath against Birmingham also sent the South West runners-up home.

In Groups A and B, it remained all to play for after the opening two rounds of games. In the end, it was Hallam who clinched an extra special deciding victory over Sheffield in Group A, exacting revenge from their Steel City Varsity thrashing earlier this year. Morgan Shillito starred once again with a 160 out.

Group B saw a strange twist of fate, as York’s 5-4 victory over Wembley qualified Lancaster for the next stage, the North East champions granting their Roses foes an unlikely hand ahead of their Varsity match next week.

Meanwhile, in Group C, Bangor ended a spirited campaign from Birmingham, their 6-3 win booking their place in the semi-finals. In Group D, it was Trent who clinched a third successive semi-final, ending Gloucestershire’s debut campaign with a 7-2 win.

The two semi-finals began around 4pm, with both matches happening concurrently. It was a nervous start for Lancaster and Hallam, who were inseparable after four matches. At the end of the pairs games, it was Lancaster who had the edge at 3-2.

3-2 would soon become 4-2 via a victory from Tom Huddleston, but three wins on the bounce from Hallam left the match firmly in their hands. Matthew Baker forced a decider for Lancaster in the end, defeating Oliver Wilson 2-0, but Hallam’s Dom Tofts saved the day with a win over George Frogson.

Meanwhile, Bangor had it much easier in the other semi-final, taking the scalp of Trent 6-2. After taking two of the pairs games and a triples tie, they led 3-2 going into the singles, where they breezed through three victories courtesy of Ben James, Dan Marsden and Stephen Williams to secure the win.

Following the day’s play, UDUK President Kyle Mandell said: “The National Finals is always the perfect end to the UDUK league season and our utmost congratulations goes to Hallam for completing a treble of North Central, Big Weekender and National Finals teams wins.”

“Commiserations to Bangor, who impressed all day and did well to come through a tough group and semi-final against Trent to reach the final.”

“We look forward to the return of the league season in 2024/25 and details of our upcoming events soon.”

Hallam presented with their National Final winners' medals and trophy (Image: Thomas Bartley/UDUK)

Hallam complete UDUK treble in Loughborough