Yorkshire Lions secured promotion to the Super Series Division One following a tense overtime victory over Westcountry Hawks at the weekend.
The 2017/18 Super Series season came to a close at Leigh Sports Village at the weekend as six Division Two sides battled it out for the final league positions.
Heading into the tournament West Coast Burn had all but sealed the league title after an impressive opening two rounds of games. But, with the side declining the chance of promotion it was still all to play for with Yorkshire, Hawks, Gloucester and Crushers all tied on ten points.
With the tournament having been rescheduled due to poor weather earlier this year, Stoke Mandeville Maulers and Gloucester Titans were unable to fulfil their fixtures, and Burn were unable to field a full line up so forfeited their games in what was home turf for the side.
After day one, both Yorkshire Lions and Westcountry Hawks topped their respective groups winning both of their matches. Lions enjoyed wins over Liverpool-RGC and Ospreys, whilst Hawks were able to see off Burn and Crushers.
On day two Liverpool-RGC, led by the experienced former GB star Tony Stackhouse, left it late against the Hawks and despite a late comeback Adam Simmons’ side were able to narrowly win the game 49-47 to put Hawks into the final.
In the other semi-final, Yorkshire continued their winning streak with a 59-46 win over Caledonian Crushers who showed good spirit against a strong Lions side. That result meant that the Lions would now face Hawks in the final, with Crushers ending the season with a game against Liverpool-RGC.
In the 5th/6thplay-off, Burn managed to beat Ospreys, but due to having to forfeit by default, Ospreys ended the weekend in 5th.
The battle for third swung in favour of Liverpool-RGC who ended their season on a high with a 48-35 victory over Crushers.
That led to what was billed as a tense final with the winner securing second place overall in the league and promotion to Division One. Hawks led for much of the game and had built up a respectable lead heading into the final quarter. However, Lions never stopped and were able to claw the score back and force overtime. In the added three-minute period, Lions were able to take the lead and secure the win with a 60-57 result.
For a full album of images, check out the GBWR Facebook page. For a full list of results and the latest tables, click here.
The 2018/19 Super Series will start on September 15th/16thwith Division Three heading to the Stoke Mandeville Stadium. Division Two will start on October 13th/14thin Stoke Mandeville and Division One will be the following weekend at Fenton Manor Sports Complex, Stoke-on-Trent.
