Michael Rhodes of Durham went clear at the top of the table when he beat the former leader, David Craggs at Tow Law by three frames.

In the first Craggs got away to a good start with a 49 break but missed a red using the rest allowing Rhodes to reply with 20 and a tight snooker. Craggs failed to make contact and Rhodes cleared to the pink but missed. Craggs potted it but them missed the black off the spot to lose 56-60.

This vital miss seemed to affect the home player's confidence as he dropped the next two frames to an inspired Rhodes.

This showed in the second when Rhodes made 53 and then followed it with 41 to take the frame 94-28. In the third Craggs laid a very tight snooker, which resulted in five consecutive misses but then he took on a red, followed by a black. In attempting to split the remaining pack he missed the black and allowed Rhodes to make up his deficit with a 48 break. In a tight finish, Rhodes fluked the blue and added the pink and black to win 74-42.

Craggs opened his account by taking a scrappy fourth where both players missed good chances. Rhodes knocked in a 28 break with Craggs replying with 28 and went on to win 59-24. After the interval Rhodes went 38 ahead but Craggs pulled back to 38-31 before Rhodes fluked the penultimate red from a snooker and went on to clear to the brown and took the frame at 81-35.

Both players missed chances in the fifth which Rhodes won 67-41. Desperate not to disappoint his home supporters, Craggs gave his all in the last frame with a fast and flamboyant break winning 63 break.

Mike Dunn of Hartlepool, world ranked number 55, improved his chances in the league with a good win at Newcastle Fairholme Club with a 5-2 win over David Lilley. Dunn took the first with a 42 break, but Lilley was disappointed in the second when he recovered from Dunn's 58 break to miss the pink and leave it for Dunn, who was boosted enough to make further breaks of 48 and 52 to go into the interval four up. Lilley took the deciding black to take the fifth and went on to add the sixth with a 50 break, but failed in the tight safety battle for the last.

Paul Davison of Spennymoor took over second spot in the table when he beat the visiting Chris West of Whitley Bay 5-2. West went 47 ahead in the first but Davison came back with breaks of 21 and a 25 clearance to force a re-spotted black, which he potted. West replied with a 57 break to take the second. Davison got in with a 61 in the third but West missed a good opportunity to get back in when he missed his first attempt at a colour. West equalised by taking the fourth with a series of small breaks, which put him 42 ahead on the last red, forcing Davison to concede.

In the sixth Davison made runs of 19 and 15 and was at the table compiling another break when West conceded, confusing the spectators by also conceding the match.

Michael Rudd of Hartlepool entertained Anthony Parsons of Guisborough, who made three thirty plus breaks in the first three frames and added another low scoring frame to go into the interval with an unblemished record. Rudd then took on the scoring role in the fifth with a 34 break, which saw him break his duck. However Parsons produced the quality of the evening when he produced a magnificent 94 clearance, which must give him confidence for his trip to Mansfield to play in the final National Tour of the season. In the final frame Rudd made a 31 break, but Parsons replied with 34 to complete a comprehensive 6-1 victory.

The highlight of Andy Craig's match at Stanley Central against John McCallum of Ashington was the high standard of safety play. The best break of the night was 43 by McCallum but spectators were treated to some tight finishes with McCallum winning 5-2.

Fixtures: Monday: Mike Dunn v Andy Craig at Hartlepool Snooker Centre; Gary Wilson v David Lilley at High Howdon Social Club; Michael Rhodes v Michael Rudd at Durham Snooker Centre. Wednesday :- John McCallum v Paul Davison at Northern Social Club, Ashington; Chris West v David Craggs at Whitley Lodge Snooker Centre. (All 7.30pm start)

l Anyone wishing to go should check with the venue that the matches are going ahead as scheduled. Additional information can be obtained by calling 07830 101228.