Mark Royal is back at Great Yarmouth bidding to win the Festival's blue ribband event - the men's singles sponsored by Aylsham Bathroom and Kitchen Centre - for the fourth successive year.

Yesterday saw 16 leagues of four teams competing in the Potters Leisure sponsored mixed triples, with the top two in each qualifying for today's round robin session.

Last year's champions David and Elaine Cole and Paul Webb (Great Plumstead) lost their first game 8-6 to Thetford's R Hall, D Adams and J Borrett, who then won their second game 12-11 against Thorpe Rec's D and P Tomlinson and D Bryant. The Coles with Webb also won their second game against Rackheath's K Fisher, R Yallop and C Davies 12-4 and then beat the Tomlinsons 12-7 to make the second round as runners-up as the Borrett trio won 9-8 to qualify as winners.

Acle's G Reeve, B Holcroft, and A Dunton beat Filby's L and B Smith and D Nicholson 18-13 but crashed to Reepham's N Battans and P and H Wilkinson 10-4.

Blundeston's D Purnell, G Mulcaine and P Hurren beat the Wilkinsons 11-8 and the Smiths 10-8 but then lost their last game to the Dunton triple 13-8 for the Dunton triple to qualify as runners-up behind the Reepham triple.

Suffolk's N, J and M Frohawk, after beating Reepham's M Abel, J Smith and S Bonner 11-4, then had an amazing game with Diss' R Moyse and C and C Leeder. Leading 8-4 with three ends to go, they dropped a three-five to trail 12-8 but contrived to score a six on the last end to win 14-12.

The Frohawks won their last game 13-4 to qualify as did the Bonner trio who beat the Leeders 13-11. Freethorpe's J Stone, J Harris and R Mallett drew 8-8 with clubmates K and A Adey and T Izzard who then went on to beat Yarmouth's S Edmonds, B Wright, and B Drake 10-6 whilst the Adey's trio beat the other Yarmouth triple of D and J Saunders and T McNulty 16-4. Both Freethorpe teams won their last games to qualify.

Last year's runners-up, Lowestoft's E Sawyer, S Smith and G Fellingham had two good wins, 16-6 over Flegg Private K and D Copeland and T Bloom and 8-6 over Sprowston's P and R Groom and J Long who had beaten the mixed club rink of M Hedges, J Warnes and T Scott. Lowestoft were unbeaten while Sprowston's P and R Groom with J Long finished runners-up.

Other qualifiers were M Betts, D Mann and K Dunn, A and B Hutt and K Woolston (Roundwood), S Gee, C Derry and M Turner (Heartsease) and J Fagan, R Beardall and K Saward (Bradwell).