Benzey fulfils 12-year dream of turning professional

THERE was no resting on his laurels for new snooker professional Connor Benzey yesterday.

The 23-year-old from Eastleigh was back on his own Star table at Waterlooville Sports Bar 24 hours after securing a minimum of two years on the World Snooker Tour.

“I’ve got a tournament later this month,” he explained.

Benzey earned his tour card in the second Q School event at the Mattioli Arena, Leicester. He beat Bradley Cowdroy 4-1, Sean McAllister 4-2, Patrick Whelan 4-2, John Astley 4-2 and Rodion Judin 4-2.

“It’s been a long 12 years trying to pursue my dream and yesterday it finally came true,” he told cuestars.co.uk. “I’m delighted. I’m still buzzing at the moment.

“One thing I’ve probably struggled with these last five or six years of my career is that self-belief. So I was really happy that I kept battling and battling these last couple of weeks.

“I can think of three or four really important clearances I made to win frames that I shouldn’t really have won. Those frames made a big difference in the long run.”

Benzey will be back in Leicester for the Wuhan Open qualifiers in three weeks.

“I just want to try to get comfortable as quickly as possible and hopefully nick a few games early on to really settle down,” he said. “The whole experience can be intimidating, all the other players there, things you’re not used to.”

Benzey began his snooker journey in the Saturday morning junior leagues at Chandlers Ford Snooker Club.

He made his debut on the Cuestars Under-21 Bronze Tour at the age of 11 and went on to win the Bronze Championship in 2015, the Silver rankings in 2016 and the Gold rankings in 2022.

Cuestars director John Hunter said: “I’m super impressed with his achievement. It sends a great message to our junior players that their dreams of becoming a professional do not end when they reach 21.”

Benzey is the third player to be awarded a lifetime Cuestars membership for reaching the professional ranks. The other two are Billy Castle and Jamie Wilson.

Benzey thanked his sponsors – Devlin Cues, GH Property Management and SJF Roofing – as well as his home club, Waterlooville Sports Bar, for all their help.