Thanks, grandad

IT WAS a special but poignant moment on a sunny day in Bournemouth when Lennon Savage claimed his first regional snooker title.

It came on the birthday of his late grandad Ken, who introduced his six-year-old grandson to our game and whose name is etched on Lennon’s handmade cue.

Lennon overtook his Chandlers Ford clubmate Caden Read to win the Cuestars Under-21 Silver Tour rankings title by beating Navraj Landa in the final of the tenth and last leg at Greenbaize Snooker Club.

The 15-year-old from Southampton went 1-0 down, broke the back of the second frame with a run of 51 – the day’s highest break – and clinched the tense decider on the last few colours.

“It’s a special win,” said Lennon. “It’s not only my first (Silver) tournament win but my grandad got me into snooker and he sadly passed away a couple of years ago and it’s his birthday today.

“I’d like to say thanks to Caden for a good season. We’ve met in two finals and I’ve lost them both. He’s a good player.”

Lennon finished runner-up in his round-robin group and met Caden, who won the other group, in the last-four. A 2-1 victory gave him the chance of securing the title.

Navraj, who finished the season in third place, beat Ben Taylor-Jenkins 2-1 in the second semi.

Lennon joined the Eastleigh & District Under-13 League at Chandlers Ford Snooker Club at the age of six. He has topped the Under-19 Premier for the last three seasons and also won the 2023 February Half-term Cup (one of the six school-holiday competitions the club runs every year).

Results are on snookerscores.net.

The event was sponsored by Greenbaize member Shaun Hayman.

Next up is the Cuestars Under-21 Championship at Jimmy White’s Snooker Lounge in Woking on Sunday, May 17, when the top-16 ranked players from each of the three tours will compete for a first prize of £250.