Lilly prevails from a massive field in Woking

FORMER rankings champion Dharminder Singh Lilly leads the Cuestars Seniors (40+) Tour after emerging victorious from a massive field in Woking.

The 51-year-old from Fareham pocketed £250 in prize money following a late-night victory in the second leg at Jimmy White’s Sports Lounge.

It was 11pm by the time Lilly wrapped up a 2-0 victory over Gary Thompson

The match was closer than the scoreline suggests with some excellent safety played by both players on Jimmy White’s extremely fast and tight professional-standard Star table.

Ultimately, it was the experience of Lilly that got him over the line – forcing a couple of openings towards the end of the frames.

Breaks were of a premium due to a large proportion of the matches being six reds because of the huge turnout of 47 players but Lilly did manage an excellent 70 total clearance in his six-reds group game against Gary Hynds.

Thompson, from West Moors in Bournemouth, did well to reach his first final on the Seniors Tour. He was undefeated in his group of four and then enjoyed knockout victories over Minesh Doshi, John Rees, Mark Evans and Paul Morrison.

Thompson concentrates on pool these days but still enjoys his snooker and likes to enter some competitions when he can.

It was great to see a number of local players in the draw. Paul Ganley had a good run to the quarter-finals, beating Vlad Bola and Al Maher before losing out 2-1 in a tight game to Lun Lee.

Thanks to Tony Thompson and the team at Jimmy White’s Sports Lounge who were all incredibly welcoming and did a fantastic job looking after all of the players.

The players were extremely complimentary of the club’s facilities, the quality of the tables and the standard of the delicious burgers and wraps.

A special thank you to Terry Teeman who did a fantastic job refereeing the final.

Greenbaize Snooker Club, Bournemouth, hosts the third leg of eight on Sunday, November 29.

PRIZE MONEY: Winner £250 Dharminder Lilly; runner-up £100 Gary Thompson; semi-finalists £60 Lun Lee & Paul Morrison; quarter-finalists £30 Paul Ganley, Kayshan Muthy, Chris Rice & Mark Evans.

LINKS FOR RESULTS:

By Tim Dunkley and Chris Wyatt