129 break helps Rogers win in Poole
GAVIN Rogers took advantage of home tables to scoop the £70 top prize at the second leg of the Cuestars South of England Championship Tour at the Ambassador Snooker Club, Poole.
Making a first start of the season, Rogers went straight into joint-third place in the rankings after a 3-2 victory over Aldershot hotshot Ryan Mears in the final.
The match turned in the fourth frame with Mears 2-1 up.
Rogers, leading by 25 points with green to black remaining, failed to escape from a nasty snooker behind the brown.
Mears, 22, opted to attempt a clearance instead of replacing the cue-ball. But he failed to clear up and Rogers levelled.
Mears is now joint top with Chandler’s Ford SC’s 12-year-old Shane Castle, who went out 3-0 to Neil Craycraft (147 SC, Wantage) in the quarter-finals.
Rogers compiled a monster 129 break in his 3-1 semi-final win against Craycraft, who contributed an 84.
In the second semi, an effort of 71 helped Mears to a 3-1 victory over Nathan Williams (Salisbury SC).
A total of 19 breaks of more than 50 were scored by a top-quality field.
Cuestars director John Hunter said: “The standard was very high.”
The third leg of the Championship Tour is at Salisbury Snooker Club on Sunday, December 19.
BREAKS:
Gavin Rogers: 129, 74.
Shane Castle: 88, 71, 64.
Neil Craycraft: 85, 84.
Ryan Mears: 89, 71, 68, 60, 51.
Nathan Williams: 69, 57, 53.
Christian Chislett: 54.
Anthony Cutler: 71, 64, 51.
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP POSITIONS:
GROUP A: 1st, Gavin Rogers (Ambassador SC, Poole); 2nd, Nathan Williams (Salisbury SC); 3rd, Christian Chislett (Selsey RBL, West Sussex); 4th, Jordan Winbourne (Chandler’s Ford SC).
GROUP B: 1st, Neil Craycraft (147 SC, Swindon); 2nd, Dominic Holmes; 3rd, Anthony Cutler (Ambassador SC, Poole); 4th, Chris Richards (Roath Labour Club, Cardiff).
GROUP C: 1st, Ryan Mears (Sovereign SC, Farnborough); 2nd, Shane Castle (Chandler’s Ford SC); 3rd, Martin Wallace (Colours, Reading).
GROUP D: 1st, Mark McLean (Churchills, Eastleigh); 2nd, James Facey (Roath Labour Club, Cardiff); 3rd, Wasim Khan (Uxbridge SC).
KNOCKOUT:
QUARTER-FINALS (8 points): Rogers beat Facey 3-0, Craycraft beat Castle 3-0, Mears beat Holmes 3-1, Williams beat McLean 3-0.
SEMI-FINALS (12 points, £15): Rogers beat Craycraft 3-1, Mears beat Williams 3-1.
FINAL (25/18 points, £70/£30): Rogers beat Mears 3-2.