Q School beckons for Championship Tour winner
IT WAS a bumper £750 payday for west London snooker star Wayne Townsend.
The 43-year-old from Northolt received his £500 bonus for clinching the Cuestars Championship Tour rankings title.
And he pocketed the rest by winning the eighth leg at Woking Snooker Centre.
It means Townsend has now won five of the seven events he has entered this season.
He beat Matt Ford (Bracknell) 3-1 in the final of the Parris Cues-sponsored event, which attracted a strong field of 40.
Three centuries were recorded. Former professional Peter Devlin (London) took the honours with a 112 in his last-16 victory over Jack Dady (Basingstoke). Townsend contributing the other two, 104 and 100.
Townsend will use his winnings to enter Q School. Entry to the two tournaments in Leicester costs £600. The four semi-finalists from each event earn two-year tour cards for the professional circuit.
Mark Lloyd (Gosport), who is second in the rankings, beat Labeeb Ahmed (Chessington) 2-0 in the plate final.
For more information about the world-renowned Parris Cues, go to www.parriscues.com.
Greenbaize Snooker Club, Bournemouth, hosts the ninth and final leg on Sunday, May 7.
RESULTS (BREAKS)
PRELIMS: Jamie Wilson (67) 3-2 Marcos Dayao, Connor Benzey 3-0 Al Maher, Aristos Pampouris 3-0 Will Forster, John Donovan 3-2 Bluey Noel, Dalton Lawrence (49) 2-3 Jasmine Bolsover, Simon Bubb 3-2 James Budd, Evan Plummer (82, 50) 3-0 Ray Grall, Ronnie Blake 3-2 Dhar Lilly.
LAST-32: Jamie Wilson (58) 1-3 (71) Connor Benzey, Aristos Pampouris 1-3 (61) John Donovan, Jasmine Bolsover 0-3 Simon Bubb, Evan Plummer 2-3 (58) Ronnie Blake, Stew Croswell 0-3 Ronnie Sullivan, Dan Hall 1-3 Neil Herd, George Heatley 3-0 Iffi Anwar, Wayne Townsend 3-2 (84, 51) Terry Burke, Peter Chin 0-3 (79) Matt Ford, James Hawes 0-3 (59) Lewis Frampton, Sonnie O’Sullivan 2-3 Jake Fowler, Labeeb Ahmed 2-3 Neil Craycraft, Mark Lloyd (60) 2-3 (84, 60) Peter Devlin, Matthew Simpson 2-3 Jack Dady, Lun Lee 3-0 Jean-Marc Bancilhon, Billy West 3-0 Kevin Morris.
LAST-16: Connor Benzey (90, 84) 3-0 John Donovan, Simon Bubb (73) 3-2 Ronnie Blake, Ronnie Sullivan 3-0 Neil Herd, George Heatley 0-3 (104) Wayne Townsend, Matt Ford (91, 58) 3-0 Lewis Frampton, Jake Fowler 1-3 Neil Craycraft, Peter Devlin (112) 3-1 Jack Dady, Lun Lee 1-3 Billy West.
QUARTER-FINALS (£25): Connor Benzey (71) 3-1 Simon Bubb, Ronnie Sullivan 0-3 (57) Wayne Townsend, Matt Ford 3-0 Neil Craycraft, Peter Devlin (82) 1-3 (82) Billy West.
SEMI-FINALS (£50): Connor Benzey (84) 1-3 (100, 60) Wayne Townsend, Matt Ford (51) 3-2 (55) Billy West.
FINAL (£250/£100): Wayne Townsend (56, 52) 3-1 Matt Ford.
PLATE RESULTS (BREAKS)
LAST-16: Dalton Lawrence 0-2 Will Forster, Stew Croswell 0-2 Mark Lloyd, Ray Grall 1-2 Matthew Simpson, Sonnie O’Sullivan 2-0 Al Maher, Kevin Morris 1-2 James Budd, Marcos Dayao 2-0 Terry Burke, Bluey Noel 1-2 Jean-Marc Bancilhon, Dan Hall 0-2 Labeeb Ahmed.
QUARTER-FINALS: Will Forster 0-2 Mark Lloyd, Matthew Simpson 1-2 Sonnie O’Sullivan, James Budd 1-2 (60) Marcos Dayao, Jean-Marc Bancilhon 0-2 Labeeb Ahmed.
SEMI-FINALS: Mark Lloyd 2-1 Sonnie O’Sullivan, Labeeb Ahmed 2-0 Marco Dayao.
FINAL (£25/£15): Mark Lloyd 2-0 Labeeb Ahmed.