James reaches new Height on Cuestars circuit
SOMERSET cueman James Height has won his first Cuestars tournament just over a year since reaching a final on his debut.
Height pocketed £100 prize money after breaking his duck in the fourth leg of the Seniors (40+) Tour at Waterlooville Sports Bar.
The potter from Shepton Mallet beat defending rankings champion John Hunter (Andover) 2-1 in the final.
Height finished runner-up on his Cuestars debut on the Championship Tour in Swindon in September last year but hadn’t appeared in a final in his subsequent 13 events across both tours.
Reflecting on that journey, he said: “I’ve not been on the Cuestars scene for that long and after losing in the final of my first event just over a year ago, I’m delighted to get the win.
“I’ve put a lot of work into my game of late and it seems to be paying off.”
Height climbed two places to second in the rankings, 12 points adrift of front-runner Hunter.
Both losing semi-finalists progressed from the same round-robin group. Dan Hammond (Winchester) finished top and eventually went out 2-0 to Hunter while Ashton (Salisbury) beat Masters (55+) rankings leader Raj Puri (Rochester) in the last-eight before going down 2-0 to Height.
Phil Morgan (Salisbury) knocked in the day’s highest break of 60 against Stephen Hills (Northfleet) in the group stages.
The event sponsored by Kara Accountants attracted 22 entries.
For more information about Fawley-based Kara Accountants, visit www.kara-accountants.net.
Jesters Snooker Club, Swindon, hosts the fifth leg of eight on Sunday, January 19.
BREAKS
Phil Morgan: 60, 44.
Dan Hammond: 54. 50.
James Height: 48, 47.
John Hunter: 46.
Andrew Darken: 40.
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP POSITIONS
GROUP A: 1st, John Hunter (Salisbury SC); 2nd, John Monckton (Woking SC); 3rd, Neil Herd (Salisbury SC); 4th, Andrew Darken (Chertsey SSNR Club); 5th, Graham Leech (Crucible, Newbury).
GROUP B: 1st, Raj Puri (Hartley Country Club); 2nd, Jean-Marc Bancilhon (Camphill Social Club); 3rd, Phil Morgan (Chandlers Ford SC); 4th, Cath Bailey (147, Swindon); 5th, Stephen Hills (Northfleet Traders Club).
GROUP C: 1st, James Height (SWSA, Gloucester); 2nd, Paul Lawrence (Park Gate RBL); 3rd, Wayne Muddiman (Chandlers Ford Central); 4th, Neil Carroll (Chandlers Ford SC); 5th, Jeff Payne (West Byfleet Social Club); 6th, Adrian Gee (147 SC, Swindon).
GROUP D: 1st, Dan Hammond (Chandlers Ford SC); 2nd, Steve Ashton (Salisbury SC); 3rd, Carl Davies (St James Institute, Bournemouth); 4th, Alan Harvey (Chertsey Social Club); 5th, Phil Vowels (West Byfleet Social Club); 6th, James Trump (SWSA, Gloucester).
KNOCKOUT RESULTS
QUARTER-FINALS (12 pts): Hunter 2-1 Lawrence, Hammond 2-1 Bancilhon, Ashton 2-0 Puri, Height 2-1 Monckton.
SEMI-FINALS (15 pts, £30): Hunter 2-0 Hammond, Height 2-0 Ashton.
FINAL (25/18 pts, £100/£60): Height 2-1 Hunter.
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Tim Dunkley (World Snooker coach)