Norton steps up a gear
COLIN Norton emerged from a 19-strong field to claim his second straight success on the Cuestars South of England Seniors (40+) Tour.
And like at Chandler’s Ford in November, the 44-year-old finished second in his round-robin group and went on to beat Cuestars director John Hunter in the final.
The second leg at Salisbury Snooker Club pitched Norton and Hunter in the same group. Hunter won 2-0 but could not repeat the feat in the final. Norton extended his rankings lead with a 2-1 victory.
The 44-year-old veteran of the national Masters circuit edged out Southampton’s Neil Carroll on the colours in the deciding frame to qualify for the quarter-finals.
Carroll, who lost to Norton in the semi-finals at Chandler’s Ford, said: “I was in the group of death so it was always going to be tough. I was pleased to give Colin a run for his money.”
Norton, who is based at the Castle Club in Fareham, defeated Group A winner Martin Wallace (Colours SC, Reading) 2-0 in the last-eight and Group B winner Nick Birney (High Wycombe Liberal Club) 2-0 to book a date with Hunter.
Hunter did not drop a frame until the final. After winning all three group matches 2-0, the 44-year-old, playing on home tables, beat club-mate Gary Hart and Jersey international David Brabiner in the knockout.
Both Group C qualifiers made last-eight exits. Group winner Steve Ashton (Salisbury SC) lost 2-0 to Brabiner while runner-up Paul Burt (also from Salisbury SC) was knocked out 2-1 by Birney.
Portsmouth’s Danny O’Driscoll said he had a “great day” after finishing third in his group on his Cuestars debut.
Meanwhile, Alan Grainger (Salisbury SC) defeated Alan Thomas (Jesters, Swindon) in the final of the Super 60s, a one-frame shootout for the wiser men who believe 40-year-old whippersnappers should be seen but not heard.
Cuestars director John Hunter will be compiling a ranking list for the Super 60s and he is considering adding more dates to the Seniors Tour in the future.
The tour heads to Jesters, Swindon, on March 27, and the Ambassador SC, Poole, in May.
BREAKS
Nick Birney: 74, 57, 49, 48, 42.
John Hunter: 70, 42.
Steve Ashton: 46.
RESULTS:
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP A: 1st, Martin Wallace (Colours SC, Reading); 2nd, Gary Hart (Salisbury SC); 3rd, Alan Grainger (High Wycombe Liberal Club); 4th, Ray Mears (Sovereign SC, Farnborough); 5th, Alan Childs (Salisbury SC).
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP B: 1st, Nick Birney (High Wycombe Liberal Club); 2nd, David Brabiner (First Tower, Jersey); 3rd, Danny O’Driscoll (Copnor SC, Portsmouth); 4th, Ron Ellis (Burgh Heath Club, Surrey); 5th, Fred Pearce (Burgh Heath Club, Surrey).
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP C: 1st, Steve Ashton (Salisbury SC); 2nd, Paul Burt (Salisbury SC); 3rd, Paul Rose (Jesters, Swindon); 4th, Richard Arnold (Salisbury SC); 5th, Alan Thomas (Jesters, Swindon).
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP D: 1st, John Hunter (Salisbury SC); 2nd, Colin Norton (Fareham Castle Snooker Club); 3rd, Neil Carroll (Salisbury SC); 4th, Trevor Thorn (Basingstoke Conservative Club).
QUARTER-FINALS (£10, 8 points): Norton beat Wallace 2-0, Birney beat Burt 2-1, Brabiner beat Ashton 2-0, Hunter beat Hart 2-0.
SEMI-FINALS (£20, 12 points): Norton beat Birney 2-0, Hunter beat Brabiner 2-0.
FINAL (£80/£40, 25/18 points): Norton beat Hunter 2-1.
SUPER 60s RESULTS
QUARTER-FINALS: Alan Thomas beat Ron Ellis 1-0, Fred Pearce beat Ray Mears 1-0.
SEMI-FINALS: Thomas beat Pearce 1-0, Alan Grainger beat Alan Childs 1-0.
FINAL: Grainger beat Thomas 1-0.