Rose returns with a win
IAN Rose made a winning return to the Cuestars snooker circuit after a break of seven years.
The 42-year-old from Woking emerged victorious for a 28-stong field on his debut on the Seniors Tour (40+) in Newbury.
Rose pocketed £180 in prize money after beating Carl Davies 2-1 from 1-0 down in the final of the sixth leg at The Crucible Sports & Social Club.
Neither player were at their best in a close match as a bit of tiredness inevitable set in.
Rose entered the event for match practice ahead of the next World Seniors tournament. He certainly got what he wished for with a tough knockout run that included victories over Jason Pusser, Garry Coulson and Martin Wallace.
His last appearance on the Cuestars circuit was on the Championship Tour in March, 2019.
Neil Carroll, Matt Ford and Rose were the form players in the round-robin group stages, all achieving three wins without dropping a frame.
Carroll was particularly impressive in a group containing Lun Lee, Neil Jefferis and Pete Ebbins.
Garry Coulson took the headlines in the group stages with the day’s highest break of 111 against Dhamendra Patel. He had the cue-ball on a piece of string until he snookered himself on the green after potting the yellow to take the break to 99.
Tournament director Chris Wyatt witnessed what happened next and took up the story.
“He picked his spot on the top cushion and with the aid of a couple of cushions the green somehow found its way into the bottom corner pocket to bring up the ton.
“This was greeted with an enthusiastic cheer from all of us lucky enough to be watching.”
Now full of confidence, Coulson defeated rankings leader Paul Davis 2-1 in the last-16.
Shane Hellyer played well to defeat former rankings champion Ford in the first knockout round.
Tam Mustafa was cueing nicely and his quarter-final match with Dharminder Lilly went all the way to the final black of the deciding frame which Lilly stroked in from distance.
But the match of the day was the semi-final between Davies and Lilly with impressive tactical play from both players. Davies prevailed 2-1 with steady and, importantly, smart snooker.
Organisers thanked the team at Crucible Newbury for looking after them so well as they always do.
Salisbury Snooker Club hosts the seventh leg of eight on Sunday, March 22.
PRIZE MONEY: Winner Ian Rose £180; runner-up Carl Davies £80; semi-finalists Dharminder Lilly & Martin Wallace £25 each; quarter-finalists Sean Reeves, Tam Mustafa, Shane Hellyer, Garry Coulson £10 each.
Links to results and breaks:
By Chris Wyatt and Tim Dunkley