Crucible lads dominate Gold leg at Swindon
THE latest club to join Cuestars dominated the second leg of the South of England Under-21 Gold Tour.
Jonjo Sharkey, who is based at The Crucible Sports & Social Club in Newbury, edged his clubmate Aaron Watts 3-2 in the final at Jesters Snooker Hall, Swindon.
Remarkably, both talented youngsters were making their Cuestars debuts and, remarkably, they both finished second in their round-robin groups.
In fact, Sharkey qualified for the semi-finals by virtue of just one frame from Daniel Winfield (Player’s, Westbury) after 2-1 defeats by Danny Tallentire (Player’s, Westbury) and Daniel Langford (Crucible, Newbury).
Meanwhile, Ben Tanner (The Academy, Eastleigh), has shot to the top of the Gold Tour rankings.
The 19-year-old compiled breaks of 89, 72, 61 and 56 to win his four-man group, which included finalist Watts, without dropping a frame but was beaten 3-0 by tournament winner Sharkey in the last-four.
Watts accounted for fourth-placed Tallentire 3-1 in the second semi.
The Crucible will host its first Cuestars tournament, the second leg of the Championship Tour, on Sunday, November 27.
The third of the eight legs on the Gold Tour is at the Greenbaize Snooker Club, Bournemouth, on Sunday, December 11.
BREAKS
Ben Tanner: 89, 72, 61, 56.
GOLD RESULTS
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP A: 1st, Danny Tallentire (Player’s, Westbury); 2nd, Jonjo Sharkey (Crucible, Newbury); 3rd, Daniel Winfield (Player’s, Westbury); 4th, Oliver Parsons (Jesters, Swindon); 5th, Daniel Langford (Crucible, Newbury).
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP B: 1st, Ben Tanner (The Academy, Eastleigh); 2nd, Aaron Watts (Crucible, Newbury); 3rd, Dean Matthews (Ivy Leaf Club, Maidenhead); 4th, Ollie Kendrick (Whitmore Reans Cons, Wolverhampton).
SEMI-FINALS (12 points): Watts beat Tallentire 3-1, Sharkey beat Tanner 3-0.
FINAL (25/18 points): Sharkey beat Watts 3-2.
Bodman leads Silver Tour
SWINDON’S Troy Bodman surged to the top of the Cuestars South of England Under-21 Silver Tour rankings after dropping just one frame out of 11 in the second leg at his home club, Jesters Snooker Hall.
Bodman, last season’s Bronze champion, defeated Thomas Lancastle (Eastville Snooker Club, Bristol) 2-0 in the final.
The only frame he lost all day was in a 2-1 quarter-final victory over Anthony Church (Greenbaize Snooker Club, Bournemouth).
And the Group B winner, who lost in the first-leg final at Salisbury last month, accounted for last season’s Bronze ranking winner Callum Browne (Player’s, Westbury) 2-0 in the semi-finals.
Group D winner Lancastle, formerly at World Championship finalist Judd Trump’s old club in Keynsham, beat Group B runner-up Cameron Holt (Liberal Club, High Wycombe) 2-0 in the quarter-finals and event-one winner Joshua Lee (Jesters, Swindon) 2-1 in the last-four.
It was a second successive quarter-final exit for Holt in his debut season on the Silver Tour. Another new boy, Sam Storey (Thatcham SC), qualified for the knockout for the first time but went out 2-0 to Browne.
In the other quarter-final tie, Lee beat Group C winner Jodie Symes (Jesters, Swindon) 2-0.
Three of the four semi-finalists from the first leg in Salisbury made it to the last-four in Swindon. Paul Ives (Liberal Club, High Wycombe) failed to qualify from the group stages and was replaced by Browne. These five occupy the top five places in the rankings.
Bodman, on 43 points, leads Lee by six. Lancastle is seven points further back in third. Browne and Ives are tied in fourth on 17.
The third of the eight legs is at the Greenbaize Snooker Club, Bournemouth, on Sunday, December 11.
BREAKS
Callum Browne: 39.
SILVER RESULTS
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP A: 1st, Callum Browne (Player’s, Westbury); 2nd, Cameron Holt (Liberal Club, High Wycombe); joint 3rd, Mark Lloyd (Stoke SC, Gosport) & Robbie Self (Crucible, Newbury).
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP B: 1st, Troy Bodman (Jesters, Swindon); 2nd, Joshua Lee (Jesters, Swindon); 3rd, Daniel Hall (Jesters, Swindon).
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP C: 1st, Jodie Symes (Jesters, Swindon); 2nd, Anthony Church (Greenbaize, Bournemouth); 3rd, Joshua Hughes (Rileys, Worcester).
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP D: 1st, Thomas Lancastle (Eastville SC, Bristol); 2nd, Sam Storey (Thatcham SC); 3rd, Paul Ives (Liberal Club, High Wycombe).
QUARTER-FINALS (8 points): Browne beat Storey 2-0, Bodman beat Church 2-1, Lee beat Symes 2-0, Lancastle beat Holt 2-0.
SEMI-FINALS (12 points): Bodman beat Browne 2-0, Lancastle beat Lee 2-1.
FINAL (25/18 points): Bodman beat Lancastle 2-0.
Farmer reaps first tournament win
IT WAS certainly not a stroll in the park for Gosport’s Nathan Farmer as he won his first ever tournament on the Cuestars South of England Under-21 Bronze Tour.
The Stoke Snooker Club youngster survived a three-way play-off to qualify as runner-up in his round-robin group in the second leg at Jesters Snooker Hall, Swindon.
And all three of his knockout matches went to a third and deciding frame.
Farmer beat Spike Hull and Austen Petty (both Chandler’s Ford SC) 2-1 and triumphed by the same score in the final against the home club’s Matthew Bellinger.
It was a remarkable turnaround for Farmer, who finished bottom of his group and winless in event-one last month in Salisbury.
Farmer climbed to third in the rankings, one point behind Bellinger. Stewart Ball (Greenbaize, Bournemouth) remains in top spot with a three-point cushion.
Bellinger, a semi-finalist at Salisbury, saw off Group B winner Kaine Petty (Greenbaize, Bournemouth) and Group A winner John Jason Smith (Crucible, Newbury) both 2-1.
Smith, on his Cuestars debut, had beaten Woking’s Jasmine Bolsover 2-1 in the quarter-finals.
It was quite an eventful day for rising star Austen Petty.
The 13-year-old and his mum got lost on the way to Swindon.
He then recorded his highest break while defeating the event-one champion to reach the semi-finals for the second tournament running.
Petty, in his second season on the tour, qualified from his five-man round-robin group and compiled a personal best 32 break in a 2-1 quarter-final victory over Ball, who won at Salisbury.
After his defeat by Farmer, Petty said: “As soon as I got through (the group stage), I thought I could win the whole tournament. But he played very well and I didn’t play that well.”
The third of the eight legs is at the Greenbaize Snooker Club, Bournemouth, on Sunday, December 11.
BREAKS
Bradley Cowdroy: 34.
Austen Petty: 32, 23.
BRONZE RESULTS
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP A: 1st, John Jason Smith (Crucible, Newbury); 2nd, Austen Petty (Chandler’s Ford SC); 3rd, Oliver Clark (Chandler’s Ford SC); 4th, Bradley Cowdroy (Greenbaize, Bournemouth); 5th, Corey Tallentire (Player’s, Westbury).
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP B: 1st, Kaine Petty (Greenbaize, Bournemouth); 2nd, Nathan Farmer (Stoke SC, Gosport); 3rd, Karl Eggar (Stoke SC, Gosport); 4th, Jamie Wilson (Copnor SC, Portsmouth); 5th, Thomas Holton (Woking SC).
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP C: 1st, Spike Hull (Chandler’s Ford SC); 2nd, Matthew Bellinger (Jesters, Swindon); 3rd, Mitchell Snook (Chandler’s Ford SC); 4th, Mickey Joyce (Crucible, Newbury); 5th, Arnie Petty (Greenbaize, Bournemouth).
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP D: 1st, Stewart Ball (Greenbaize, Bournemouth); 2nd, Jasmine Bolsover (Woking SC); 3rd, Mike Trigg (Chandler’s Ford SC); 4th, Joseph Richardson (Crucible, Newbury); 5th, Bradley Lane (Copnor SC, Portsmouth).
QUARTER-FINALS (8 points): Smith beat Bolsover 2-1, Bellinger beat K Petty 2-1, Farmer beat Hull 2-1, Austen Petty beat Ball 2-1.
SEMI-FINALS (12 points): Bellinger beat Smith 2-1, Farmer beat Austen Petty 2-1.
FINAL (25/18 points): Farmer beat Bellinger 2-1.
Consolation for Winfield
DANIEL Winfield (Player’s, Westbury), who missed out on qualifying for the Gold Tour knockout by just one frame, eased the pain by sweeping to victory in the Plate competition.
The 17-year-old overcame the highly-rated nine-year-old Bradley Cowdroy, who is based at Greenbaize Snooker Club, Bournemouth, 2-1 in the final.
Event-one Plate winner Mark Lloyd (Stoke SC, Gosport) lost to Cowdroy in the quarter-finals.
PLATE RESULTS (ONE-FRAME MATCHES)
LAST-32: Bradley Lane (Copnor SC, Portsmouth) beat Oliver Parsons (Jesters, Swindon), Karl Eggar (Stoke SC, Gosport) beat Jamie Wilson (Copnor SC, Portsmouth).
LAST-16: Daniel Hall (Jesters, Swindon) beat Mickey Joyce (Crucible, Newbury), Daniel Winfield (Player’s, Westbury) beat Joshua Hughes (Rileys, Worcester), Oliver Clark (Chandler’s Ford SC) beat Paul Ives (Liberal Club, High Wycombe), Eggar beat Lane, Daniel Langford (Crucible, Newbury) beat Robbie Self (Crucible, Newbury), Joseph Richardson (Crucible, Newbury) beat Dean Matthews (Ivy Leaf Club, Maidenhead), Bradley Cowdroy (Greenbaize, Bournemouth) beat Arnie Petty (Greenbaize, Bournemouth), Mark Lloyd (Stoke SC, Gosport) beat Corrie Tallentire (Player’s, Westbury).
QUARTER-FINALS: Winfield beat Hall, Eggar beat Clark, Langford beat Richardson, Cowdroy beat Lloyd.
SEMI-FINALS: Winfield beat Eggar, Cowdroy beat Langford.
FINAL: Winfield beat Cowdroy 2-1.
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Tim Dunkley (World Snooker coach)