Wilson wins first Cuestars tournament since turning professional
PROFESSIONAL snooker player Jamie Wilson made a successful return to the scene of his first Cuestars tournament win in south London.
The 17-year-old from Havant was delighted to meet up with his old sparring partners during the third leg of the Under-21 Gold Tour at Frames Sports Bar, Coulsdon.
Despite conceding a 14-point start to all of his amateur opponents, Wilson demonstrated the improvement in his game since earning his place on the World Snooker Tour a year ago.
He pocketed £100 in prize money after beating rankings leader Oliver Sykes (Chandler’s Ford) 2-1 in the final on one of the club’s professional standard Star tables.
Wilson – who collected his first Cuestars winner’s trophy in December, 2019 – was pleased to be back among old friends.
He said: “I played OK all day and I was happy to scrape a win against Oliver.
“It was nice to catch up with everyone. I hadn’t seen a lot of them in ages. It was just a nice enjoyable day.”
Marco Dayao (Battersea Park), beaten by Wilson in the last-four, is second in the rankings. Steven Hughes (Chandler’s Ford), the only player to beat Wilson in the group stages, is third. Mickey Joyce (Basingstoke) made the semi-finals for the first time since winning the final at the same venue in December, 2018.
The event, sponsored by Frames Sports Bar, attracted a high-quality field of 16. Wilson returned the day’s highest break of 88.
Salisbury Snooker Club hosts the fourth leg of six on Sunday, September 12.
BREAKS
Jamie Wilson: 88, 41.
Oliver Sykes: 76, 52.
Connor Benzey: 69, 56.
Mickey Joyce: 60, 44.
Steven Hughes: 57, 48.
Bradley Cowdroy: 57, 47.
Lee Whaley: 42.
GOLD RESULTS
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP A: 1st, Oliver Sykes (Chandlers Ford SC); 2nd, Evan Plummer (Frames Sports Bar, Coulsdon); 3rd, O’Shay Scott (Chandlers Ford SC); 4th, William Harrison (Castle SC, Brighton).
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP B: 1st, Marcos Dayao (Cousins SC, London); 2nd, Mickey Joyce (Academy, Basingstoke); 3rd, Ronnie Sullivan (Frames Sports Bar, Coulsdon); 4th, Dan Sykes (Chandlers Ford SC).
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP C: 1st, Jamie Wilson (Waterlooville Sports Bar); 2nd, Steven Hughes (Chandlers Ford SC); 3rd, Lee Whaley (Cousins, London); 4th, Aristos Pampouris (Cousins, London).
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP D: 1st, Connor Benzey (Chandlers Ford SC); 2nd, Bradley Cowdroy (Greenbaize, Bournemouth); 3rd, Adam Stacey (Keith Davis Cue Sports Club, Dagenham); 4th, Richard Hillgrove (Southend).
QUARTER-FINALS (12 points): Joyce 2-1 Benzey, Dayao 2-1 Cowdroy, Wilson 2-0 Plummer, O Sykes 2-0 Hughes.
SEMI-FINALS (15 points): Wilson 2-0 Dayao, Sykes 2-1 Joyce.
FINAL (£100/£25, 25/18 points): Wilson 2-1 Sykes.
Picture by Tim Dunkley
From left: Jamie Wilson, Tony Thompson (Frames Sports Bar owner), Oliver Sykes.