O’Callaghan wins tournament with borrowed cue
IT WOULD appear that Bournemouth teenager David O’Callaghan can only win tournaments on a regional snooker circuit following a slice of misfortune.
The 18-year-old potted his way to a second winner’s trophy on the Cuestars South of England Under-21 Silver Tour using a borrowed cue.
A 2-0 victory over newly-promoted Chloe White in the final of the first leg at Waterlooville Sports Bar gave O’Callaghan an early lead in the rankings.
Explaining why his dad, Keith, had to lend him his cue, he said: “I left it in a locker at Greenbaize (snooker club) overnight.
“And, because we left too early, I couldn’t pick it up.”
Last February, O’Callaghan won a Silver event in Fareham a month after dislocating his left knee.
Turning to his performance in Waterlooville, he said: “I played rubbish throughout the groups and the semi-final.
“I almost fluked my way through. It was the final group match against Brett Wallace, he played so much better than me. I just managed to pinch that.
“Then I played really well in the final – when it mattered.”
O’Callaghan’s only defeat was by Riley Ellis, last season’s Bronze Tour rankings winner, in the group stages.
White (Havant) progressed from the same group, thanks to a one-frame advantage over Wallace (Gosport) and Ellis (Lyneham, north Wilts), and edged Shane Kearns (Swindon) 2-1 in the last-four.
Kaine Petty (Fordingbridge) reached his third semi-final in six events but went down 2-1 to O’Callaghan.
The tournament was sponsored by Vortex Property Management to raise awareness of Sightsavers, an international charity that works in developing countries to treat and prevent avoidable blindness.
For more information about the charity, visit www.sightsavers.org.
The second leg of ten is at Salisbury Snooker Club on Sunday, October 8.
BREAKS
Shane Kearns: 32.
David O’Callaghan: 30.
SILVER RESULTS
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP A: 1st, David O’Callaghan (Greenbaize, Bournemouth); 2nd, Chloe White (Waterlooville Sports Bar); 3rd, Brett Wallace (Fareham SC); 4th, Riley Ellis (147 SC, Swindon); 5th, Ally Pollard (Salisbury SC).
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP B: 1st, Shane Kearns (Jesters, Swindon); 2nd, Kaine Petty (Salisbury SC); 3rd, Nat Kidner (Greenbaize, Bournemouth); 4th, Callum White (Waterlooville Sports Bar); 5th, Thomas Saunders (Stepfield SC, Witham, Essex).
SEMI-FINALS (15 points): O’Callaghan 2 Petty 1, Chloe White 2 Kearns 1.
FINAL (25/18 points): O’Callaghan 2 Chloe White 0.
Pictures by Tim Dunkley
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Tim Dunkley (World Snooker coach)