Hurley claims Silver rankings title

WILLIAM Hurley clinched the Cuestars Under-21 Silver Tour rankings title after a nail-biting day in Bournemouth.

The 14-year-old from Rayleigh defeated first-time finalist Tyler Beer 2-1 at Greenbaize Snooker Club to claim top spot in the rankings.

Defeat would have handed the title to Londoner Donnie Gola on the countback rule.

Hurley trailed Gola by three points going into the tenth and final leg. They met in the last-four. Hurley’s 2-0 victory took him level on points with his title-rival.

But if the run had ended there, Gola would have been crowned champion by virtue of three tournament wins this season to Hurley’s two.

Hurley said: “It’s been a good battle (with Donnie). We’ve had a few close games and I’m pleased to win it.

“I struggled in the groups but, as it got to the knockout, I settled in a bit. I scraped through it all really.”

Paying tribute to his 11-year-old opponent from Eastleigh, whom he lost to in the round-robin group stages, Hurley added: “Tyler played well. He’s improved a lot.”

Mason Wilson (Basingstoke) lost 2-1 to Beer in the semi-finals and ended the season in third place.

Hurley, who won the 2023 Cuestars Under-21 Bronze Tour championship in Swindon last May, recently increased his highest competitive break to 80 in a league match at The Lanes Sports Bar in his home town

The talented teenager has been a busy boy these past couple of months and has clocked up a few miles.

He finished in 19th place on the 2023/24 English Junior Tour, the national under-21 circuit, which earned him a place in the European Under-16 and Under-18 Championships in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He reached the last-16 in the Under-16 event.

Last month he made it through to the last-32 of the English Under-16 Championship in Walsall and in March he reached the quarter-finals of the southern half of the PowerGlide English Under-14 Championship in Woking.

The event was sponsored by Greenbaize SC (www.greenbaizesnooker.com) and one of its members, Cuestars Masters Tour player Shaun Hayman.

Jesters Snooker Club, Swindon, hosts the Cuestars Under-21 Gold, Silver and Bronze Championships on Sunday, May 19, with guest professional Joe Perry.

BREAKS

William Hurley: 41, 37, 36, 36, 33.
Mason Wilson: 33.
Dylan Beer: 31.
Donnie Gola: 31.

SILVER RESULTS

ROUND-ROBIN GROUP A: 1st, Donnie Gola (Mildmay Club); 2nd, Dylan Beer (Salisbury SC); 3rd, Ellise Scott (Chandlers Ford SC); 4th, Matt Valentine (Greenbaize, Bournemouth).

ROUND-ROBIN GROUP B: 1st, Tyler Beer (Salisbury SC); 2nd, William Hurley (Lanes Sports Bar, Rayleigh); 3rd, Daniel Walter (Copnor SC); 4th, Lennon Savage (Salisbury SC).

ROUND-ROBIN GROUP C: 1st, Mason Wilson (Academy, Basingstoke); 2nd, Christopher Woodward (Chandlers Ford SC); 3rd, Caden Read (Chandlers Ford SC); 4th, Tom McEvoy (Salisbury SC).

QUARTER-FINALS (12 points): Gola 2-0 Walter, Hurley 2-0 Woodward, T Beer 2-1 Read, Wilson 2-0 D Beer.

SEMI-FINALS (15 points): Hurley 2-0 Gola, T Beer 2-1 Wilson.

FINAL (25/18 points): Hurley 2-1 T Beer.

Picture, from left: William Hurley, Greenbaize owner Debbie Ealy, Tyler Beer.