Hunter has Townsend in his sights
JOHN Hunter is breathing down the neck of Cuestars Masters Tour rankings leader Karl Townsend after winning the seventh leg in Bournemouth.
The 58-year-old from Andover beat Simon Dent (Shoreham-by-Sea) 2-0 in the final at Greenbaize Snooker Club.
Hunter, a four-time champion of the Snooker Hub-sponsored midweek circuit for players aged 55 and over, is now just three points behind Townsend (Northolt).
“I was pleased to put myself back in the race for the Masters rankings title,” he said. “I’ve been working on a ‘one visit’ training method and it was good to make more 60+ breaks.”
Dent, competing in his first Masters event, had a good scrap against Townsend in the last-four.
Esteemed Pro-Am organiser Dave Lewis (Haywards Heath) made his Cuestars debut in the event sponsored by Seniors Tour player David Brock.
Organisers thanked the club for the great playing conditions, which contributed towards an early finish time of around 6.30pm.
Chandlers Ford Snooker Club hosts the eighth leg of ten on Wednesday, March 5.
To find out more about the amateur game, visit snookerhub.co.uk.
BREAKS
John Hunter: 77, 75, 65, 47, 44.
Simon Dent: 61, 43.
Karl Townsend: 59, 56, 49, 41.
Dennis Tristram: 56.
Mark Burrell: 42.
RESULTS
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP A: 1st, Karl Townsend (Rickmansworth RBL); 2nd, Phil Butler (Greenbaize, Bournemouth); 3rd, Malcolm Slark (Salisbury SC); 4th, Dave Lewis (Castle SC, Brighton).
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP B: 1st, John Hunter (Salisbury SC); 2nd, Simon Dent (Castle SC, Brighton); 3rd, Paul Burt (Salisbury SC); 4th, Andy Darken (Feltham Constitutional Club).
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP C: 1st, Andy Norman (Castle SC, Brighton); 2nd, Dennis Tristram (Shots, Watford); 3rd, Ray Grall (Hayes WMC); 4th, Bob Toulouse (Sovereign SC, Farnborough).
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP D: 1st, Mark Thomas (Shots, Watford); 2nd, Mark Burrell (Jesters, Swindon); 3rd, Neil Carroll (Chandlers Ford SC); 4th, Martin Evans (Blandford Forum Snooker Club).
QUARTER-FINALS (10 pts): Townsend 2-0 Tristram, Dent 2-1 Thomas, Hunter 2-0 Burrell, Norman 2-0 Butler.
SEMI-FINALS (£20, 15 pts): Dent 2-1 Townsend, Hunter 2-1 Norman.
FINAL (£80/£40, 25/18 pts): Hunter 2-0 Dent.
Picture: Simon Dent (left) and John Hunter