Mighty Finn: where are the youngsters?
MIKE Finn bemoaned the lack of youngsters on the Cuestars South of England Championship Tour after ending his 18-month sabbatical from the circuit with victory in Swindon.
Southampton’s four-time Town Champion (pictured) dropped just three frames during the first leg at Jesters Snooker Hall and pocketed a tidy £100.
After topping his group and seeing off his Churchills A teammate Adam Nash 2-0 in the last-eight, The Mighty Finn accounted for Seb Worrall (Swindon) in a thrilling and high-scoring semi-final.
The 28-year-old from Eastleigh, who then recorded a “pretty comfortable” 3-0 victory over three-time rankings winner Jon Charlton (Surrey) in the final, said: “The standard was pretty decent.
“One hundred quid prize money is not to be sniffed at but I was a bit disappointed that there wasn’t more youngsters playing.
“It’s the only way for them to improve quicker, coming up against better players – even though they might not think so at the time.”
Finn suggested offering players aged under-18 discounted entrance fees to Championship Tour events.
And the former England international added: “It was a good day, well run by Rosey (Paul Rose) as always.
“I decided to play just to sharpen my own game up really. I haven’t played much tournament snooker over the last few years so I’m going to make an effort to play more events this year, including Cuestars and a few EASB events.”
Meanwhile, Sam Storey (Crucible, Newbury) made a first appearance in the knockout stage in his fifth outing on the senior circuit.
The opening leg of the 2014/15 season attracted a 20-strong field
Woking Snooker Centre hosts the second leg of six on Sunday, November 9.
BREAKS
Seb Worrall: 93, 92, 53.
Mike Finn: 83, 80.
Dominic Holmes: 62, 59.
Martin Wallace: 59, 51.
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP POSITIONS
GROUP A: 1st, Martin Wallace (Crowthorne RBL, Berks); 2nd, Adam Nash (Churchills, Eastleigh); 3rd, Ollie Parsons (Jesters, Swindon); 4th, Jonathan Walker (Potting Shed, Aldbourne); 5th, David Volante (Jesters, Swindon).
GROUP B: 1st, Richard Clark (Jesters, Swindon); 2nd, Sam Storey (Crucible, Newbury); 3rd, Dave Farmer (No club provided); 4th, Mitch Wade (Chandler’s Ford SC); 5th, Peter Chin (Woking SC).
GROUP C: 1st, Seb Worrall (Jesters, Swindon); 2nd, Liam O’Shea (Jesters, Swindon); 3rd, James Budd (Stoke SC, Gosport; 4th, Neil Herd (Player’s, Westbury); 5th, Derrick Volante (Jesters, Swindon).
GROUP D: 1st, Mike Finn (Churchills, Eastleigh); 2nd, Jon Charlton (Selsey RBL); 3rd, Dominic Holmes (Sovereign SC, Farnborough); 4th, Paul Bateman (Crucible, Newbury); 5th, Josh Lee (Jesters, Swindon).
KNOCKOUT RESULTS
QUARTER-FINALS (£10, 12 points): Charlton beat Wallace 2-1, Clark beat O’Shea 2-1, Worrall beat Storey 2-0, Finn beat Nash 2-0.
SEMI-FINALS (£20, 15 points): Charlton beat Clark 3-0, Finn beat Worrall 3-1.
FINAL (£100/£40, 25/18 points): Finn beat Charlton 3-0.
Report and picture by Tim Dunkley.