EASB Regional Junior Tour second leg

BRADLEY Cowdroy is in pole position to gain promotion to the national under-21 circuit.

The 15-year-old from Bournemouth battled his way through a tough round-robin group to win the second leg of the EASB Regional Junior Tour South at The Crucible Sports & Social Club, Newbury.

He leads the rankings after beating fellow Cuestars Gold Tour player Oliver Sykes (Chandler’s Ford) 2-0 with breaks of 57 and 35 in the final.

Paying tribute to his 11-year-old opponent, the teenage ace said: “Oliver played really well to get to the final and when he plays like he did this weekend he can beat anyone.

“He’s ten times better than I was at his age and, if he keeps improving like he is at the moment, he has a very bright future.”

In the group stages, Cowdroy had lost 2-1 to Connor Benzey (Eastleigh) and needed a snooker to edge Ryan Hughes 2-1 (Chandler’s Ford).

But 2-0 wins over Jack Haley (Harlow) and Monir Ahmadi (London) saw him qualify for the knockout in first place.

He then beat Marcos Dayao (Wandsworth) and Aidan Murphy (Bristol) by 2-0 scorelines to reach the final.

Cowdroy, who had lost in the final of the first leg in Waterlooville, pocketed £75 prize money.

Picture by Tim Dunkley

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Tim Dunkley (World Snooker coach)