Nine-year-old wins £500

CUESTARS Silver Tour player William Thomson will collect £500 prize money next week.

The nine-year-old (pictured) is the youngest winner in the 12-year history of the Open Series at Chandlers Ford Snooker Club.

William is eight months younger than O’Shay Scott and Oliver Sykes were when their names were added to the roll of honour.

Remarkably, his handicap over the series has reduced by 19 points.

It’s been an exciting six weeks for the pint-sized potter. He is one of four members of the New Generation to record new high breaks in competition since the lockdown ended. He made a staggering 54 the day before he turned nine, received a handmade G-Cue on his birthday, won the Ken Jones May Half-Term Cup, leads the Eastleigh and District Under-13 Premier, and has now earned his biggest snooker payday thanks to a run of three finals in the previous four weeks.

Former champion Riley Ellis will pocket £430 for finishing runner-up in the six-month long handicapped competition.

Thirteen of the 50 different players who competed in this series recorded breaks of 50 or more during the 26 tournaments. Austen Petty recorded two centuries and Oliver Sykes chalked up one.

A new 26-week series starts at 1pm next Saturday. The entry fee of £10 for club members (£13 for non-members) and total prize money of £2,235 stay the same. Handicaps move every week according to a tried and tested mathematical formula based on rankings points earned for winning main comp or plate matches in each event. The average weekly attendance for Series 28 was a shade over 20.

SERIES 28 PRIZE MONEY DISTRIBUTION

£500 William Thomson, £430 Riley Ellis, £340 Steve Wheatland, £240 Riccardo Drayton, £165 O’Shay Scott, £135 Steve Read, £105 Austen Petty, £85 Caden Read, £70 Ryan Hughes, £57.50 Chris Wyatt, £57.50 Harry Wyatt, £50 David Thomson.