Olly Clark: I did it!
THREE years and five months ago a ten-year-old lad from Gosport made his Cuestars Bronze Tour debut at Salisbury Snooker Club.
Yesterday, Olly Clark (pictured) left the South West Snooker Academy, Gloucester, with his first winner’s trophy.
It was his 27th tournament.
The 14-year-old left-hander, now based at Chandler’s Ford Snooker Club, won the sixth leg of the Silver Tour. He arrived home at midnight.
The previous day, Clark had played one frame of snooker for £40. And lost. It came in the deciding frame of the Plate final on the last day of his home club’s Open Series.
Clark had to settle for £120. If he had beaten David Stewart, he would have pocketed £160.
Quite a weekend!
Other news in from Gloucester:
On the Bronze Tour, nine-year-old Mickey Joyce, from Basingstoke, lost to Thomas Holton (on the final black, of course). He beat Ally Pollard to qualify for the knockout, accounted for Canberk Benning from 30 points behind in the quarter-finals but lost to Matt Gillon in the last-four.
Karan Chadda, from Southampton, came second in his group and went out to Holton in the quarter-finals.
Nine-year-old Jamie Wilson, from Portsmouth, lost to Conor Flanagan in the last-eight. Wilson led throughout until Flanagan cleared the colours for victory.
Joe Kitchen, who is based at Stoke SC, Gosport, failed to escape the group of death but picked up a trophy for reaching the Plate final. In the round robin, Kitchen lost to Matt Gillon on the black and Flanagan on the pink. Gillon went on to beat Flanagan in the final.
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Picture by Tim Dunkley