Budd in pole position after home-town win

JAMES Budd hailed his victory on the EASB Regional Junior Tour South at Fareham Snooker Club as the “biggest win” of his career so far.

The 18-year-old Cuestars Gold Tour player, who hadn’t been past the quarter-finals in his previous six outings, dominated the first leg at his home-town club on Saturday.

Remarkably, Budd (pictured on the right with finalist Ronnie Blake) lost just one out of 15 frames to head the rankings with five legs left.

“I was pleased with my safety and put opponents under pressure,” he told cuestars.co.uk. “I was focused throughout and deserved to win it, I thought.”

Promotion from the feeder circuit would mean joining fellow Cuestars players Thomas Lancastle, Sonnie O’Sullivan and Mark Lloyd on the EASB Premier Junior Tour, a national circuit for the country’s top-49 under-21s.

Budd, who finished his debut season in 12th place, kicked off his second campaign in storming style. Victories over Jamie Wilson (Portsmouth), Reggie Edwards (Norwich) and Jamie Hawkins (Bristol) in the group stages were followed in the knockout by 2-0 wins over Jamie Wilkes (Bristol), Joe Taylor (London) and, in the final, Ronnie Blake (London).

The tour moves on to Cambridge next month before heading west to Plymouth in January. In April, the lads will be in action in Basildon, Essex. The final two legs will be at Coulsdon, near Croydon, in May, and Woking, in June.

Report by Tim Dunkley.