England champion, twice over
WHAT was most surprising about Hampshire star Shane Castle’s double national success in Sheffield was that it was no surprise.
Although the Waterside wonderkid was strong favourite to be crowned England champion in two different age groups, it was still a remarkable achievement.
The 14-year-old wrote another page in his own record book by defeating Josh Mulholland 6-2 in the English Under-16 Championship final and 24 hours later demolishing James Pearson 5-0 to regain his Under-14 title.
Sporting a pink-backed waistcoat decorated with his three-gold-lions England badge, Castle strode into the Star Snooker Academy in the Sheffield United Academy accompanied by his chosen walk-on music, Wild Ones by US rapper Flo Rida.
The Marchwood teenager compiled a 53 break in the first frame but insisted he was “not really” concerned at being pegged down at 2-2 by Liverpool’s Mulholland, 15, going into the mid-session interval.
After the break, Mulholland’s attempted safety shots were clinically punished by Castle’s long potting and his head started to drop.
Castle won a re-spotted black in the seventh and Mulholland, lacking the flair of his opponent, was chasing snookers with three reds left in the eighth.
“It was a bit edgy to start off but he left me a couple of chances and I started to play better than I was,” said Castle, the 2012 European Under-21 runner-up.
“I out-played him on the day. I knew when I was 4-2 up that I was going to pull away.”
Describing the pro-standard tables, he added: “There were new cloths on and they were slipping a bit off the cushions.
“They’re nice; they’re quick; they’re reactive. It’s what you need to play on all the time.”
Day two of the English Association of Snooker & Billiards finals weekend and the former Chandler’s Ford SC junior asserted his authority over Pearson (Leeds) with a blistering burst of top-quality break-building.
Runs of 78, 52, 52, 47 and 45 left his 14-year-old opponent glued to his chair for most of the 90-minute match.
Castle, the 2009 champion, described his performance as “not bad” and added: “I took my chances every time I got in.”
Paul Mount, chairman of Castle’s player management company On Q Promotions, said: “When we signed Shane just under a year ago, we recognised his massive potential and we’re not overly surprised to see him win (both titles).
“We are working with Shane to prepare him for his goal of becoming a professional snooker player and we hope he will have many amateur titles to look back on when he is on the Main Tour.”
Steve Rutherford – owner of Castle’s practice base, Cue T’s Snooker Lounge in Marchwood – said: “This just shows his snooker has matured a great deal in the last year. His father (Jeffery) and management must be extremely proud of him.”
FRAME SCORES (BREAKS)
U16: Castle 6-2 Mulholland. 77(53)-1, 51-62(30), 51-36, 51(38)-60(38), 52-3, 87-33, 63(30)-56, 84-8.
U14: Castle 5-0 Pearson. 107(78)-9, 75-35, 97(52, 45)-0, 103(47, 52)-8, 63-16.
Picture by Iain Wallwork: From left, professional Ben Woollaston, Shane Castle, EASB Chairman John Hartley.