Hunter and Townsend are neck and neck

JOHN Hunter sent out a timely reminder to his rivals on the Cuestars Seniors (40+) Tour by winning the fourth leg at Waterlooville Sports Bar.

Now recovered from the back injury that has hindered him for the past few months, the 56-year-old from Andover joins Wayne Townsend (Northolt) at the top of the rankings.

Hunter, the defending champion, pocketed £130 in prize money after defeating Matt Ford (Bracknell) 2-0 in the final.

Although he played solid all day and deserved this well-earned victory, it is fair to say that Hunter had the run of the ball in that match and in his 2-0 last-four victory over Neil Craycraft (Didcot) but he made the most of his opportunities and kept his opponents at bay with some good safety play.

Hunter recorded the highest break of 96 in the round-robin group stages but the clearance of the day was Ford’s 67 from 66 points down in the opening frame of his 2-1 last-16 victory over Townsend.

Jason Pusser (Bournemouth) could have made it a three-way tie at the top of the table if he hadn’t lost to Seniors Tour stalwart Martin Wallace (Wokingham) in the quarter finals.

Seniors Tour debutant Paul Foster (Swanmore) made it through to the last-16.

A staggering total of 77 different players have competed in the first four legs of this campaign.

Chandlers Ford Snooker Club hosts the fifth leg of nine on Sunday, January 22.

BREAKS

John Hunter: 96.
Wayne Townsend: 81, 68, 55, 51.
Matt Ford: 68, 67, 66, 55.
Dean Sycamore: 66.
Adam Nash: 60.
Jason Pusser: 56.
Paul Lawrence: 50.
Neil Craycraft: 46.
Paul Foster: 45.
Martin Wallace: 41.
Paul Morrison: 40.

ROUND-ROBIN GROUP POSITIONS

GROUP A: 1st, Wayne Townsend (Hayes WMC); 2nd, Paul Morrison (Staines Cons); 3rd, Neil Herd (Salisbury SC); 4th, Mark Prescott (Greenbaize, Bournemouth).

GROUP B: 1st, Neil Craycraft (Oracle SC, Abingdon); 2nd, Jason Pusser (St James Institute, Bournemouth); 3rd, Matt Ford (Sunninghill Comrades); 4th, Mikey Wright (Woking SC).

GROUP C: 1st, Dean Sycamore (Chichester City Club); 2nd, Will Brown (Salisbury SC); 3rd, Kevin Morris (Woking SC); 4th, Dave Waller (Ilminster Bowling & Tennis Club).

GROUP D: 1st, Ian Desmier (Avalon Constitutional Club); 2nd, Justin Eggins (Chichester City Club); 3rd, Ray Grall (Hayes WMC); 4th, Neil Carroll (Chandlers Ford SC).

GROUP E: 1st, Paul Foster (Stoke SC, Gosport); 2nd, John Hunter (Salisbury SC); 3rd, Gareth Samuel (Lytchett & Upton RBL); 4th, Kevin Collins (Jesters, Swindon).

GROUP F: 1st, Martin Wallace (Crucible, Newbury); 2nd, Andy Darken (Feltham Constitutional Club); 3rd, Darren Johnson (Petersfield Bowls & Snooker Club); 4th, Paul Lawrence (Park Gate RBL).

GROUP G: 1st, Neil Jefferis (The Ightham Club, Kent); 2nd, Adam Nash (Churchills, Eastleigh); 3rd, Steve Boterhoek (Park Gate RBL); 4th, Brian Dobson (Stoke SC, Gosport).

KNOCKOUT RESULTS

LAST-16 (10 pts): Ford 2-1 Townsend, Nash 2-1 Eggins, Wallace 2-0 Brown, Pusser 2-1 Foster, Hunter 2-0 Sycamore, Darken 2-0 Desmier, Morrison 2-0 Jefferis, Craycraft 2-0 Morris.

QUARTER-FINALS (12 pts, £10): Ford 2-0 Nash, Wallace 2-0 Pusser, Hunter 2-0 Darken, Craycraft 2-0 Morrison.

SEMI-FINALS (15 pts, £25): Ford 2-0 Wallace, Hunter 2-0 Craycraft.

FINAL (25/18 pts, £130/£60): Hunter 2-0 Ford.

By Tim Dunkley and Chris Wyatt

Picture: Matt Ford (left) and John Hunter