Hunter wins late-night final in Fareham

JOHN Hunter ended a marathon 12-hour day at Fareham Snooker Club with his first tournament win of the season.

The 53-year-old from Andover recovered from his disappointment in Havant last month to claim the second leg of the Cuestars Seniors (40+) Tour.

Defending champion Hunter pocketed £120 prize money and now leads the rankings after beating debutant Anthony Cutler (Poole) 2-1 in the late-night final.

A 55 break in the decider did the damage.

Hunter, who had lost 2-0 to Steve Ashton (Salisbury) in the last-four of the first leg, reckons his regular practice matches with Gold Tour players is paying dividends.

“I was happy to get win a tournament after a poor start to the season,” he said.

“Practising with the top juniors and a slight technical change has done the trick.

“It was great to finally play Anthony Cutler after so many years. He’s a top player.

“I needed a pressure 55 break to get through a tough final.”

An early contender for the day’s highest break was Alan Harvey (Staines) with a 73 in his opening match on one of the club’s professional standard Star tables.

But that was eclipsed by Hunter’s 82 against former professional Amrik Cheema (Dartford) in the quarter-finals.

The Dransfields sponsored event attracted a 28-strong field.

Hunter leads the rankings by ten points from James Height (Shepton Mallet), a beaten semi-finalist for the second event running, ahead of the third leg of eight at Greenbaize SC, Bournemouth, on Sunday, November 10.

Raj Puri (Rochester) climbed to joint fifth after reaching the last-four for the first time in his second tournament.

For more information about Leeds-based Dransfields – the UK’s largest independent supplier of gaming and amusement machines to pubs and clubs – go to www.dransfields.com.

GROUP-STAGE BREAKS

Alan Harvey: 73, 52.
Anthony Cutler: 68.
Amrik Cheema: 68
Wayne Muddiman: 43.
Chris Rigby: 40.
Neil Herd: 40.

ROUND-ROBIN GROUP POSITIONS

GROUP A: 1st, Alan Harvey (Chertsey Social Club); 2nd, Paul Lawrence (Park Gate RBL); 3rd, Neil Carroll (Chandlers Ford SC); 4th, Steve Ashton (Salisbury SC).

GROUP B: 1st, James Height (SWSA, Gloucester); 2nd, Chris Rigby (West Byfleet Social Club); 3rd, Jean-Marc Bancilhon (Camphill Social Club); 4th, Phil Vowels (West Byfleet Social Club).

GROUP C: 1st, John Hunter (Salisbury SC); 2nd, Phil Morgan (Chandlers Ford SC); 3rd, John Monckton (Woking SC); 4th, George Apperley (Crucible, Newbury).

GROUP D: 1st, Dan Hammond (Chandlers Ford SC); 2nd, David Stewart (Chandlers Ford SC); 3rd, Stephen Hills (Traders, Northfleet); 4th, Cath Bailey (147 SC, Swindon).

GROUP E: 1st, Wayne Muddiman (Chandlers Ford Central); 2nd, Martin Wallace (Crucible, Newbury); 3rd, Pat Patel (Crucible, Newbury); 4th, Ray Mears (Sovereign, Farnborough).

GROUP F: 1st, Amrik Cheema (Hartley Country Club); 2nd, Anthony Cutler (Greenbaize, Bournemouth); 3rd, Andrew Darken (Chertsey SSNR Club); 4th, Peter Chin (Jesters, Swindon).

GROUP G: 1st, Neil Herd (Salisbury SC); 2nd, Raj Puri (Hartley Country Club, Kent); 3rd, Graham Leech (Park Gate RBL); 4th, Adrian Gee (147 SC, Swindon).

KNOCKOUT RESULTS (BREAKS)

LAST-16 (10 pts): Alan Harvey 1-2 Chris Rigby, Stephen Hills 0-2 Raj Puri, Wayne Muddiman 0-2 Anthony Cutler, Dave Stewart 1-2 Phil Morgan, John Hunter 2-1 Dan Hammond, Amrik Cheema 2-0 Martin Wallace, Neil Herd 2-1 Jean-Marc Bancilhon, James Height (59) 2-0 Paul Lawrence.

QUARTER-FINALS (12 pts, £15): Rigby 1-2 Puri, Cutler 2-0 Morgan, Hunter (82) 2-0 Cheema, Herd 0-2 Height.

SEMI-FINALS (15 pts, £25): Cutler 2-0 Puri, Hunter (50) 2-1 Height.

FINAL (25/18 pts, £120/£50): Hunter (55) 2-1 Cutler.

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Tim Dunkley (World Snooker coach)