Norton completes Masters victory with half a tip

Norton was forced to play Nick Birney in the first-leg final at Chandler’s Ford Snooker Club, near Southampton, with part of his cue-tip missing.

“In my semi-final against Terry (Azor), I miss-cued badly and a big chunk of my tip came off,” explained the 45-year-old window cleaner. “So I had to try and avoid screw shots. It was a bit of a handicap but I got used to it.”

Birney, who is based at the Liberal Club in High Wycombe, made a 34 break from a fluke to take a 2-0 lead.

“When he did miss, he left me nothing,” said Norton, who beat Birney to claim the 2010/11 Cuestars Seniors Championship in Swindon in June.

“It’s always been a struggle because he’s such a good potter. I was getting murdered but I managed to turn it round. It wasn’t pretty.”

Norton is still using the cue he picked up for £3.57p from a working men’s club in North Wales earlier this year.

“It’s still going strong,” he said. “It’s my luck wand.”

But not quite lucky enough

The previous evening he won £10 on the lottery. “I saw the first three numbers come up and thought ‘here we go’. But that was it.”

Norton dropped just one frame in the group stages, to Swindon’s Alan Thomas. He defeated David Brabiner (Jersey) 2-1 in the last eight and Terry Azor (Southampton) 3-1 in his semi-final.

Birney – who recorded the day’s top break of 90 – also dropped only one frame in his group, to Danny O’Driscoll, who is now based at Craneswater Snooker Club, Portsmouth. He accounted for Neil Carroll (Salisbury SC) 2-0 and Richard Arnold (also from Salisbury SC) 3-0 in the knockout.

In the last-eight, Group C winner Azor dispatched Martin Wallace (Reading) 2-0 and Group C runner-up Arnold saw off Alan Grainger (Liberal Club, High Wycombe) 2-0.

The second of the four legs on the Masters Tour is at Fareham Snooker Club, Norton’s home club, on Sunday, January 22.

“It’s good playing against people of that sort of age rather than against the youngsters,” said Norton.

Nick Birney: 90, 43.

Colin Norton: 53, 51.

Steve Ashton: 28.

Paul Rose: 27.

GROUP A: 1st, Nick Birney (Liberal Club, High Wycombe); 2nd, David Brabiner (First Tower Institute Billiards & Snooker Club, St Helier, Jersey); 3rd, Danny O’Driscoll (Craneswater SC, Portsmouth).

GROUP B: 1st, Alan Grainger (Liberal Club, High Wycombe); 2nd, Martin Wallace (Colours, Reading); 3rd, Steve Ashton (Salisbury SC); 4th, Paul Rose (Jesters, Swindon).

GROUP C: 1st, Terry Azor (Chandlers Ford Central Club); 2nd, Richard Arnold (Salisbury SC); 3rd, Mike Thatcher (Shirley Conservative Club, Southampton); 4th, Ray Mears (Sovereign SC, Farnborough).

GROUP D: 1st, Colin Norton (Fareham SC); 2nd, Neil Carroll (Salisbury SC); 3rd, Alan Thomas (Jesters, Swindon); 4th, Ron Ellis (Burgh Heath Club, Surrey).

QUARTER-FINALS (8 points, £5): Birney beat Carroll 2-0, Arnold beat Grainger 2-0, Azor beat Wallace 2-0, Norton beat Brabiner 2-1.

SEMI-FINALS (12 points, £15): Birney beat Arnold 3-0, Norton beat Azor 3-1.

FINAL (25/18 points, £70/£30): Norton beat Birney 3-2.