The nearly maximum man carries his bat
ANDOVER cueman John Hunter returned from a summer playing cricket to carry his bat in his first snooker tournament of the new season.
Hunter (pictured) brushed off the earlier disappointment of a missed maximum chance to claim the first leg of the Cuestars South of England Seniors (40+) Tour. A 2-1 victory from 1-0 down over Bracknell’s Matt Ford in the final at Greenbaize Snooker Club, Bournemouth, earned him £100.
Ford, the Cuestars Championship Tour winner for the past two seasons, killed off the first frame with a 65 clearance. Hunter, who is based at Salisbury Snooker Club, levelled with a run of 58 and took the decider on the yellow. Having no expectations is always a good thing; said the 50-year-old opening batsman for Penton CC who has not played competitive snooker since the end of last season. I keep telling myself, because he looked so good, I’m going to make him earn this. He looked in awesome form. It was a surprise because I’ve been playing cricket all summer. I like to have a complete break because you build up scars in snooker. It just refreshes me.
High Wycombe sharpshooter Nick Birney’s 85 break in his final group-stage match against Jon Walker was eclipsed when Hunter took blacks with the first 12 reds for a 96 against Chris Stocker. But hopes of a first 147 (a long time ago; he broke down on 120) ended with a failed tricky plant on two of the last three open reds. Everything was perfect; explained Hunter. If I’d got the (previous) positional shot right, then I really would be shaking because you look at the table and think I’ve not got to do anything, I’ve just got to hold myself together. As I said to the guys, 96 is the worst place to finish on a 147. You’re better off with the break ending on the first black!
Portsmouth ex-professional Mike Talmondt’s bid for a hat-trick of Seniors titles faltered with a 2-1 last-eight defeat by Martin Wallace (Reading). To avoid a three-way tie and a play-off for the second qualifying spot in his round-robin group, Wallace had needed to win at least one frame against Hunter. He duly obliged with a 58 break in the opener.
Dave Pullman (Wokingham) made the semi-finals for the first time and Paul Shears, who is based at the delightfully named Devizes Literary & Scientific Institute, bowed out in the quarter-finals on his Cuestars debut.
The 19-strong field returned 14 half-century breaks.
Fareham Snooker Club hosts the second leg of seven on Sunday, October 23. The top-20 ranked players at the end of the series will play off for £500 prize money in Newbury on April 23.
BREAKS
John Hunter: 96, 58, 57, 54.
Nick Birney: 85, 60, 49.
Matt Ford: 79, 65, 59, 42.
Mike Talmondt: 68, 62, 40.
Jon Monckton: 61.
Martin Wallace: 58.
Neil Carroll: 55.
Mark Tillison: 44.
Chris Stoker: 40.
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP POSITIONS
GROUP A: 1st, John Hunter (Salisbury SC); 2nd, Martin Wallace (Crowthorne RBL); 3rd, Nick Birney (Liberal Club, High Wycombe); 4th, Chris Stocker (Sunninghill Comrades Club, Ascot); 5th, Jon Walker (Potting Shed, Aldbourne).
GROUP B: 1st, Jon Monckton (Woking SC); 2nd, Paul Shears (Devizes Literary & Scientific Inst); 3rd, Paul Lawrence (Park Gate RBL); 4th, Paul Bateman (Crucible, Newbury); 5th, Neil Carroll (Chandler’s Ford SC).
GROUP C: 1st, Matt Ford (Sunninghill Comrades Club, Ascot); 2nd, Dave Pullman (Sunninghill Comrades Club, Ascot); 3rd, Darren Howard (Liberal Club, High Wycombe); 4th, Neil Herd (Salisbury SC); 5th, Steve Ashton (Salisbury SC).
GROUP D: 1st, Mike Talmondt (Copnor SC, Portsmouth); 2nd, Mark Tillison (Copnor SC, Portsmouth); 3rd, Stephen Hills (Traders, Northfleet); 4th, Ray Mears (Sovereign SC, Farnborough).
KNOCKOUT RESULTS
QUARTER-FINALS (12 points): Hunter 2 Tillison 0, Pullman 2 Monckton 0, Ford 2 Shears 0, Wallace 2 Talmondt 1.
SEMI-FINALS (£20, 15 points): Hunter 2 Pullman 0, Ford 2 Wallace 0.
FINAL (£100/£50, 25/18 points): Hunter 2 Ford 1.
Pictures by Tim Dunkley
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