Unique double for Wayne Townsend

WEST London snooker ace Wayne Townsend has secured a unique double on the Cuestars regional circuit.

The 43-year-old from Northolt pocketed £250 in prize money for topping the Seniors (40+) Tour rankings after clinching the Championship Tour title last month.

And he earned himself another £110 by winning a third tournament of the season in the ninth and last leg at The Crucible Sports & Social Club, Newbury.

The tour was denied a final-day rankings showdown as runner-up Dharminder Singh Lilly (Fareham) had qualified for the knockout stages of the Reading Cup. Jason Pusser (Bournemouth) finished the campaign in third place.

Another excellent entry of 34 at the eight-table club meant a late finish so finalists Townsend and Paul Davis (Wareham) split the £220 prize pot and had a one-frame shootout for the ranking points.

Organisers voted the last-eight clash between Townsend and Lun Lee (Orpington) as the match of the day.

The newly-crowned champion took the opening frame but Lun responded with a 71 break in the next to force a decider.

Lun had an opportunity in the third but left a difficult cut-back black in the jaws of the pocket giving Townsend the chance he needed to clinch the match with a clinical 64 break.

Things did not get any easier for Townsend who then had to overcome the ever-consistent Neil Jefferis (East Malling, Kent) in the semi-finals.

Jefferis was full of confidence after winning the previous event in Salisbury but it was Townsend who proved too strong, taking the match 2-0.

On the other side of the draw, it was the ever-improving Paul Davis (Bournemouth) who eased his way through the knockout stages with 2-0 wins over David Moritz (Pinner), Stephen Miles (Newbury) and Al Maher (London) respectively.

Davis has been working hard on his game away from tournaments and was rewarded with a day of solid scoring, including breaks of 68, 65, 62 and 60.

Dean Sycamore (Chichester) recorded his first Cuestars century, and the day’s highest break, of 124 in his group-stage victory over Steve Wheatland (Bishopstoke). Miles made an impressive Tour debut, beating Pusser in the group stages and reaching the quarter-finals. And Stephen Hills (Gravesend) qualified for the knockout stage for the first time since January, 2020.

A staggering total of 99 different players have competed on the tour this season.

Tournament director Chris Wyatt said: “A massive thank you to the staff at The Crucible Sports & Social Club Newbury who looked after us brilliantly as always.

And he added: “I would like to thank all of the players that have played on the Seniors Tour this season.

“The standard has been exceptional but more importantly the matches are played in the right spirit. I have thoroughly enjoyed running the events and look forward to seeing you all again next season.”

The event was sponsored by The Crucible Sports & Social Club and Chorleywood-based Seniors player Mark Thomas.

BREAKS

Dean Sycamore: 124, 48.
Gavin Rogers: 72.
Lun Lee: 71, 71, 57, 44, 44, 42.
Jason Pusser: 71.
Paul Davis: 68, 65, 62, 60, 50, 49, 44.
Wayne Townsend: 64, 57, 45.
Neil Jefferis: 63, 54.
John Hunter: 60, 55.
Paul Lawrence: 58.
Paul Morrison: 46.
David Moritz: 46.
Darren Johnson: 44, 40.
Martin Wallace: 40.

ROUND-ROBIN GROUP POSITIONS

GROUP A: 1st, Wayne Townsend (Hayes WMC); 2nd, Alex Greenham (Greenbaize, Bournemouth); 3rd, Ray Grall (Hayes WMC); 4th, Graham Leech (Crucible, Newbury).

GROUP B: 1st, Stephen Miles (Crucible, Newbury); 2nd, Stephen Hills (Northfleet Traders Club, Gravesend); 3rd, Jason Pusser (St James Institute, Bournemouth); 4th, Phil Vowels (West Byfleet Social Club).

GROUP C: 1st, John Hunter (Salisbury SC); 2nd, Paul Morrison (Staines Cons); 3rd, David Brock (Exeter SC); 4th, Kevin Collins (Jesters, Swindon).

GROUP D: 1st, Neil Jefferis (The Ightham Club); 2nd, Kevin Morris (Woking SC); 3rd, Steve Boterhoek (Park Gate RBL); 4th, Steve Read (Chandlers Ford SC).

GROUP E: 1st, Dean Sycamore (Chichester City Club); 2nd, Steve Wheatland (Chandlers Ford SC); 3rd, Darren Johnson (Petersfield Bowls & Snooker Club); 4th, Kevin Palmer (Frames, Coulsdon).

GROUP F: 1st, Al Maher (Frames, Coulsdon); 2nd, Martin Wallace (Crucible, Newbury); 3rd, Rob Toulouse (Sovereign, Farnborough); 4th, Sanjay Guring (Woking SC).

GROUP G: 1st, David Moritz (Eastcote Billiards Club); 2nd, Gavin Rogers (Branksome Cons); 3rd, Neil Herd (Salisbury SC); 4th, Paul Lawrence (Park Gate RBL); 5th, Kieran O’Donovan (Frames, Coulsdon).

GROUP H: 1st, Lun Lee (Orpington); 2nd, Paul Davis (Greenbaize, Bournemouth); 3rd, Neil Carroll (Chandlers Ford SC); 4th, Alan Harvey (Chertsey Social Club); 5th, Ketan Gohel (Woking SC).

KNOCKOUT RESULTS

LAST-16 (10 points): Townsend 2-0 Hills, Lee 2-0 Rogers, Sycamore 2-0 Wallace, Jefferis 2-1 Morrison, Hunter 2-0 Morris, Maher 2-1 Wheatland, Davis 2-0 Moritz, Miles 2-1 Greenham.

QUARTER-FINALS (12 pts, £15): Townsend 2-1 Lee, Jefferis 2-0 Sycamore, Maher 2-0 Hunter, Davis 2-0 Miles.

SEMI-FINALS (15 pts, £30): Townsend 2-0 Jefferis, Davis 2-0 Maher.

FINAL (25/18 pts, £110/£110): Townsend 1-0 Davis.

By Tim Dunkley and Chris Wyatt