Brace for Hampshire in closest ever title race

THE first player to win two legs this season on the Cuestars South of England Under-21 Silver Tour has made a close title race even tighter.

Wiltshire teenage Drew Hampshire (pictured left) beat new rankings leader Aidan Murphy (right) 2-1 in the final of the seventh and penultimate leg at Jesters Snooker Club, Swindon.

The 16-year-old based at the 147 Snooker Club, Swindon, who triumphed in the first event in Salisbury but missed the trip to Coulsdon in December, qualified for the knockout on frames difference from a tough group.

And he then accounted for the previous rankings leader, Steven Hughes (Chandler’s Ford), 2-1 in the last-four.

Reflecting on his match against 11-year-old Murphy (Bristol), Hampshire said: “It was a close game but I just managed to edge it on the colours in the deciding frame.”

And he added: “Overall, I was happy to play good consistently throughout the day.”

Gosport’s Olly Gibbs, 12, chalked up a personal best 70 break, the highest across all three categories, in the Silver group stages against David O’Callaghan (Bournemouth) but – as is so common in these situations – lost the match.

Remarkably, seven players can realistically win the closest ever title race in Cuestars history at the eighth and final leg at Chandler’s Ford Snooker Club on Sunday, May 1.

Murphy has a two-point advantage over Hughes (Chandler’s Ford), last season’s Bronze rankings winner. Ten-year-old Oliver Sykes (Chandler’s Ford) is one point further back.

If the top three all crash out early, the door opens for fourth-placed Connor Benzey (Eastleigh), nine points off top spot, joint fifth-placed Gibbs and Hampshire, 11 points off top spot, and seventh-placed David Rice (Fordingbridge), 14 points off top spot.

<b>BREAKS

Olly Gibbs: 70.
Aidan Murphy: 49, 46.
Charlie Pringle: 34.
David O’Callaghan: 33.

<b>SILVER RESULTS

ROUND-ROBIN GROUP A: 1st, Oliver Sykes (Chandler’s Ford SC); 2nd, Drew Hampshire (147 SC, Swindon); 3rd, Connor Benzey (Chandler’s Ford SC); 4th, David Rice (Salisbury SC); 5th, Kaine Petty (Salisbury SC).

ROUND-ROBIN GROUP B: 1st, Aidan Murphy (Fishponds Conservative Club, Bristol); 2nd, James Beaven (Frames Sports Bar, Coulsdon); 3rd, Ally Pollard (Salisbury SC); 4th, Keegan Reed (Salisbury SC); 5th, Adam Cowdroy (Greenbaize, Bournemouth).

ROUND-ROBIN GROUP C: 1st, Steven Hughes (Chandler’s Ford SC); 2nd, Olly Gibbs (Chandler’s Ford SC); 3rd, David O’Callaghan (Greenbaize, Bournemouth); 4th, Charlie Pringle (Chandler’s Ford SC); 5th, Abhay Chopra (Chandler’s Ford SC).

QUARTER-FINALS (12 points): Hughes 2 Beaven 1, Hampshire 2 O’Callaghan 0, Sykes 2 Benzey 1, Murphy 2 Gibbs 1.

SEMI-FINALS (15 points): Murphy 2 Sykes 1, Hampshire 2 Hughes 1.

FINAL (25/18 points): Hampshire 2 Murphy 1.

Picture by John Hunter, report by Tim Dunkley