Chappell: It’s now or never
ELVIS Presley tribute act Brad Chappell left England Under-16 snooker champion Mark Lloyd all shook up after a tournament in Woking.
The 21-year-old from Poole (pictured) admitted it’s now or never in his bid to land the Cuestars South of England Under-21 Gold Tour rankings title in his final season.
Chappell toppled Lloyd from the number-one position after seeing off the 16-year-old from Gosport 2-1 in the final of the fifth leg at Woking Snooker Centre.
Lloyd extracted the penalty points from a required snooker to force a re-spotted black in the first frame. But the Dorset cueman and part time disc jockey won that and took the decider on the pink.
“I beat him in the group stages and felt really going into the final,” said Chappell. “It could have gone either way in all three frames.
“I’ve played in Cuestars for ten years and I want to win it in my last year in (junior events).”
He added that anyone getting out of the group of death (himself, Lloyd, James Budd, Dan Sykes and Jamie Wilson) deserved to win the tournament.
Earlier in the group stages, Chappell matched his highest break in Cuestars competitions with a 97 clearance against Wilson (Havant).
He said: “I was gutted there wasn’t enough on the table to make the ton. Hopefully, it will come before the end of the season.”
On his first outing of the season, Stewart Ball (Bournemouth) won his five-man group but went out 2-0 to Lloyd in the last-eight to start his campaign way down the rankings in 17th place.
Beaten quarter-finalist Callum Browne (Trowbridge), winner of the previous leg in Bournemouth, dropped one place to third.
Chappell, who shared the Gold rankings title with Lloyd in 2013/14 and won it outright last season, is pursuing a career as a tribute act to the King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley, who, like his son Ethan, is always on his mind.
Alan Connell, a member of dance band Haywire, has agreed to give his time for free to help him produce a demo CD at his private recording studio in Broadstone. So that’s all right.
To people with suspicious minds and a wooden heart who receive the CD in the post, don’t be cruel and scribble ‘return to sender’.
The sixth leg of eight is at Fareham Snooker Club on Sunday, March 13.
BREAKS
Brad Chappell: 97, 50, 44.
Anthony Rice: 55, 50, 46, 41.
Mark Lloyd: 54, 49, 46, 41.
Bradley Cowdroy: 54.
GOLD RESULTS
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP A: 1st, Bradley Cowdroy (Greenbaize, Bournemouth); 2nd, Jonny Mutch (Cambridge SC); 3rd, Callum Browne (Player’s, Westbury); 4th, Mike Trigg (Chandler’s Ford SC); 5th, Arron Smith (Selsey RBL).
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP B: 1st, Brad Chappell (Greenbaize, Bournemouth); 2nd, Mark Lloyd (Stoke SC, Gosport); 3rd, James Budd (Fareham SC); 4th, Dan Sykes (Chandler’s Ford SC); 5th, Jamie Wilson (Chandler’s Ford SC).
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP C: 1st, Stewart Ball (Greenbaize, Bournemouth); 2nd, Anthony Rice (Salisbury SC); 3rd, Mickey Joyce (Chandler’s Ford SC); 4th, Reece King (Greenbaize, Bournemouth); 5th, Callum McDonald (Salisbury SC).
QUARTER-FINALS (12 points): Cowdroy 2 Joyce 0, Chappell 2 Browne 1, Lloyd 2 Ball 0, Rice 2 Mutch 1.
SEMI-FINALS (15 points): Chappell 2 Cowdroy 0, Lloyd 2 Rice 0.
FINAL (£50/£25 25/18 points): Chappell 2 Lloyd 1. Frame scores: 52-45, 17-56, 66-57.
Report and picture by Tim Dunkley.