Cowdroy’s first Cuestars tournament win for five years
A DOREST teenage snooker ace lived up to his ‘Warrior’ nickname by claiming his first Cuestars tournament success for over five years.
Bradley Cowdroy ended a run of 39 events without a winner’s trophy in the first leg of the South of England Under-21 Gold Tour.
Half a decade of hurt evaporated as he wrapped up a 2-0 victory over Bristol-based Aidan Murphy in the final at Waterlooville Sports Bar.
There was no Liang Wenbo leap of joy or Peter Ebdon shout of “come on!” as the 15-year-old from Bournemouth sunk the final blue that left his opponent chasing snookers in the second frame.
There was just a look of relief.
“A couple of years ago, I’d have lost matches like that because I didn’t have the grit,” admitted Cowdroy, who had finished runner-up in all of his previous six finals.
“If I wasn’t playing amazing, I’d just have my head down.
“It was pretty tight throughout. Aidan was playing quite well and I was playing not too bad either.
“Both frames went down to the last few colours. When that last colour went in, it was just a relief to have finally won.”
The left-hander last tasted success on the Cuestars junior circuit in a Bronze Tour event on May 6, 2012 at Jesters SC, Swindon.
“I’ve had to work really hard,” he said. “I’ve been in lots of finals but lost every one in Gold. Hopefully, some more can flow quite quickly now.
“The way I’ve been playing the last few years, I’ve wondered why I haven’t won. But then the standard of everyone has just gone up so much recently. It’s hard to keep up with them sometimes. I’ve had to work hard to make the difference.
“To have so many finals and not win, it gets in your mind mentally after a while. Next time I’m in a final there’ll be less pressure.”
Cowdroy qualified from his round-robin group in second place after losing to EASB Premier Junior Tour player Anthony Rice (Fordingbridge).
He then beat Ryan Hughes (Chandler’s Ford), last season’s Silver Tour rankings winner, 2-0 in the last-eight and first-time semi-finalist Arron Smith (Selsey) by the same scoreline.
Murphy, 13, who defeated Rice 2-1 in the second semi, recorded the day’s highest break of 59 in the group stages.
It was actually Cowdroy’s third tournament win in three months.
In July, he clinched an under-16 event at Frames Sports Bar, Coulsdon, and was immediately dubbed a “warrior” by the club’s resident coach Terry Burke.
And last month, he won the Under-22 Summer Classic on home tables at Greenbaize Snooker Club.
The Waterlooville tournament was sponsored by Vortex Property Management to raise awareness of Sightsavers, an international charity that works in developing countries to treat and prevent avoidable blindness.
For more information about the charity, visit www.sightsavers.org.
The second leg of ten is at Salisbury Snooker Club on Sunday, October 8.
BREAKS
Aidan Murphy: 59.
Mickey Joyce: 54.
Steven Hughes: 42, 41.
Jamie Wilson: 41.
Arron Smith: 40.
GOLD RESULTS
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP A: 1st, Ryan Hughes (Chandlers Ford SC); 2nd, Jamie Wilson (Waterlooville Sports Bar); 3rd, Dan Sykes (Chandlers Ford SC); 4th, Harry Jones (Frames Sports Bar, Coulsdon).
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP B: 1st, Olly Gibbs (Chandlers Ford SC); 2nd, Steven Hughes (Chandlers Ford SC); 3rd, Connor Benzey (Chandlers Ford SC); 4th, Oliver Sykes (Chandlers Ford SC).
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP C: 1st, Aidan Murphy (Fishponds Cons Club, Bristol); 2nd, Arron Smith (Selsey RBL, Chichester); 3rd, Charlie Pringle (Chandlers Ford SC); 4th, Adam Stacey (Legends, Leytonstone).
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP D: 1st, Anthony Rice (Salisbury SC); 2nd, Bradley Cowdroy (Greenbaize, Bournemouth); 3rd, Mickey Joyce (Chandlers Ford SC); 4th, Callum McDonald (Salisbury SC).
QUARTER-FINALS (12 points): Cowdroy 2 R Hughes 0, Smith 2 Gibbs 1, Murphy 2 S Hughes 1, Rice 2 Wilson 0.
SEMI-FINALS (15 points): Cowdroy 2 Smith 0, Murphy 2 Rice 1.
FINAL (£80/£40, 25/18 points): Cowdroy 2 Murphy 0.
Pictures by Tim Dunkley.
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Tim Dunkley (World Snooker coach)