Forster strikes Gold in Bournemouth
WILL Forster collected his first winner’s trophy on the Cuestars Under-21 Gold Tour during a successful day trip to Bournemouth.
The 18-year-old from Wickham beat young gun Asten Sahota 3-2 in the final to collect £100 in prize money.
And he secured the runner-up spot in the rankings.
Never one to sing his own praises, Forster did admit that he “played all right” in the tenth and last leg at Greenbaize Snooker Club.
Trailing 1-0 and more the 50 points down in the second frame, Forster produced a brace of 55 breaks to take a 2-1 lead.
His 12-year-old opponent from Southampton forced a decider that either player could have won.
Forster said: “I feel that I played all right. I didn’t play amazing but I’m glad to win one – eventually.
“I normally play better in practice than in tournaments. So it’s nice to play well in a tournament for a change.
“My safety game is normally pretty good. It probably helped me win today.”
Forster chalked up seven breaks of more than 40 during the event, including the day’s highest of 77 in his round-robin group match with Zain Jeraj (Tooting).
It has been a seven-year journey for the teenager based at Waterlooville Sports Bar. He made his Bronze Tour debut at Chandlers Ford Snooker Club on May 1, 2016.
Two seasons later he earned promotion to Silver and won three tournaments in the second tier before being promoted to Gold at the start of the 2022/23 campaign. His highest break in competition is 96.
English Under-16 Championship semi-finalist Sahota, appearing in his first Gold final, finished the season in fourth place.
Evan Plummer (Coulsdon) had clinched the rankings title in the previous leg.
The event was sponsored by Greenbaize SC (www.greenbaizesnooker.com) and one of its members, Cuestars Masters Tour player Shaun Hayman.
Jesters Snooker Club, Swindon, hosts the Cuestars Under-21 Gold, Silver and Bronze Championships on Sunday, May 19, with guest professional Joe Perry.
BREAKS
Will Forster: 77, 75, 55, 55, 54, 47, 43.
GOLD RESULTS
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP: 1st, Riley Ellis (Chandlers Ford SC); 2nd, Will Forster (Waterlooville Sports Bar); 3rd, Zain Jeraj (London Snooker, Tooting); 4th, Asten Sahota (Chandlers Ford SC); 5th, Harry Wyatt (Greenbaize, Bournemouth).
SEMI-FINALS (15 points): Sahota 3-0 Ellis, Forster 3-0 Jeraj.
FINAL (£100/£25, 25/18 points): Forster 3-2 Sahota.
Picture, from left: Will Forster, Greenbaize owner Debbie Ealy, Asten Sahota.