Hughes ends run of three final defeats

WELL, that’s one new year’s resolution ticked off.

It was perhaps not unsurprising that Steven Hughes (pictured) was fired up for the fourth leg of the Cuestars South of England Under-21 Bronze Tour.

After losing in the final of the three previous events, the 13-year-old admitted he was “really, really determined” to end the run.

And he was at last able to wrap his hands around a winner’s trophy at Woking Snooker Centre.

The teenager, based at Chandler’s Ford Snooker Club, defeated first-time finalist David Rice (Salisbury SC) 2-0.

“It feels amazing to finally win something,” he said. “It was great.

“I was really, really determined to win on the fourth attempt after coming runner-up three times. I wanted to win the fourth.”

And he added: “Credit to David, he gave me a fight in the second frame.”

Indeed. Hughes, who now leads the rankings, dominated the first frame with two breaks of 24 but saw his 20-point lead eroded in the next before sinking the match-ball black.

Earlier, he qualified from his six-man group in second place after losing to event-one winner David O’Callaghan (Greenbaize, Bournemouth), edged Chloe White (Copnor SC, Portsmouth) over three black-ball games in the quarter-finals and knocked out Aidan Murphy (Bristol Conservative Club) 2-0 in the last-four.

Murphy had beaten Hughes in the previous two finals in Swindon and Bournemouth.

Rice, 20, had come through a three-way play-off for the second qualification spot in his round-robin group.

The 25 entries were split into three groups of six and one of seven with the top two from each progressing to the knockout.

The fifth leg of eight is at Jesters Snooker Hall, Swindon, on Sunday, February 1.

BREAKS

Steven Hughes: 24, 24.
Aidan Murphy: 23.

BRONZE RESULTS

ROUND-ROBIN GROUP A: 1st, Keegan Reed (Salisbury SC); 2nd, Adam Cowdroy (Greenbaize, Bournemouth); 3rd, Oli Line (Chandler’s Ford SC); 4th, Charlie Pringle (Chandler’s Ford SC); 5th, Ryan Compton (Copnor SC, Portsmouth); 6th, Ben Mulvihill (Woking SC); 7th, Dan Parks (Woking SC).

ROUND-ROBIN GROUP B: 1st, Chloe White (Copnor SC, Portsmouth); 2nd, David Rice (Fordingbridge); joint 3rd, Callum White (Copnor SC, Portsmouth) & Harry Jones (Coulsdon, Surrey); 5th, Harry Wilson (Copnor SC, Portsmouth); 6th, Aidan Hickman (Woking SC).

ROUND-ROBIN GROUP C: 1st, David O’Callaghan (Greenbaize, Bournemouth); 2nd, Steven Hughes (Chandler’s Ford SC); 3rd, Harry Cook (Woking SC); 4th, Ben Crump (Stoke SC, Gosport); 5th, Luke McCormick (Mayfair, Gosport); 6th, Connor Shaw (Greenbaize, Bournemouth).

ROUND-ROBIN GROUP D: 1st, Connor Benzey (Chandler’s Ford SC); 2nd, Aidan Murphy (Bristol Conservative Club); 3rd, Oliver Sykes (Chandler’s Ford SC); 4th, Ozzy Rea (Greenbaize, Bournemouth); 5th, Ross Paul (Woking SC); 6th, Lewis Wilson (Copnor SC, Portsmouth).

QUARTER-FINALS (12 points): Cowdroy beat Benzey 2-1, Murphy beat Reed 2-0, Hughes beat Chloe White 2-1, Rice beat O’Callaghan 2-1.

SEMI-FINALS (15 points): Hughes beat Murphy 2-0, Rice beat Cowdroy 2-1.

FINAL (25/18 points): Hughes beat Rice 2-0.

Report and picture by Tim Dunkley.