Hunter regains Masters lead
JOHN Hunter reckons “the stars must have been aligned” after winning the eighth leg of the Cuestars Masters Tour.
A 2-1 victory over Simon Dent in the final at Chandlers Ford Snooker Club took the 58-year-old from Andover up to top spot in the rankings.
Beaten semi-finalist Karl Townsend (Northolt) drops to second place on the Snooker Hub-sponsored midweek circuit for players aged 55 and over.
Round-robin groups were completed remarkably early by 2.30pm. But Hunter and David Moritz (Pinner) ensured waiting finalist Dent (Shoreham-by-Sea) missed the rush hour by grinding out an epic last-four match which Hunter won by fluking the blue in the decider nearly three hours after the coin toss.
Hunter, who also overcame Dent in the final of the previous leg in Bournemouth, said: “Simon proposed a six-reds best of three final, which I was very happy with after playing such a long semi-final match.
“I have no idea how I won yesterday. The stars must have been aligned!”
Danjo Rubin (Poole) made his debut.
Salisbury Snooker Club hosts the ninth leg of ten on Wednesday, April 9.
To find out more about the amateur game, visit snookerhub.co.uk.
BREAKS
John Hunter: 94, 47.
David Moritz: 74.
Karl Townsend: 53, 40, 40.
Phil Butler: 47, 47.
RESULTS
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP A: 1st, Karl Townsend (Rickmansworth RBL); 2nd, Dennis Tristram (Shots, Watford); 3rd, Paul Burt (Salisbury SC); 4th, Andy Darken (Feltham Constitutional Club).
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP B: 1st, John Hunter (Salisbury SC); 2nd, Neil Carroll (Chandlers Ford SC); 3rd, David Stewart (Chandlers Ford SC); 4th, Steve Ashton (Salisbury SC).
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP C: 1st, David Moritz (Shots, Watford); 2nd, Phil Butler (Greenbaize, Bournemouth); 3rd, Ray Grall (Hayes WMC); 4th, Danjo Rubin (Greenbaize, Bournemouth).
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP D: 1st, Simon Dent (Castle SC, Brighton); 2nd, Andy Norman (Castle SC, Brighton); 3rd, Mark Thomas (Shots, Watford); 4th, Mark Burrell (Jesters, Swindon).
QUARTER-FINALS (10 pts): Townsend 2-0 Butler, Dent 2-1 Carroll, Hunter 2-0 Norman, Moritz 2-0 Tristram.
SEMI-FINALS (£20, 15 pts): Dent 2-1 Townsend, Hunter 2-1 Moritz.
FINAL (£80/£40, 25/18 pts): Hunter 2-1 Dent.
Picture: John Hunter (left) and Simon Dent