Ice-cool Murphy and high-break Hughes go head-to-head

AN ICE-cool ten-year-old from Bristol has set up a final day shootout with his title rival on the Cuestars South of England Under-21 Bronze Tour.

Aidan Murphy (pictured) defeated first-time finalist Ben Crump, from Gosport, 2-0 to claim his fourth winner’s trophy of the season in the penultimate leg at Fareham Snooker Club.

But beating rankings leader Steven Hughes in a must-win quarter-final match was the key to blowing the title race wide open.

Murphy, who lost his first round-robin match to David Rice (Fordingbridge), qualified in second place from his group.

Lying in wait was Hughes who had won a three-way play-off with David O’Callaghan (Bournemouth) and Chloe White (Portsmouth) to top his group.

A win for the 13-year-old based at Chandler’s Ford Snooker Club would have secured the title.

Murphy took the first frame, Hughes squared the match with his highest break of 43, Murphy edged the decider on the black.

The result means that Hughes leads by seven points going into the eighth and final leg at Salisbury Snooker Club on Sunday, May 3.

Murphy, who plays county pool for Bristol and earlier this season was one frame away from qualifying for the England under-18 pool team, said he’s looking forward to the challenge and his aim is to “win it”.

Insisting he doesn’t feel the pressure, he added: “I just play.”

Elsewhere Hughes’s clubmate Ryan Hughes (no relation) recorded a personal best 35 clearance in his first group-stage match against Liam Ashman (Player’s, Westbury).

BREAKS

Steven Hughes: 43.
Ryan Hughes: 35.
James Beaven: 27.
Charlie Pringle: 22.
Aidan Murphy: 23, 22, 22, 20.
Callum White: 20.

BRONZE RESULTS

ROUND-ROBIN GROUP A: 1st, Steven Hughes (Chandler’s Ford SC); 2nd, Chloe White (Copnor SC, Portsmouth); 3rd, David O’Callaghan (Greenbaize, Bournemouth); 4th, Albert Warren (Salisbury SC); 5th, Callum White (Copnor SC, Portsmouth); 6th, Harry Wilson (Copnor SC, Portsmouth).

ROUND-ROBIN GROUP B: 1st, Dan Parks (Woking SC); 2nd, Charlie Pringle (Chandler’s Ford SC); 3rd, Liam Ashman (Player’s, Westbury); 4th, Ryan Hughes (Chandler’s Ford SC); 5th, Keegan Reed (Salisbury SC); 6th, Harry Jones (Frames Sports Bar, Coulsdon, Surrey).

ROUND-ROBIN GROUP C: 1st, Ben Crump (Stoke SC, Gosport); 2nd, James Beaven (Frames Sports Bar, Coulsdon, Surrey); 3rd, Luke McCormick (Mayfair, Gosport); 4th, Lewis Wilson (Copnor SC, Portsmouth); 5th, Ben Mulvihill (Woking SC); 6th, Connor Shaw (Greenbaize, Bournemouth).

ROUND-ROBIN GROUP D: 1st, David Rice (Salisbury SC); 2nd, Aidan Murphy (Bristol Conservative Club); 3rd, Connor Benzey (Chandler’s Ford SC); 4th, Oliver Sykes (Chandler’s Ford SC); 5th, Ben Hatch (Eastleigh).

QUARTER-FINALS (12 points): Murphy 2 S Hughes 1, Beaven 2 Parks 0, Crump 2 Pringle 0, Rice 2 Chloe White 0.

SEMI-FINALS (15 points): Murphy 2 Beaven 0, Crump 2 Rice 1.

FINAL (25/18 points): Murphy 2 Crump 0.

Report by picture by Tim Dunkley.