Jamie Wilson is back!
FORMER professional Jamie Wilson is back where he belongs after swapping his chainsaw for his snooker cue.
The 21-year-old tree surgeon from Havant turned in a vintage performance in his first Cuestars Under-21 Gold Tour event for nearly two years.
Wilson pocketed £100 in prize money after beating Swindon-based Riley Ellis 3-1 in the final of the eighth leg at Fareham Snooker Club.
“It’s lovely to be back,” he said. “I picked up my cue again about a month ago. It felt good.
“I started playing well and I thought I’d turn up for a couple of tournaments and see how I get on.
“Once I turned Oliver Sykes over (in the last-four), I knew I had a good chance of winning.”
Reflecting on the final, Wilson added: “I started off well but took my foot off the gas a little bit.
“All of a sudden, it was 2-1. Then he went 30 points ahead in the next frame and I thought, right, I’ve got to concentrate. I managed to scrape the last one. It was a good game.
“It’s nice to get back to winning ways after a two-year break.”
Ellis topped his round-robin group, beat Will Forster (Whiteley) 3-1 in the last-four and now leads the rankings in his final season on the junior circuit.
Sykes (Chandler’s Ford) chalked up the day’s highest break of a 127, his 150th competitive century, in the first frame of his 3-2 semi-final defeat by Wilson.
Wilson earned himself two seasons on the professional circuit at the age of 16. He then went to Q School twice but packed his cue away soon after the 2023 event. He now has his own business, Spinnacre Tree Care
The event was sponsored by snookerdad Ian Walter, simply to support grass-roots snooker, and Fareham SC.
Chandlers Ford Snooker Club hosts the ninth leg of ten on Sunday, April 6.
BREAKS
Oliver Sykes: 127, 74, 70, 65.
Ryan Spratt: 57.
Jamie Wilson: 51.
GOLD RESULTS
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP A: 1st, Jamie Wilson (Waterlooville Sports Bar); 2nd, Will Forster (Waterlooville Sports Bar); 3rd, Elliott Johnson (London Snooker Tooting); 4th, Matthew Jameson (Castle SC, Brighton).
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP B: 1st, Riley Ellis (Chandlers Ford SC); 2nd, Oliver Sykes (Chandlers Ford SC); 3rd, Harry Wyatt (Greenbaize, Bournemouth); 4th, Donnie Gola (Mildmay Club); 5th, Ryan Spratt (Chandlers Ford SC).
SEMI-FINALS: (15 points): Wilson 3-2 Sykes, Ellis 3-1 Forster.
FINAL (£100/£25, 25/18 points): Wilson 3-1 Ellis.