Magic moment in Bournemouth

SO THERE I was at Greenbaize, Bournemouth, running the Cuestars South of England Under-21 Gold, Silver and Bronze Tour legs.

I seldom get to see any of the action until the latter stages of the knockouts because the results (and questions) are coming in thick and fast for most of the day.

But at one point during the group stages, there was some confusion over whether we actually had all ten tables in use.

So I got up and looked through the window from the bar area into the snooker hall. Silver Tour player Oliver Sykes (pictured), from Chandler’s Ford Snooker Club, was just potting a red on the nearest table and landed perfectly on the black.

My eyes swept the room and there appeared to be matches happening on all the tables. Glancing back to Oliver’s table, he potted the black, finished nicely on another red and took another black.

My interest was aroused, especially as I didn’t know if I’d come in during a break or at the beginning. It turned out it was the beginning.

When I’d counted to 44, Oliver took another red and landed perfect on the black again. After that had been slotted in, a little fist pump signalled his first half-century break.

His mum, dad and one set of grandparents were watching. Magic moment.

I started working with Oliver on January 16, 2014.

The Bournemouth tournament came 29 days after his tenth birthday.

Report and picture by Tim Dunkley.