Moore the merrier
RIKKI Moore ended a two-year absence from the Cuestars South of England Under-21 Gold Tour with a storming victory in the fourth leg at Jesters Snooker Hall, Swindon.
Moore, who is based at Greenbaize Snooker Club, Bournemouth, made his only previous Gold Tour appearance on January 9, 2011, at his home club where he finished fourth out of five in his round-robin group and reached the Plate semi-finals.
Fast forward two years and Moore ended a glorious away day by beating rankings leader Thomas Lancastle (Eastville Snooker Club, Bristol) 2-1 in the final.
Moore had topped his group, despite losing to Dean Matthews (Ivy Leaf Club, Maidenhead), and accounted for Sonnie O’Sullivan (Liberal Club, High Wycombe) 2-0 in the last-four.
Lancastle, who has made all four finals this season and won two, was undefeated in his group and edged Troy Bodman (Jesters, Swindon) 2-1 in the semis.
The 16-year-old has now opened up a comfortable 38-point lead over Jesters pair Bodman and Oliver Parsons in joint second. Joshua Lee, also Jesters, is one point further back in fourth.
The fifth of the eight legs is at Chandler’s Ford Snooker Club on Sunday, February 3.
BREAKS
Thomas Lancastle: 41.
GOLD RESULTS
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP A: 1st, Rikki Moore (Greenbaize, Bournemouth); 2nd, Troy Bodman (Jesters, Swindon); 3rd, Dean Matthews (Ivy Leaf Club, Maidenhead); 4th, Josh Lee (Jesters, Swindon); 5th, Ryan Gavin (Liberal Club, High Wycombe).
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP B: 1st, Thomas Lancastle (Eastville SC, Bristol); 2nd, Sonnie O’Sullivan (Liberal Club, High Wycombe); 3rd, Oliver Parsons (Jesters, Swindon); 4th, Reece Palmer (Woking SC); 5th, Sam Storey (Crucible, Newbury).
SEMI-FINALS (15 points): Moore beat O’Sullivan 2-0, Lancastle beat Bodman 2-1.
FINAL (25/18 points): Moore beat Lancastle 2-1.
Lloyd: tough at the top
GOSPORT teenager Mark Lloyd relishes the challenge of hanging on to top spot in the Cuestars South of England Under-21 Silver Tour snooker rankings.
Lloyd stormed to pole position after clinching a second tournament win of the season in the fourth leg at Jesters Snooker Hall, Swindon.
Speaking after his hard-fought 2-1 victory over Cameron Holt in the final, the 13-year-old said he enjoyed the contest but admitted life will be difficult in the final four tournaments.
“It was a hard and difficult final because both of us were playing well,” said Lloyd, who is based at Stoke Snooker Club. “We both could have won it on several occasions. The attacking and tactical play was good.
“I’m pleased I’m now back in the lead in the rankings and I know it’s going to be difficult in the next few events.”
Lloyd, who won the first leg in Salisbury in October, leads Daniel Knox (Woking SC) by eight points.
Meanwhile, a Christmas present helped Holt notch up a first appearance in a Silver Tour final.
Dad Nick explained: “He was very pleased with the way he played all day. It was the first time he had used his new (John) Parris cue that he got for Christmas so hopefully the rest of the season will bring more success.”
And spare a thought for Bradley Cowdroy (Greenbaize, Bournemouth).
Sampling the highs and lows of snooker in one frame, the ten-year-old equalled his highest break of 34 in a group match against Lloyd only for the eventual tournament winner to trump that and win the frame with a 44.
The fifth of the eight legs is at Chandler’s Ford Snooker Club on Sunday, February 3.
BREAKS
Mark Lloyd: 44.
Austen Petty: 42.
Bradley Cowdroy: 34.
SILVER RESULTS
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP A: 1st, Olly Clark (Chandler’s Ford SC); 2nd, Daniel Hall (Jesters, Swindon); 3rd, Austen Petty (Chandler’s Ford SC); 4th, Stewart Ball (Greenbaize SC, Bournemouth).
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP B: 1st, Jasmine Bolsover (Woking SC); 2nd, Daniel Knox (Woking SC); 3rd, Mike Trigg (Chandler’s Ford SC); 4th, Anthony Church (Greenbaize, Bournemouth).
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP C: 1st, Callum Browne (Player’s, Westbury); 2nd, Cameron Holt (Liberal Club, High Wycombe); 3rd, James Budd (Stoke SC, Gosport); 4th, Karl Eggar (Stoke SC, Gosport).
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP D: 1st, Mark Lloyd (Stoke SC, Gosport); 2nd, Bradley Cowdroy (Greenbaize SC, Bournemouth); 3rd, Nathan Farmer (Stoke SC, Gosport).
QUARTER-FINALS (12 points): Cowdroy beat Clark 2-0, Holt beat Bolsover 2-0, Knox beat Browne 2-1, Lloyd beat Hall 2-0.
SEMI-FINALS (15 points): Lloyd beat Knox 2-1, Holt beat Cowdroy 2-0.
FINAL (25/18 points): Lloyd beat Holt 2-1.
Nothing fazes the comeback kid
BASINGSTOKE wonderkid Mickey Joyce produced two storming comebacks to claim a second successive winner’s trophy on the Cuestars South of England Under-21 Bronze Tour.
The phenomenal nine-year-old (pictured above) fought back from 1-0 down to win both his semi-final and final matches 2-1 in the fourth leg at Jesters Snooker Hall, Swindon.
“Nothing fazes him at all,” declared proud dad Eamon: “He was on fire.
“He won’t give up. His head didn’t drop and he still had confidence in his potting ability. I was very proud of him.”
Joyce, who is based at Chandler’s Ford Snooker Club, said that safety play helped him overcome second-placed Connor Flanagan (Swindon) in the last-four while long potting was the key to seeing off Bradley Lane (Portsmouth) in the final.
Despite losing the first frame in each match, Joyce said: “I just thought I could win this.”
Earlier, he won all three group matches and defeated rankings leader Daniel Compton (Portsmouth) 2-0 in the last-eight.
Joyce, who has not failed to qualify for the knockout this season, is seven points clear of Compton and Flanagan.
Meanwhile, Joyce’s clubmate Luke Beebe had a bit of an up-and-down-and-up day.
The 11-year-old cruised through the group stages but lost 2-0 in the quarter-finals to Lane. Beebe fouled the pink in the second frame when his opponent needed a snooker.
After missing out on a first semi-final, the disappointed youngster popped in to Chandler’s Ford Snooker Club on his way home, got involved in a friendly match and chalked up his highest break of 38.
Elsewhere, Matt Gillon (Stoke SC, Gosport) reached the semi-finals on his Cuestars debut. His excellent run ended in a 2-0 defeat by Lane.
The fifth of the eight legs is at Chandler’s Ford Snooker Club on Sunday, February 3.
BREAKS
Mickey Joyce: 27.
Canberk Benning: 27.
BRONZE RESULTS
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP A: 1st, Luke Beebe (Chandler’s Ford SC); 2nd, Thomas Holton (Woking SC); 3rd, Kaine Petty (Salisbury SC); 4th, David Edwards (Liberal Club, High Wycombe).
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP B: 1st, Ben Hatch (Eastleigh); 2nd, Daniel Compton (Copnor SC, Portsmouth); 3rd, Joe Kitchen (Stoke SC, Gosport); 4th, Ben Tillison (Copnor SC, Portsmouth).
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP C: 1st, Mickey Joyce (Chandler’s Ford SC); 2nd, Matt Gillon (Stoke SC, Gosport); 3rd, Canberk Benning (147 SC, Swindon); 4th, Jordan Lee (Woking SC).
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP D: 1st, Connor Flanagan (Jesters, Swindon); 2nd, Bradley Lane (Copnor SC, Portsmouth); 3rd, Jamie Wilson (Chandler’s Ford SC); 4th, Edward James (Woking SC).
QUARTER-FINALS (12 points): Lane beat Beebe 2-0, Gillon beat Hatch 2-1, Joyce beat Compton 2-0, Flanagan beat Holton 2-0.
SEMI-FINALS (15 points): Lane beat Gillon 2-0, Joyce beat Flanagan 2-1.
FINAL (25/18 points): Joyce beat Lane 2-1
Second trophy for Canberk
IN AN all Bronze Tour Plate final, Canberk Benning (147 SC, Swindon) picked up his second Cuestars trophy in three outings.
Benning, who you may remember was runner-up on his Cuestars debut in the Bronze leg at Woking last November, beat Jamie Wilson (Chandler’s Ford SC) in the final of the competition for those not qualifying for the three knockouts.
Benning had finished third in his round-robin group, which was won by Mickey Joyce, the eventual tournament winner
PLATE RESULTS (ONE-FRAME MATCHES)
LAST-16: James Budd (Stoke SC, Gosport) beat Oliver Parsons (Jesters, Swindon), Stewart Ball (Greenbaize, Bournemouth) beat Kaine Petty (Salisbury SC), Nathan Farmer (Stoke SC, Gosport) beat Dean Matthews (Ivy Leaf Club, Maidenhead), Jamie Wilson (Chandler’s Ford SC) beat Josh Lee (Jesters, Swindon), Austen Petty (Chandler’s Ford SC) beat Anthony Church (Greenbaize, Bournemouth).
QUARTER-FINALS: Budd beat Ball, Canberk Benning (147 SC, Swindon) beat Farmer, Wilson beat Edward James (Woking SC), A Petty beat Karl Eggar (Stoke SC, Gosport).
SEMI-FINALS: Benning beat Budd, Wilson beat A Petty.
FINAL: Benning beat Wilson.
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Thanks to everyone who contacted me by e-mail or Facebook to share their highlight or lowlight of the day. Contact me straight after a tournament and your news will appear in the report. And it doesn’t have to be from a Cuestars tournament. E-mail me details or contact me via Facebook and you could be on the Cuestars website and in your local newspaper. E-mail: [email protected]
Tim Dunkley (World Snooker coach)