Sweet smell of success for Jasmine

THE only girl on a regional snooker tour now leads the rankings after collecting her second winner’s trophy of the season.

Surrey teenager Jasmine Bolsover (pictured), competing on home tables at Woking Snooker Centre, emerged victorious from the fourth leg of the Cuestars South of England Under-21 Silver Tour.

A 2-1 win against Matt Gillon (Stoke SC, Gosport) in the final took the 15-year-old one point clear of Callum McDonald (Salisbury SC), whom she knocked out in the quarter-finals.

“I played good in the first frame and really, really good in the last one,” she said. “So I was pleased with that.”

The 15-year-old was undefeated in three group-stage matches and accounted for Drew Hampshire (147 SC, Swindon) 2-1 in the last-four.

Appearing in his first semi-final, Hampshire compiled a 47 break, the highest of the day.

Bolsover, who also won the first leg in Salisbury last October, is not fazed about the thought of promotion to the Gold Tour at the end of the season

“It’ll be a good learning curve to go into Gold,” she said. “If I’m playing well enough, then I can do well – no matter who I’m playing.

A Year 10 pupil at St John the Baptist School, Bolsover also competes on the World Ladies Billiards & Snooker Association circuit and has ambitions to be a full-time snooker player.

Taking time out to congratulate Chloe White (Copnor SC, Portsmouth), who competes on the Cuestars Bronze Tour, she said: “It’s really good to see more girls coming in to play. She seems to be doing quite well. I think she’s quite a good player.”

The fifth leg of eight is at Jesters Snooker Hall, Swindon, on Sunday, February 1.

BREAKS

Drew Hampshire: 47.
Thomas Holton: 31.

SILVER RESULTS

ROUND-ROBIN GROUP A: 1st, Matt Gillon (Stoke SC, Gosport); 2nd, Drew Hampshire (147 SC, Swindon); 3rd, Joe Kitchen (Stoke SC, Gosport); 4th, Thomas Holton (Woking SC); 5th, Abhay Chopra (Chandler’s Ford SC).

ROUND-ROBIN GROUP B: 1st, Edward James (Woking SC); 2nd, Kaine Petty (Salisbury SC); 3rd, Callum McDonald (Salisbury SC); 4th, Nat Kidner (Greenbaize SC, Bournemouth); 5th, Daniel Compton (Copnor SC, Portsmouth).

ROUND-ROBIN GROUP C: 1st, Jasmine Bolsover (Woking SC); 2nd, Canberk Benning (Jesters, Swindon); 3rd, Ally Pollard (Salisbury SC); 4th, Reece King (Greenbaize SC, Bournemouth).

QUARTER-FINALS (12 points): Gillon beat Benning 2-1, Kitchen beat James 2-0, Bolsover beat McDonald 2-0, Hampshire beat Petty 2-1.

SEMI-FINALS (15 points): Gillon beat Kitchen 2-1, Bolsover beat Hampshire 2-1.

FINAL (25/18 points): Bolsover beat Gillon 2-1.

Report and picture by Tim Dunkley.