Sykes pockets £500 for winning Super Series leg in Newbury

OLIVER Sykes pocketed a whopping £500 for winning the first leg of the 2025 Cuestars Joe Perry Under-21 Super Series in Newbury.

The 19-year-old from Chandler’s Ford beat fellow Gold Tour player Ronnie Sullivan 3-1 in the final at The Crucible Sports & Social Club.

Sullivan produced a total clearance of 114 in the third frame and Oliver wrapped things up with an 81 clearance. The match was refereed by Phil Watson.

That puts 20-year-old Sullivan, who has won the last two Gold tournaments, in pole position for the £1 a point series high-break prize sponsored by Shots Watford sports bar.

Sykes said: “There was nothing spectacular. I just battled my way through.”

The match of the day was the quarter-final between Aidan Murphy and Kaylan Patel, who was runner-up in last month’s WSF Junior Championship in Morocco.

Patel raced to a 2-0 lead. Murphy forced a decider, thanks in no small part to a 92 break. And Patel nicked the fifth frame on a re-spotted black.

Bridgend-based Welsh international Zac Cosker missed out on qualifying for the knockout by a whisker. Brandon Nguyen reached the last-four for the first time.

The opening leg was sponsored by The Crucible Sports & Social Club. The rankings winner after the three events receives a Q School place courtesy of Cuestars ambassador Joe Perry.

There are a few places available for the second leg of three on Saturday, March 22, at Frames Sports Bar, Coulsdon. Entry to each event is £40. Entrants must be Cuestars members. To join Cuestars, it costs just £10 a season, go to www.cuestars.co.uk/membership-form/

BREAKS

Ronnie Sullivan: 114, 73.
Aidan Murphy: 92, 65, 50.
Brandon Nguyen: 89, 50.
William Hurley: 86.
Mitchell Berry: 85, 74.
Oliver Sykes: 81, 74, 56.
O’Shay Scott: 74, 56.
Zac Cosker: 73, 55.
Will Forster: 63.
Zain Jeraj: 57.
Kaylan Patel: 51.
Riley Ellis: 50.

RESULTS

ROUND-ROBIN GROUP A: 1st, Oliver Sykes; 2nd, Noah Gartell; 3rd, Zac Cosker; 4th, Riley Ellis; 5th, Harry Wyatt.

ROUND-ROBIN GROUP B: 1st, Aidan Murphy; 2nd, Brandon Nguyen; 3rd, Asten Sahota; 4th, William Thomson; 5th, Ryan Spratt.

ROUND-ROBIN GROUP C: 1st, Ronnie Sullivan; 2nd, Mitchell Berry; 3rd, Will Forster; 4th, John Donovan; 5th, Donnie Gola.

ROUND-ROBIN GROUP D: 1st, O’Shay Scott; 2nd, Kaylan Patel; 3rd, Zain Jeraj; 4th, Will Forster; 5th, Tom McEvoy.

QUARTER-FINALS (£30): Oliver Sykes 3-1 Mitchell Berry, O’Shay Scott 0-3 Brandon Nguyen, Aidan Murphy 2-3 Kaylan Patel, Ronnie Sullivan 3-1 Noah Gartell.

SEMI-FINALS (£70): Oliver Sykes 3-1 Brandon Nguyen, Kaylan Patel 2-3 Ronnie Sullivan.

FINAL (£500/£200): Oliver Sykes 3-1 Ronnie Sullivan.

Picture, from left: Oliver Sykes, Phil Watson, Ronnie Sullivan.

By Tim Dunkley and Steven Hughes