Ten-year-old leads Silver rankings
A REMARKABLE ten-year-old from Basingstoke has taken over top spot in the Cuestars South of England Under-21 Silver Tour snooker rankings.
Demon potter Mickey Joyce (pictured left) leads the field after clinching the fourth leg at the Greenbaize Snooker Club, Bournemouth.
Joyce, who is based at Chandler’s Ford SC, near Southampton, explained his strategy was to “keep on potting balls” when trailing by 30 points in the first frame of the final.
Spurred on by watching his clubmate Luke Beebe claim the Bronze final, Joyce overcame Matt Gillon (Stoke SC, Gosport) 2-0 on the match table that has TV lighting.
“I like it because it was really quick,” he said.
Last season’s Bronze Tour champion admitted it was a “hard” match but he said his toughest battle was a 2-0 quarter-final victory over leg-two winner Jasmine Bolsover, 14, from Woking Snooker Centre.
He has a two-point lead over Nathan Farmer, who lost 2-1 to Stoke clubmate Gillon in the last-eight
Elsewhere, Joe Kitchen, also from Stoke SC, posted a personal best 32 break in a 2-1 group-stage defeat by Farmer.
Home player Bradley Cowdroy ended a run of three successive quarter-final exits this season by reaching the last-four thanks to a 22 clearance against another Stoke player, Bradley Leishman, that secured the third-frame decider on the final black. He went out 2-1 to Gillon.
And Anthony Church, also based at Greenbaize, marked his 12th appearance on the circuit with a first semi-final after edging Dan Sykes (Chandler’s Ford SC) 2-1 on the final black. He went out 2-0 to the eventual champion.
Joyce, who attends Winklebury Junior School in Basingstoke, is sponsored by Surrey-based Falcon Pools. He also competes on the EASB Regional Junior Tour and last month compiled his first competitive half-century break, a 54 in the Eastleigh & District Under-18 League.
His win in Bournemouth follows semi-final exits in the previous two legs.
The fifth leg of eight is at Chandler’s Ford Snooker Club on Sunday, February 2.
<b>BREAKS
Bradley Cowdroy: 37, 36.
Joe Kitchen: 32.
Bradley Leishman: 31.
Mickey Joyce: 30.
<b>SILVER RESULTS
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP A: 1st, Nathan Farmer (Stoke SC, Gosport); 2nd, Jasmine Bolsover (Woking SC); 3rd, Joe Kitchen (Stoke SC, Gosport); 4th, Jamie Wilson (Copnor SC, Portsmouth).
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP B: 1st, Bradley Cowdroy (Greenbaize SC, Bournemouth); 2nd, Anthony Church (Greenbaize SC, Bournemouth); 3rd, Canberk Benning (Jesters, Swindon); 4th, Callum Browne (Player’s, Westbury).
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP C: 1st, Dan Sykes (Chandler’s Ford SC); 2nd, Bradley Leishman (Stoke SC, Gosport); 3rd, Mike Trigg (Chandler’s Ford SC); 4th, Daniel Compton (Copnor SC, Portsmouth).
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP D: 1st, Mickey Joyce (Chandler’s Ford SC); 2nd, Matt Gillon (Stoke SC, Gosport); 3rd, Cameron Gillon (Stoke SC, Gosport).
QUARTER-FINALS (12 points): M Gillon beat Farmer 2-1, Cowdroy beat Leishman 2-1, Church beat Sykes 2-1, Joyce beat Bolsover 2-0.
SEMI-FINALS (15 points): M Gillon beat Cowdroy 2-1, Joyce beat Church 2-0.
FINAL (25/18 points): Joyce beat M Gillon 2-0.
Picture by Tim Dunkley