Thank God for Matalan
A MINOR mishap in the trouser department forced a 20-year-old from Poole to dash to a well-known clothing store halfway through a snooker tournament.
Suitably attired and spurred on by a picture of his one-year-old son Ethan on his phone in his pocket , Bradley Chappell (pictured) sped back to Salisbury Snooker Club and scooped the £50 first prize after edging home player James Bolton 3-2 on the black in a pulsating final.
Last season’s Cuestars South of England Under-21 Gold Tour joint rankings winner opened his 2014/15 account in imperious style.
Having not dropped a frame in three group-stage matches, Chappell left the club at 3.40pm to compose himself as usual before the quarter-finals by listening to classical music.
Taking up the story, he said: “As I got into my dad’s car, my trousers split right down the middle. It was bad, it was really bad.
“Thank God for Matalan, they open until half four on Sundays. We got in the car and sped down there.”
Chappell returned to inflict a 3-1 defeat on Mark Lloyd (Stoke SC, Gosport), with whom he shared the 2013/14 title.
And he then avenged a 2-0 local league loss the previous Monday by knocking in an 87 break, the highest of the day, in a 3-0 victory over his Greenbaize clubmate Rikki Moore.
Paying tribute to 19-year-old Bolton, from Amesbury, after clearing the last few colours in a fifth-frame decider in the final, Chappell said: “I just said to James, ‘you’re the first player in four years to make me shake’. I felt pressured.
“(The final) was quality. It could’ve gone either way. We both played really well.
“James is a very good player – very, very steady. You’ve got to have the right mind game to play him. To find your rhythm against a player like James is very hard to do.
“You’ve got to beat the best to be the best. He is a fantastic player. It’s always nicer beating a player of a certain quality than what it is easing through a final.”
The event attracted a high-quality 15-strong field from across the south.
For the record, Chappell’s new trousers cost £10.
The second leg of eight is at Jesters Snooker Hall, Swindon, on Sunday, November 2.
BREAKS
Bradley Chappell: 87, 57, 50, 42.
Mark Lloyd: 73, 47.
James Bolton: 55, 45, 44, 44, 38, 37, 37, 37, 30.
Mark Wells: 40.
Rikki Moore: 35.
Anthony Rice: 32.
James Budd: 31.
GOLD RESULTS
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP A: 1st, James Bolton (Salisbury SC); 2nd, Austen Petty (Chandler’s Ford SC); 3rd, Dan Sykes (Chandler’s Ford SC); 4th, Mark Wells (Greenbaize, Bournemouth).
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP B: 1st, James Budd (Stoke SC, Gosport); 2nd, Mark Lloyd (Stoke SC, Gosport); 3rd, Jamie Wilson (Copnor SC, Portsmouth); 4th, Bradley Cowdroy (Greenbaize, Bournemouth).
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP C: 1st, Bradley Chappell (Greenbaize, Bournemouth); 2nd, Anthony Rice (Salisbury SC); 3rd, Callum Browne (Player’s, Westbury); 4th, Nathan Farmer (Stoke SC, Gosport).
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP D: 1st, Rikki Moore (Greenbaize, Bournemouth); 2nd, Mickey Joyce (Chandler’s Ford SC); 3rd, Jonny Mutch (Chandler’s Ford SC).
QUARTER-FINALS (12 points): Bolton beat Joyce 3-0, Rice beat Budd 3-1, Chappell beat Lloyd 3-1, Moore beat Petty 3-0.
SEMI-FINALS (15 points): Bolton beat Rice 3-0, Chappell beat Moore 3-0.
FINAL (£50/£25, 25/18 points): Chappell beat Bolton 3-2.
Report and picture by Tim Dunkley.