Warner breaks semi-final jinx
GOSPORT snooker ace Lee Warner broke his Cuestars semi-final jinx in the Under-21 Open at Rileys, Gloucester.
The Stoke SC potter eased to a 3-0 victory over home player Will McMullin in the final of event seven of eight.
After four defeats in the last four this season, Warner denied rankings leader Daniel Tallentire (Trowbridge) a fourth straight final in the semis. Warner won a scratch clash 3-0.
Warner, who climbed to third, won his only previous Under-21 tournament on his debut at Chandler’s Ford SC in November 2007. Since then he has made five semi-finals exits.
Cardiff’s James Kidwell chalked up a second successive Plate victory, beating Reading’s Dean Matthews 2-1 in the final. Kidwell also won the consolation trophy at his home club, Rileys, last December.
The final tournament on May 10 has been switched to Salisbury SC due to the closure of Rileys in Bracknell.
RESULTS:
LAST 16 (five points): Ben Tanner (The Academy, Eastleigh) bt James Kidwell (Rileys, Cardiff) 3-2, Lee Warner (Stoke SC, Gosport) bt Lee Carlton (Liberal Club, High Wycombe) 3-1, Daniel Tallentire (Trowbridge) bt Simon Closman (Trowbridge) 3-0, Luke Haines (Rileys, Cardiff) bt Declon Shipperley (Liberal Club, High Wycombe) 3-0, Will McMullin (Rileys, Gloucester) bt Dean Matthews (Rileys, Reading) 3-2.
QUARTER-FINALS (eight points): Warner bt Tanner 3-1, Tallentire bt Haines 3-1, McMullin bt Matthew Guy (Rileys, Gloucester) 3-0, Carl Sidey (The Academy, Basingstoke) bt Liam O’Shea (Jesters, Swindon) 3-0.
SEMI-FINALS (12 points): Warner bt Tallentire 3-0, McMullin bt Sidey 3-1.
FINAL (25/18 points): Warner bt McMullin 3-0.
PLATE
QUARTER-FINALS: Matthews bt Guy 2-1, Carlton bt Closman 2-0, Kidwell bt Shipperley 2-0.
SEMI-FINALS (one point): Matthews bt Carlton 2-0, Kidwell bt O’Shea 2-0.
FINAL (five/three points): Kidwell bt Matthews 2-1.
Burnet chalks up number four for Eastleigh
A FOURTH youngster from The Academy in Eastleigh has broken his duck in Cuestars Under-15 Open snooker events this season.
Liam Burnet (pictured) triumphed in event seven in Gloucester, dropping only one frame.
The 14-year-old admitted he was “focused” after defeating club-mate Matt Geer 2-0, rankings leader Bradley Chappell (Green Baize, Bournemouth) 2-0, Connor Probets (Jesters, Swindon) 2-1 and Joe Moon (Jesters, Swindon) 2-0 in the final.
In fact, it was a clean sweep for Eastleigh lads.
Geer overcame Bradley Hatch, also from The Academy, 2-1 in the Plate final.
Last December, Geer won his first ever Cuestars Under-15 tournament in Cardiff. The following month in Bournemouth, Lee Bell repeated the feat. And in February, Rob Henley claimed his first winner’s trophy in Gosport.
RESULTS:
LAST 16 (five points): Liam Burnet (The Academy, Eastleigh) bt Matt Geer (The Academy, Eastleigh) 2-0, Connor Probets (Jesters, Swindon) bt Sam Hillier (Jesters, Swindon) 2-1, Rob Henley (The Academy, Eastleigh) bt Bradley Hatch (The Academy, Eastleigh) 2-0, Joe Moon (Jesters, Swindon) bt Paul Ives (Liberal Club, High Wycombe) 2-0, Daniel Winfield (Trowbridge) bt Lee Bell (The Academy, Eastleigh) 2-0, Sam Streames (Yate) bt Nathan Swanton (The Academy, Eastleigh) 2-1.
QUARTER-FINALS (eight points): Burnet bt Bradley Chappell (Green Baize, Bournemouth) 2-0, Probets bt Henley 2-0, Moon bt Winfield 2-0, Streames bt Kieron Hall (Rileys, Gloucester) 2-0.
SEMI-FINALS (12 points): Burnet bt Probets 2-1, Moon bt Streames 2-0.
FINAL (25/18 points): Burnet bt Moon 2-0.
PLATE
QUARTER-FINALS: Geer bt Bell 2-1, Swanton bt Hall 2-1, Hatch bt Ives 2-1, Chappell bt Hillier 2-1.
SEMI-FINALS (one point): Geer bt Swanton 2-1, Hatch bt Chappell 2-1.
FINAL (five/three points): Geer bt Hatch 2-1.
Lee piles pressure on Lloyd
SWINDON youngster Joshua Lee’s second snooker tournament victory of the season has piled the pressure on Cuestars Under-12 ranking leader Mark Lloyd.
With one of the eight tournaments across the south to play, Lee’s 2-0 win over Jesters club-mate Oliver Parsons in the final in Gloucester took him level in second place with Jamie Perry, also from Swindon.
The pair trail nine-year-old Lloyd (Stoke SC, Gosport) by 17 points.
It was Parsons’ second successive final defeat. Cameron Holt (Rileys, Reading) collected a second successive Plate trophy.
Lloyd’s bid for a hat-trick of Cuestars tournament wins ended in a 2-0 first-round defeat by Joshua Hughes (Worcester).
Four days later he headed to North Wales for a first visit to the UK’s biggest and richest junior snooker tournament, the week-long Pontin’s Junior Star of the Future at Prestatyn Sands Holiday Centre, North Wales.
RESULTS:
QUARTER-FINALS (eight points): Oliver Parsons (Jesters, Swindon) bt Thyas Evans (Trowbridge) 2-0, Joshua Hughes (Rileys, Worcester) bt Mark Lloyd (Stoke SC, Gosport) 2-0, Joshua Lee (Jesters, Swindon) bt Cameron Holt (Rileys, Reading) 2-1, Jamie Perry (Jesters, Swindon) bt James Thomas (The Academy, Eastleigh) 2-1.
SEMI-FINALS (12 points): Parsons bt Hughes 2-0, Lee bt Perry 2-1.
FINAL (25/18 points): Lee bt Parsons 2-0.
PLATE
SEMI-FINALS (one point): Lloyd bt Thomas 2-1, Holt bt Evans 2-0.
FINAL (five/three points): Holt bt Lloyd 2-1.
Picture by Kevin Legg: