Zain: I’ve had some of the best experiences of my life

ZAIN Jeraj reckons he’s had “some of the best experiences” of his life on this season’s Cuestars Under-21 Bronze Tour.

The 11-year-old from Tooting clinched the rankings title in the penultimate leg and finished the campaign in style with a fourth successive winner’s trophy.

He beat first-time finalist Lennon Savage (Southampton) 2-1 in the eighth and last event at Waterlooville Sports Bar.

Jeraj said he played “some of the best Cuestars frames” of his career in that match.

And he added: “It was a great end to the season.

“I’d like to thank all the players who have taught me a lot. Because of them, I’ve had some of the best experiences of my life and the most nerve-racking ones as well.”

Matthew Jameson (Brighton) qualified for the knockout for the first time and eventually went down 2-0 to Ayan Roy (London) in the quarter-finals

Earlier, Dylan Beer (Fair Oak) chalked up his highest break of 39 against George Laxton (Portsmouth) in the round-robin group stages.

Savage defeated Beer 2-0 in the last-four in only his second tournament back on the junior circuit.

Roy, beaten 2-1 by Jeraj in an epic semi-final, finished sixth in the rankings.

Thomas McEvoy (Warminster) and Daniel Walter (Portsmouth) are joint runners-up.

The event was sponsored by Waterlooville-based snooker accessory supplier snookercrazy.com.

Jesters Snooker Club, Swindon, hosts the Cuestars Under-21 Gold, Silver and Bronze Championships, with special guest Joe Perry, on Sunday, June 12.

BREAKS

Dylan Beer: 39(PB).
Zain Jeraj: 27, 25, 24, 22.

BRONZE RESULTS

ROUND-ROBIN GROUP A: 1st, Zain Jeraj (London Snooker); 2nd, Tyler Beer (Chandlers Ford SC); 3rd, Will Kempson (Salisbury SC); 4th, Samuel Walter (Mayfair, Gosport).

ROUND-ROBIN GROUP B: 1st, Lennon Savage (Chandlers Ford SC); 2nd, Matthew Jameson (Castle, Brighton); 3rd, Daniel Walter (Mayfair, Gosport); 4th, Gus Holdaway (Castle, Brighton).

ROUND-ROBIN GROUP C: 1st, Dylan Beer (Chandlers Ford SC); 2nd, Thomas McEvoy (Salisbury SC); 3rd, George Laxton (Waterlooville Sports Bar); 4th, Oliver Li (Castle, Brighton); 5th, Alex Evans (Castle, Brighton).

ROUND-ROBIN GROUP D: 1st, Ayan Roy (Frames, Coulson); 2nd, Chris Bennett (Chandlers Ford SC); 3rd, Caden Read (Chandlers Ford SC); 4th, Ryan Spratt (Chandlers Ford SC); 5th, Henry Wheeler (RAC, Epsom).

QUARTER-FINALS (12 points): Jeraj 2-1 McEvoy, Roy 2-0 Jameson, D Beer 2-0 T Beer, Savage 2-0 Bennett.

SEMI-FINALS (15 points): Savage 2-0 D Beer, Jeraj 2-1 Roy.

FINAL (25/18 points): Jeraj 2-1 Savage.

Picture, from left: Zain Jeraj, Marc Lockley from event sponsor snookercrazy.com, Lennon Savage.