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ASHLEY Carty may be “pleased to end the year on a winner” but can he end his final season on the national under-21 snooker circuit as a winner?
The 20-year-old from Rotherham pocketed £350 after emerging victorious from the third leg of the EASB Premier Junior Tour at Cueball Derby.
He defeated last season’s rankings winner Brandon Sargeant in the final to close the gap on current tour leader Joe O’Connor (Leicester).
Carty struck the first blow with a 69 break in the first frame but his opponent from Stoke hit back with runs of 58 and 38 in the second followed by a 103 to take the lead.
A 58 from Carty in the next squared the match and he ran out a 4-2 winner.
“I knew I had to keep him tight as he’s a very good long potter,” said Carty. “I just had to battle and dig in for some parts of the match but I also took my chances when I got them.
“I went into the tournament very confident as I’ve been playing well in practice.
“I’m just really pleased to end the year on a winner.”
Earlier, he dropped just one frame in four group-stage matches and accounted for O’Connor 4-1 in the last-eight.
Elsewhere, Josh Thomond was given a lesson in cuemanship in his group-stage match against Sargeant. The Manchester potter scored just 16 points in three frames while his opponent knocked in breaks of 114, 94 and 102.
Sargeant still had his sights on the £40 high-break prize and he secured it with a sublime 128 in the first frame of his 4-2 semi-final victory over Richard Haney (Dudley). And, for good measure, he added runs of 44, 94 and 77 in the same match.
In the second semi and trailing Nico Elton (Sheffield) 3-1, Carty pulled one back on the final black and took the next two frames with breaks of 59 and 75.
The country’s best young players recorded 89 breaks of 50 or more, including ten centuries, over the two-day tournament.
The fourth leg of six is at Q’s Sports Entertainment Bar, Manchester, on April 2 and 3.
Tim Dunkley
EASB Media Officer South and World Snooker coach
The English Association of Snooker & Billiards is the national governing body for the amateur game in this country. For more information about competitions, rankings lists and results, see www.easb.co.uk.
The 20-year-old from Rotherham pocketed £350 after emerging victorious from the third leg of the EASB Premier Junior Tour at Cueball Derby.
He defeated last season’s rankings winner Brandon Sargeant in the final to close the gap on current tour leader Joe O’Connor (Leicester).
Carty struck the first blow with a 69 break in the first frame but his opponent from Stoke hit back with runs of 58 and 38 in the second followed by a 103 to take the lead.
A 58 from Carty in the next squared the match and he ran out a 4-2 winner.
“I knew I had to keep him tight as he’s a very good long potter,” said Carty. “I just had to battle and dig in for some parts of the match but I also took my chances when I got them.
“I went into the tournament very confident as I’ve been playing well in practice.
“I’m just really pleased to end the year on a winner.”
Earlier, he dropped just one frame in four group-stage matches and accounted for O’Connor 4-1 in the last-eight.
Elsewhere, Josh Thomond was given a lesson in cuemanship in his group-stage match against Sargeant. The Manchester potter scored just 16 points in three frames while his opponent knocked in breaks of 114, 94 and 102.
Sargeant still had his sights on the £40 high-break prize and he secured it with a sublime 128 in the first frame of his 4-2 semi-final victory over Richard Haney (Dudley). And, for good measure, he added runs of 44, 94 and 77 in the same match.
In the second semi and trailing Nico Elton (Sheffield) 3-1, Carty pulled one back on the final black and took the next two frames with breaks of 59 and 75.
The country’s best young players recorded 89 breaks of 50 or more, including ten centuries, over the two-day tournament.
The fourth leg of six is at Q’s Sports Entertainment Bar, Manchester, on April 2 and 3.
Tim Dunkley
EASB Media Officer South and World Snooker coach
The English Association of Snooker & Billiards is the national governing body for the amateur game in this country. For more information about competitions, rankings lists and results, see www.easb.co.uk.
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