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A WELL-EARNT curry and a spot of Deep Heat ended a young Gosport player’s victorious day on the Cuestars South of England Under-21 Silver Tour.
Olly Gibbs, who was suffering with a sore neck, did it the hard way in the fourth leg at Greenbaize Snooker Club, Bournemouth.
The 12-year-old defeated new rankings leader Steven Hughes, his clubmate from Chandler’s For SC, 2-1 from 1-0 down in the final. He took the second frame by a distance and the decider on the blue.
“I had a very tough game against Steven Hughes,” said Gibbs. “He played well and gave me a good match.”
Earlier, he qualified for the knockout on frames difference as one of the two best third-place finishers from the three groups of five.
“I didn’t expect to get though the groups after finishing third in my group of five,” he admitted.
“I then played James Beaven (Coulsdon) in the quarter-finals and I thought I was going to lose after I left him an easy pink. But, fortunately, he rattled it, leaving it over the pocket.
“And in the semi-finals, I had a tough game against Connor Benzey (Eastleigh), in which I trailed 1-0 but made a comeback to win 2-1.
“I was very happy to get home after a long day and a well-earnt curry - although my neck is a bit sore.”
Hughes, who is sponsored by Vankru Cycling, had won all four round-robin matches, which included a 2-1 victory over Gibbs.
Three Silver players notched up their highest breaks during the day’s action. At the age of ten years and 29 days, Oliver Sykes (Chandler’s Ford) made his first half-century – a 52 in a 2-1 group-stage defeat by Aidan Murphy.
Murphy (Bristol) increased his personal best to 47 against Ally Pollard (Alderholt), who chalked up a first 40 against Drew Hampshire (Swindon).
And home player Adam Cowdroy qualified for the knockout for the first time on the Silver Tour the day after recording his highest break of 38 with a new cue that still had a transit tip, which he chalked just once as he had left his chalk at home.
The fifth leg of eight is at Woking Snooker Centre on Sunday, February 7.
BREAKS
Oliver Sykes: 52.
Aidan Murphy: 47.
Charlie Pringle: 45.
Ally Pollard: 40.
James Beaven: 33.
Connor Benzey: 32.
Drew Hampshire: 30.
SILVER RESULTS
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP A: 1st, Aidan Murphy (Bristol Conservative Club); 2nd, Oliver Sykes (Chandler’s Ford SC); 3rd, Drew Hampshire (147 SC, Swindon); 4th, Ally Pollard (Salisbury SC); 5th, Nat Kidner (Greenbaize SC, Bournemouth).
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP B: 1st, James Beaven (Frames Sports Bar, Coulsdon); 2nd, Adam Cowdroy (Greenbaize, Bournemouth); 3rd, Connor Benzey (Chandler’s Ford SC); 4th, Charlie Pringle (Chandler’s Ford SC); 5th, Kaine Petty (Salisbury SC).
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP C: 1st, Steven Hughes (Chandler’s Ford SC); 2nd, David O’Callaghan (Greenbaize, Bournemouth); 3rd, Olly Gibbs (Chandler’s Ford SC); 4th, David Rice (Salisbury SC); 5th, Keegan Reed (Salisbury SC).
QUARTER-FINALS (12 points): Benzey 2 Murphy 0, Gibbs 2 Beaven 1, Hughes 2 Cowdroy 0, Sykes 2 O’Callaghan 0.
SEMI-FINALS (15 points): Gibbs 2 Benzey 1, Hughes 2 Sykes 0.
FINAL (25/18 points): Gibbs 2 Hughes 1.
Former Bronze champion strikes Gold
A TROWBRIDGE teenage potter admitted it was a “relief” to see the match-winning pink drop into the pocket in his first Cuestars South of England Under-21 Gold Tour final.
Callum Browne was “determined” to prevent a repeat of his previous encounter with the awesome 13-year-old Bradley Cowdroy.
Cowdroy had clawed back a two-frame deficit to prevail 3-2 in the quarter-finals of last month’s event in Coulsdon.
And when the pair met again in the final of the fourth leg, Browne again took a 2-0 lead and again his left-handed opponent - playing on home tables at Greenbaize Snooker Club, Bournemouth - pulled one back. But a second bite of the cherry on the long pink in the fourth saw the 16-year-old over the line.
Browne said: “I was thinking ‘not again’. I was really determined.
“It was nerve-wracking. I didn’t really expect to get to the final because in the semi-final I was 1-0 down to James Budd, who I don’t think I’ve ever beaten before.”
Budd (Fareham) congratulated Browne on his win and added: “The last three pots he made (against me) were excellent and he held his nerve together really well.”
Browne, who attends The Clarendon Academy, is based at Player’s, Westbury, and also competes on the EASB Regional Junior Tour South.
He won the Cuestars Bronze Tour rankings title in his first full season in 2010/11, claimed one tournament win during three years on the Silver Tour and joined the Gold Tour in 2014/15.
Browne and Brad Chappell (Poole) are joint second in the rankings - one point behind Mark Lloyd, who was competing in the European Under-17 Open Championship in Malta. Two successive final defeats has taken Cowdroy up to joint fifth.
Home player Reece King recorded the day’s highest break of 56 in his first group-stage match against Budd.
The fifth leg of eight is at Woking Snooker Centre on Sunday, February 7.
BREAKS
Reece King: 56, 43.
James Budd: 52.
Bradley Cowdroy: 51, 47, 45.
Anthony Rice: 45, 41.
Brad Chappell: 44.
GOLD RESULTS
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP A: 1st, Brad Chappell (Greenbaize, Bournemouth); 2nd, Callum Browne (Player’s, Westbury); 3rd, Nathan Farmer (Stoke SC, Gosport); 4th, Mike Trigg (Chandler’s Ford SC).
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP B: 1st, Bradley Cowdroy (Greenbaize, Bournemouth); 2nd, James Budd (Fareham SC); 3rd, Mickey Joyce (Chandler’s Ford SC); 4th, Reece King (Greenbaize, Bournemouth).
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP C: 1st, Anthony Rice (Salisbury SC); 2nd, Jamie Wilson (Copnor SC, Portsmouth); 3rd, Dan Sykes (Chandler’s Ford SC); 4th, Callum McDonald (Salisbury SC).
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP D: 1st,; 2nd,; 3rd, Jonny Mutch (Cambridge SC); 4th,.
QUARTER-FINALS (12 points): Chappell 2 Joyce 0, Cowdroy 2 Farmer 1, Budd 2 Rice 0, Browne 2 Wilson 0.
SEMI-FINALS (15 points): Cowdroy 2 Chappell 1, Browne 2 Budd 1.
FINAL (£40/£20 25/18 points): Browne 3 Cowdroy 1.
11-year-old veteran claims first win
AN 11-YEAR-OLD from Chandler’s Ford who has been competing in a junior league since the age of five has won his first tournament away from his home club.
Bowen Zhu “surprised” himself by claiming the fourth leg of the Cuestars South of England Under-21 Bronze Tour at Greenbaize Snooker Club, Bournemouth.
“It was exhilarating,” he said. “Because I’d never got that far before and I wasn’t expecting to go that far so I’m quite surprised at myself.
“My goal was to get to the semi-final. To get to the final was just amazing.”
Reflecting on the deciding frame of a 2-1 victory over Ryan Hughes, a fellow member of Chandler’s Ford Snooker Club, Zhu said: “It was a close battle.
“Ryan was a bit unlucky because a lot of his shots didn’t go to plan.
“It was better that I knew him because I sort of know his tactics but he also knows some of mine so it evens itself out.”
Zhu accounted for rankings leader Ben Tillison (Portsmouth) in the group stages but qualified for the knockout in second place behind Chloe White (Portsmouth).
A 2-1 victory over Rio Smith (Portsmouth) and a 2-0 win against Ben Hatch (Southampton), who compiled a personal best 34 break in his first match against Smith, booked Zhu a first appearance in a final.
A Year 6 pupil at Knightwood Primary School, Zhu made his debut in the Eastleigh & District Under-13 League at the age of five.
White beat Oli Line (Botley) 2-0 in the last-eight to make the semi-finals for the first time. Arnie Petty (Fordingbridge) qualified for the knockout for the first time at his 14th attempt.
Tillison, who won two of the three previous legs, made a shock group-stage exit but still leads the rankings by five points from Hughes. Zhu is four points further back in third.
The fifth leg of eight is at Woking Snooker Centre on Sunday, February 7.
BREAKS
Ben Hatch: 34.
Riley Ellis: 27, 25.
Bowen Zhu: 23, 22.
BRONZE RESULTS
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP A: 1st, Chloe White (Copnor SC, Portsmouth); 2nd, Bowen Zhu (Chandler’s Ford SC); 3rd, Arnie Petty (Salisbury SC); 4th, Ozzy Rea (Greenbaize, Bournemouth); 5th, Ben Tillison (Copnor SC, Portsmouth).
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP B: 1st, Ryan Hughes (Chandler’s Ford SC); 2nd, Riley Ellis (Jesters, Swindon); 3rd, Oli Line (Chandler’s Ford SC); 4th, Connor Shaw (Greenbaize, Bournemouth); 5th, Jack Ratcliffe (Jesters, Swindon).
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP C: 1st, Ben Hatch (Southampton); 2nd, Rio Smith (Copnor SC, Portsmouth); 3rd, Shane Kearns (Jesters, Swindon); 4th, Callum White (Copnor SC, Portsmouth).
QUARTER-FINALS (12 points): Chloe White 2 Line 1, Hughes 2 Petty 0, Hatch 2 Ellis 0, Zhu 2 Smith 1.
SEMI-FINALS (15 points): Hughes 2 Chloe White 0, Zhu 2 Hatch 0.
FINAL (25/18 points): Zhu 2 Hughes 1.
Consolation for Charlie
CHARLIE Pringle responded to the bitter disappointment of losing a three-way play-off in the Silver Tour group stages by clinching the Plate trophy.
The 14-year-old from Chandler’s Ford beat Gold Tour player Reece King in the final.
PLATE RESULTS (ONE-FRAME MATCHES)
PRELIMS: Ben Tillison (Copnor SC, Portsmouth) beat Connor Shaw (Greenbaize, Bournemouth), Reece King (Greenbaize, Bournemouth) beat Keegan Reed (Salisbury SC), Jack Ratcliffe (Jesters, Swindon) beat Callum White (Copnor SC, Portsmouth).
QUARTER-FINALS: King beat Tillison, Shane Kearns (Jesters, Swindon) beat White, Kaine Petty (Salisbury SC) beat Ally Pollard (Salisbury SC), Charlie Pringle (Chandler’s Ford SC) beat Nat Kidner (Greenbaize, Bournemouth).
SEMI-FINALS: King beat Petty, Pringle beat Kearns.
FINAL: Pringle beat King.
Tim Dunkley (World Snooker coach)
Olly Gibbs, who was suffering with a sore neck, did it the hard way in the fourth leg at Greenbaize Snooker Club, Bournemouth.
The 12-year-old defeated new rankings leader Steven Hughes, his clubmate from Chandler’s For SC, 2-1 from 1-0 down in the final. He took the second frame by a distance and the decider on the blue.
“I had a very tough game against Steven Hughes,” said Gibbs. “He played well and gave me a good match.”
Earlier, he qualified for the knockout on frames difference as one of the two best third-place finishers from the three groups of five.
“I didn’t expect to get though the groups after finishing third in my group of five,” he admitted.
“I then played James Beaven (Coulsdon) in the quarter-finals and I thought I was going to lose after I left him an easy pink. But, fortunately, he rattled it, leaving it over the pocket.
“And in the semi-finals, I had a tough game against Connor Benzey (Eastleigh), in which I trailed 1-0 but made a comeback to win 2-1.
“I was very happy to get home after a long day and a well-earnt curry - although my neck is a bit sore.”
Hughes, who is sponsored by Vankru Cycling, had won all four round-robin matches, which included a 2-1 victory over Gibbs.
Three Silver players notched up their highest breaks during the day’s action. At the age of ten years and 29 days, Oliver Sykes (Chandler’s Ford) made his first half-century – a 52 in a 2-1 group-stage defeat by Aidan Murphy.
Murphy (Bristol) increased his personal best to 47 against Ally Pollard (Alderholt), who chalked up a first 40 against Drew Hampshire (Swindon).
And home player Adam Cowdroy qualified for the knockout for the first time on the Silver Tour the day after recording his highest break of 38 with a new cue that still had a transit tip, which he chalked just once as he had left his chalk at home.
The fifth leg of eight is at Woking Snooker Centre on Sunday, February 7.
BREAKS
Oliver Sykes: 52.
Aidan Murphy: 47.
Charlie Pringle: 45.
Ally Pollard: 40.
James Beaven: 33.
Connor Benzey: 32.
Drew Hampshire: 30.
SILVER RESULTS
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP A: 1st, Aidan Murphy (Bristol Conservative Club); 2nd, Oliver Sykes (Chandler’s Ford SC); 3rd, Drew Hampshire (147 SC, Swindon); 4th, Ally Pollard (Salisbury SC); 5th, Nat Kidner (Greenbaize SC, Bournemouth).
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP B: 1st, James Beaven (Frames Sports Bar, Coulsdon); 2nd, Adam Cowdroy (Greenbaize, Bournemouth); 3rd, Connor Benzey (Chandler’s Ford SC); 4th, Charlie Pringle (Chandler’s Ford SC); 5th, Kaine Petty (Salisbury SC).
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP C: 1st, Steven Hughes (Chandler’s Ford SC); 2nd, David O’Callaghan (Greenbaize, Bournemouth); 3rd, Olly Gibbs (Chandler’s Ford SC); 4th, David Rice (Salisbury SC); 5th, Keegan Reed (Salisbury SC).
QUARTER-FINALS (12 points): Benzey 2 Murphy 0, Gibbs 2 Beaven 1, Hughes 2 Cowdroy 0, Sykes 2 O’Callaghan 0.
SEMI-FINALS (15 points): Gibbs 2 Benzey 1, Hughes 2 Sykes 0.
FINAL (25/18 points): Gibbs 2 Hughes 1.
Former Bronze champion strikes Gold
A TROWBRIDGE teenage potter admitted it was a “relief” to see the match-winning pink drop into the pocket in his first Cuestars South of England Under-21 Gold Tour final.
Callum Browne was “determined” to prevent a repeat of his previous encounter with the awesome 13-year-old Bradley Cowdroy.
Cowdroy had clawed back a two-frame deficit to prevail 3-2 in the quarter-finals of last month’s event in Coulsdon.
And when the pair met again in the final of the fourth leg, Browne again took a 2-0 lead and again his left-handed opponent - playing on home tables at Greenbaize Snooker Club, Bournemouth - pulled one back. But a second bite of the cherry on the long pink in the fourth saw the 16-year-old over the line.
Browne said: “I was thinking ‘not again’. I was really determined.
“It was nerve-wracking. I didn’t really expect to get to the final because in the semi-final I was 1-0 down to James Budd, who I don’t think I’ve ever beaten before.”
Budd (Fareham) congratulated Browne on his win and added: “The last three pots he made (against me) were excellent and he held his nerve together really well.”
Browne, who attends The Clarendon Academy, is based at Player’s, Westbury, and also competes on the EASB Regional Junior Tour South.
He won the Cuestars Bronze Tour rankings title in his first full season in 2010/11, claimed one tournament win during three years on the Silver Tour and joined the Gold Tour in 2014/15.
Browne and Brad Chappell (Poole) are joint second in the rankings - one point behind Mark Lloyd, who was competing in the European Under-17 Open Championship in Malta. Two successive final defeats has taken Cowdroy up to joint fifth.
Home player Reece King recorded the day’s highest break of 56 in his first group-stage match against Budd.
The fifth leg of eight is at Woking Snooker Centre on Sunday, February 7.
BREAKS
Reece King: 56, 43.
James Budd: 52.
Bradley Cowdroy: 51, 47, 45.
Anthony Rice: 45, 41.
Brad Chappell: 44.
GOLD RESULTS
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP A: 1st, Brad Chappell (Greenbaize, Bournemouth); 2nd, Callum Browne (Player’s, Westbury); 3rd, Nathan Farmer (Stoke SC, Gosport); 4th, Mike Trigg (Chandler’s Ford SC).
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP B: 1st, Bradley Cowdroy (Greenbaize, Bournemouth); 2nd, James Budd (Fareham SC); 3rd, Mickey Joyce (Chandler’s Ford SC); 4th, Reece King (Greenbaize, Bournemouth).
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP C: 1st, Anthony Rice (Salisbury SC); 2nd, Jamie Wilson (Copnor SC, Portsmouth); 3rd, Dan Sykes (Chandler’s Ford SC); 4th, Callum McDonald (Salisbury SC).
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP D: 1st,; 2nd,; 3rd, Jonny Mutch (Cambridge SC); 4th,.
QUARTER-FINALS (12 points): Chappell 2 Joyce 0, Cowdroy 2 Farmer 1, Budd 2 Rice 0, Browne 2 Wilson 0.
SEMI-FINALS (15 points): Cowdroy 2 Chappell 1, Browne 2 Budd 1.
FINAL (£40/£20 25/18 points): Browne 3 Cowdroy 1.
11-year-old veteran claims first win
AN 11-YEAR-OLD from Chandler’s Ford who has been competing in a junior league since the age of five has won his first tournament away from his home club.
Bowen Zhu “surprised” himself by claiming the fourth leg of the Cuestars South of England Under-21 Bronze Tour at Greenbaize Snooker Club, Bournemouth.
“It was exhilarating,” he said. “Because I’d never got that far before and I wasn’t expecting to go that far so I’m quite surprised at myself.
“My goal was to get to the semi-final. To get to the final was just amazing.”
Reflecting on the deciding frame of a 2-1 victory over Ryan Hughes, a fellow member of Chandler’s Ford Snooker Club, Zhu said: “It was a close battle.
“Ryan was a bit unlucky because a lot of his shots didn’t go to plan.
“It was better that I knew him because I sort of know his tactics but he also knows some of mine so it evens itself out.”
Zhu accounted for rankings leader Ben Tillison (Portsmouth) in the group stages but qualified for the knockout in second place behind Chloe White (Portsmouth).
A 2-1 victory over Rio Smith (Portsmouth) and a 2-0 win against Ben Hatch (Southampton), who compiled a personal best 34 break in his first match against Smith, booked Zhu a first appearance in a final.
A Year 6 pupil at Knightwood Primary School, Zhu made his debut in the Eastleigh & District Under-13 League at the age of five.
White beat Oli Line (Botley) 2-0 in the last-eight to make the semi-finals for the first time. Arnie Petty (Fordingbridge) qualified for the knockout for the first time at his 14th attempt.
Tillison, who won two of the three previous legs, made a shock group-stage exit but still leads the rankings by five points from Hughes. Zhu is four points further back in third.
The fifth leg of eight is at Woking Snooker Centre on Sunday, February 7.
BREAKS
Ben Hatch: 34.
Riley Ellis: 27, 25.
Bowen Zhu: 23, 22.
BRONZE RESULTS
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP A: 1st, Chloe White (Copnor SC, Portsmouth); 2nd, Bowen Zhu (Chandler’s Ford SC); 3rd, Arnie Petty (Salisbury SC); 4th, Ozzy Rea (Greenbaize, Bournemouth); 5th, Ben Tillison (Copnor SC, Portsmouth).
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP B: 1st, Ryan Hughes (Chandler’s Ford SC); 2nd, Riley Ellis (Jesters, Swindon); 3rd, Oli Line (Chandler’s Ford SC); 4th, Connor Shaw (Greenbaize, Bournemouth); 5th, Jack Ratcliffe (Jesters, Swindon).
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP C: 1st, Ben Hatch (Southampton); 2nd, Rio Smith (Copnor SC, Portsmouth); 3rd, Shane Kearns (Jesters, Swindon); 4th, Callum White (Copnor SC, Portsmouth).
QUARTER-FINALS (12 points): Chloe White 2 Line 1, Hughes 2 Petty 0, Hatch 2 Ellis 0, Zhu 2 Smith 1.
SEMI-FINALS (15 points): Hughes 2 Chloe White 0, Zhu 2 Hatch 0.
FINAL (25/18 points): Zhu 2 Hughes 1.
Consolation for Charlie
CHARLIE Pringle responded to the bitter disappointment of losing a three-way play-off in the Silver Tour group stages by clinching the Plate trophy.
The 14-year-old from Chandler’s Ford beat Gold Tour player Reece King in the final.
PLATE RESULTS (ONE-FRAME MATCHES)
PRELIMS: Ben Tillison (Copnor SC, Portsmouth) beat Connor Shaw (Greenbaize, Bournemouth), Reece King (Greenbaize, Bournemouth) beat Keegan Reed (Salisbury SC), Jack Ratcliffe (Jesters, Swindon) beat Callum White (Copnor SC, Portsmouth).
QUARTER-FINALS: King beat Tillison, Shane Kearns (Jesters, Swindon) beat White, Kaine Petty (Salisbury SC) beat Ally Pollard (Salisbury SC), Charlie Pringle (Chandler’s Ford SC) beat Nat Kidner (Greenbaize, Bournemouth).
SEMI-FINALS: King beat Petty, Pringle beat Kearns.
FINAL: Pringle beat King.
Tim Dunkley (World Snooker coach)
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