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Ford retains Seniors Championship

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  • Ford retains Seniors Championship

    BERKSHIRE snooker ace Matt Ford is £200 richer after retaining his Cuestars Seniors Championship title.

    But the 43-year-old from Bracknell didn’t have it all his own way in the end-of-season finale at The Crucible Sports & Social Club, Newbury.

    Ford lost 2-1 to Mike Quinnell (Bexley) in the group stages and edged Jon Charlton (Haslemere) 3-2 on a re-spotted black from 2-0 down in the last-eight.

    And he came back from 1-0 down to beat Neil Craycraft (Didcot) 3-1 in the final.

    The two powerhouses of the over-40’s circuit were squaring up to each other in the title decider for the second year running.

    Craycraft edged a 25-minute opener on the blue but Ford moved up a gear and ripped through the next three frames in just 28 minutes with breaks of 74, 48 and 52.

    Renowned for his quick-fire, attacking style, Ford admitted: “The longer the frame, the less chance I have of winning it.”

    And he added: “In amongst the balls, I felt I wasn’t going to miss.

    “This club’s very lucky for me. I’ve won a lot of tournaments here and I’ve played well in the World Seniors here. I always seem to get the run of the ball here.”

    The 17-strong field, who were competing for a whopping £420 prize pot, returned 33 breaks of 40 or more.

    Quinnell knocked in the highest group-stage break of 66 against Lawrence Millington (Bournemouth).

    But that was eclipsed by rankings winner John Hunter’s 81 in a 3-0 quarter-final victory over Neil Carroll (Rownhams).

    Hunter (Andover) then lost a fifth-frame decider to Ford in the last-four while Craycraft dispatched Wayne Muddiman (Southampton) 3-0 in the second semi.

    BREAKS

    John Hunter: 81, 65, 49, 46, 40
    Matt Ford: 74, 56, 55, 52, 51, 48, 46.
    Mike Quinnell: 66, 43, 43.
    Jon Charlton: 59, 50, 46, 42.
    Wayne Muddiman: 53, 47, 42, 42.
    Neil Craycraft: 50, 46, 42, 42, 40, 40.
    Neil Carroll: 49.
    John Monckton: 46.
    Carl Davies: 45.
    Martin Wallace: 44.

    ROUND-ROBIN GROUP POSITIONS

    GROUP A: 1st, John Hunter (Salisbury SC); 2nd, Wayne Muddiman (Chandlers Ford Central); 3rd, Andrew Darken (Chertsey SSNR Club); 4th, Paul Burt (Salisbury SC).

    GROUP B: 1st, Mike Quinnell (Old Bexley Ex-Servicemen’s Club); 2nd, Matt Ford (Sunninghill Comrades Club); 3rd, Lawrence Millington (St James Institute, Bournemouth); 4th, Stephen Hills (Traders, Northfleet).

    GROUP C: 1st, Martin Wallace (Crucible, Newbury); 2nd, Neil Carroll (Chandlers Ford SC); 3rd, Carl Davies (St James Institute, Bournemouth); 4th, Chris Rigby (Chertsey SSNR Club).

    GROUP D: 1st, Jon Charlton (Aldingbourne Social Club, Chichester); 2nd, Neil Craycraft (Jesters, Swindon); 3rd, John Monckton (Woking SC); 4th, Darren Johnson (Petersfield Bowls & Snooker Club); 5th, Neil Herd (Salisbury SC).

    KNOCKOUT RESULTS

    QUARTER-FINALS (£15): Hunter 3-0 Carroll, Ford 3-2 Charlton, Craycraft 3-0 Quinnell, Muddiman 3-1 Wallace.

    SEMI-FINALS (£40): Ford 3-2 Hunter, Craycraft 3-0 Muddiman.

    FINAL (£200/£80): Ford 3-1 Craycraft.

    Tim Dunkley (World Snooker coach)
    http://www.snooker-coach.co.uk
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