Dan Hildyard
Dan the Man beats Mann
FAIR Oak teenager Dan
Hildyard took the scalp of England Under-16 captain Mitchell Mann on the EASB
Premier Junior Tour in Leeds.
The
16-year-old reaffirmed his position among the country’s top 30 under-21s with
a 3-2 victory over Mann, 15, in the group stages at the Northern SC.
Mann
(Birmingham), who recorded a 147 maximum break in a practice match last year, is
the 2007 Junior Pot Black champion and two weeks ago led his country to success
in the Home Internationals at Prestatyn.
And
it was Mann’s England teammate Kyren Wilson who halted Hildyard’s progress
in the knockout.
Hildyard
finished second in his group on frame difference after wins over Luke McEvoy
(Halifax) 3-0, Ryan Clark (Hartlepool) 3-1, Surjit Saund 3-2 and a 3-1 defeat by
Wilson (Kettering).
The
following day he faced Wilson, again, in the last 16 and went down 4-1.
Hildyard,
ranked 26th last season, said: “It felt really good beating a top player like
Mitchell Mann.
“I
just wish I could have beaten Kyren Wilson in the last 16."
Dad
Steve added: "He wasn't firing on all cylinders, but his experience and
excellent safety play is what got him so far in the competition."
FAIR Oak teenager Dan Hildyard’s 20-hours a week practice paid dividends with victory in this week’s Chandler’s Ford £1,000 Under-21 Roll-Up final.
A 61 clearance clinched a 2-0 win over Ollie Tydeman that lifted the former Wyvern schoolboy to second place, 22 points behind Shane Castle with six of the 20 weeks to play.
Hildyard was forced to play a cannon off the final blue as pink and black were almost touching.
A soft screw on a tricky pink into the middle left him perfect on the black.
The 16-year-old recorded 3-1 wins against Eastleigh’s Glenn Shefford, 15, and Peter Maraziotis (West End), and knocked in breaks of 53 and 56 in a 3-1 semis victory over brother Jason.
“I’m playing really well at the moment,” said Hildyard, who has been practising four hours a day all summer.
“During the week, I’m making 80s, 90s and 100s. I give Sunday a break because that’s the only day I have free of snooker.”
Dad Steve, an EASB referee, observed that his son’s performance was “better than I’ve seen him play for a little while”.
The three-time Roll-Up champion is hoping to win sponsorship from the South of England Cuestars Foundation to finance entry into the EASB under-19 national championships and a second EASB Premier Junior Tour season.
Hildyard finished 26th last term but is aiming for a top 15 place this year.
“He’s already got £100 sponsorship for winning the team event,” explained Steve. “But he can win another £100 if he does well at the trials.”
Jason Hildyard won a first-round match for the first time in eight weeks.
The 14-year-old beat Hedge End’s Jordan Winbourne, 11, 3-1 and won 3-2 against Alex Dunkley (Bursledon), who rattled in 56 against Jack Hyom, 17, in the previous round.
Arron McIntyre (Hiltingbury) beat his highest break by one.
The 18-year-old rattled in 76 against Shane Castle (Marchwood) in the Plate and beat Winbourne 3-2 in the final.
Defending champion Billy Castle, 15, ran in 59 against Tydeman and 75 against McIntyre – but lost both matches.
Left-hander Tydeman, 17, saw off Kevin Impett (Totton) 3-1 and 16-year-old Lee Roling 3-2 to reach a first final since the beginning of January.