EASB Pro-Ticket and Junior reports from Tim Dunkley
EASB
Regional Junior Tour (South)
FOR the second time this
season all four of the region’s representatives on the EASB Premier Junior
Tour reached the knockout stage.
Alex
Dunkley (Bursledon), Billy Castle (Marchwood), Dan Hildyard (Fair Oak) and Nick
Jennings (Otterbourne) qualified from the round-robin groups at event three of
six at Hazel Grove SC, Stockport.
Dunkley
posted a 101 in a 4-2 victory over Chris Batey (Plymouth) in the last 32. It was
the 20-year-old’s 42nd tournament ton and a sixth in the last five RJT
tournaments.
He
then beat Lee Shanker (Derby) 4-2 with an 84 but lost 4-1 in the last eight to
England under-19 international Liam Highfield, who fired in breaks of 113, 95
and 80.
Castle,
second in his group, beat Ryan Causton (London) 4-3, but went out in a tight
last-16 match to EASB national under-16 champion and tournament winner Sam
Craigie (Newcastle).
The
16-year-old missed a cut on the green for 3-2 and Craigie cleared with a 45. In
the sixth frame, Castle missed a tricky cutback black and Craigie won with 56.
Jennings,
ranked joint fifth with Dunkley on the tour for the country’s top-48
under-21s, lost 4-0 to his old rival and England under-19 ace Michael Wasley
(Gloucester) in the last 16 after beating Gene Lam (Leeds) 4-2.
Despite
chalking up a 97 in a 3-0 victory against Dunkley, Hildyard ended second in the
group. The 18-year-old lost 4-0 in the first round to Ryan Mears (Aldershot).
Group
results:
Dunkley:
3-0 Anthony Jeffers (Liverpool), 3-0 Ryan Causton (London), 3-0 Darren Cook (Hartlepool),
0-3 Dan Hildyard.
Castle:
3-1 Gareth Green
(Bradford), 3-1 Dale Branton (Plymouth), 2-3 Mitchell Mann (Birmingham), 3-1
Richard Binns (Leeds), 3-0 Matthew Jelley (Leicester).
Jennings:
3-1 Darrell Whitworth (Bedford), 3-1 Lee Shanker (Derby), 3-0 Jake Nicholson (Yorks),
2-3 Tony Marshall (Dagenham), 3-1 George Marter (Parkstone).
Hildyard:
3-0 Alex Dunkley, 3-0 Ryan Causton, 0-3 Anthony Jeffers, 2-3 Darren Cook.
earlier news
SHANE Castle is just two
tournaments away from being ranked among England’s top-48 under-21 amateurs.
And
he is still only ten-years-old.
Castle
won his first tournament on the EASB Regional Junior Tour (South) and his proud
coach Dave Mumford was at Fareham SC watching the drama unfold.
“It
was the best match snooker I’ve seen him play,” said the 40-year-old.
Sixth
last season on the feeder circuit for the EASB Premier Junior Tour, the England
under-14 international from Marchwood has never failed to reach the knockout
stage in nine competitions since making his debut.
After
easing through the group stages with three victories, he defeated Haydon Pinhey
(Plymouth) 2-0, Mitchell Grinsted (Plymouth) 2-1 and Liam Tinne (Salisbury) 2-0
to set up a final clash with event-one winner Kurtis Weaver.
Castle
posted a 40 to take the first frame. Weaver (Bristol), leading by 20 points in
the second, missed a red to the corner and Castle wrapped up a 2-0 victory with
a 68 - the day’s highest.
Mumford
said: “He’s done fabulous. He deserves it; he worked hard. The great thing
about Shane was that he got stronger as it went on; that impressed me more than
anything.”
Castle
pocketed £150 plus £10 for the break.
Second
in the rankings after three tournaments, he travels to Plymouth in January and
Romford in March bidding for a top three automatic promotion spot.
World
Snooker coach Mumford revealed that a three-hour practice session the previous
evening had sharpened up the budding star.
“I
felt he was slightly underdone,” he explained.
“He
knows that for Plymouth we’re going to put a lot more effort in. He’s going
to be a little bit more focused. We’ll make sure he’s absolutely on the
money.
“He’s
got to try and maintain his position now. If he gets to the last eight and
beyond, I think he’ll qualify.”
Jordan
Winbourne (Hedge End) scored a fine 3-0 victory over rankings leader Lawrence
Oliver (Milton Keynes) and defeated England pool international Jack Smithers
(Surrey) 2-1 to top his five-man group. The 12-year-old went out 2-1 to Oliver
in the last 16.
Playing
on his home tables, Adam Bobat, 12, lost 2-1 in the quarter-finals to Weaver.
EASB
Pro-Ticket Tour
NICK Jennings “got
drilled” 4-0 by England international Daniel Ward (West Mids) in the last 32
of the EASB Pro-Ticket Tour event one at Woking SC.
But
the 17-year-old from Otterbourne picked up valuable ranking points, beating the
2008 national under-19 finalist Ben Harrison (Trowbridge) 4-1 and Kent-based
Gary Miller 4-1.
A
top-33 spot after the six events would earn Jennings a one-tournament shot at
turning professional.
EASB
Premier Junior Tour
Ten-year-old
Shane Castle, from Marchwood, and Jason Hildyard, 16, from Fair Oak, took
advantage of home territory at Chandler’s Ford SC to earn valuable ranking
points in their bid for promotion to the elite Premier Tour.
It
was approaching 11pm as Castle lost 2-1 in the last four to Lawrence Oliver
(Milton Keynes).
Needing
two snookers, Castle screwed the white tight behind the black, which was close
to the cushion, but watched in horror as the pink disappeared into the corner
pocket.
The
England under-14 international won four out of five in the group stages and
posted breaks of 66 and 67. In the knockout, he eased past Jamie Southall
(Winchester) and Ollie Tydeman (C/Ford) both 2-0.
Hildyard
recorded a best ever finish on the tour despite losing his first match 3-0 to
Sean O’Sullivan (London). He recovered well to win his remaining group games.
In
the knockout he beat Jake Stewart (Redruth) 2-1 on the final black and Tom
Vanstone (Plymouth) 2-0, but lost 2-0 to the eventual tournament winner Kurtis
Weaver (Bristol).
“I
was really surprised to get so far,” said Hildyard. “I’ve never got past
the last 16 before.”
Despite
adding a Midlands section to the tour, the EASB was caught out by a 36-strong
entry - three more than the corresponding event last season.
In
the groups: Jordan Winbourne (Hedge End) beat England Under-16 B international
Weaver 2-1, Jordan Sainsbury (C/Ford) posted his highest match break of 55 on
his debut and Tydeman (C/Ford) stunned Phil O’Kane with breaks of 61, 91, 56
and 50 in a 3-0 win.
Adam
Bobat (Fareham) lost in the last 16 to Oliver.
The
top three after five events gain automatic promotion spots to join the
country’s top-48 under-21s on the EASB Premier Junior Tour.
FOR the first time the
region has four representatives on the elite EASB Premier Junior Tour for the
top-48 under-21s in England.
The
awesome foursome all reached the knockout stage of event one of six at Willie
Thorne's SC, Leicester. And three posted centuries.
Alex
Dunkley (Bursledon) recorded his 39th tournament ton in the group stages, a 107
in a 3-2 win against John Astley (Gateshead).
The
20-year-old also beat Dale Branton (Plymouth) 3-1 and Gareth Green (Bradford)
3-1 but lost 3-1 to Ben Harrison (Westbury) and Jack Lisowski (Gloucester) who
knocked in a 133.
In
the last 32 he beat EASB national under-14 champion Joel Walker (Sheffield) 4-1
but went out 4-0 to under-16 champion Sam Craigie (Newcastle) in the last 16.
Making
his debut on the tour, Nick Jennings (Otterbourne) beat Sydney Wilson
(Leigh-on-Sea) 3-0, Kevin Yates (Derby) 3-2 and Gene Lam (Leeds) 3-0.
He
lost 3-2 to Alan Moore (Chelmsford) and 3-0 to Liam Highfield (Newcastle-under-Lyme)
who had earlier scored a 147.
The
17-year-old potted a 105 in a 4-1 victory over Sam Harvey (Bedford) in the
knockout but made a last-16 exit to Michael Wasley (Gloucester) 4-2.
Dan
Hildyard (Fair Oak) won his group without losing a match and chalked up a 110
clearance, his fifth competitive century, against Thomas Pendlebury.
Wins
against Sam Craigie (Newcastle) 3-1, Darren Cook (Hartlepool) 3-0, Jake
Nicholson (Tadcaster) 3-2, Pendlebury (Bolton) 3-2 and Darrel Whitworth
(Bedford) 3-1 took the 17-year-old through to the last 32.
He
ran out of steam, losing 4-2 to Sam Thistlewhite (Sheffield).
Also
making his debut, Billy Castle (Marchwood) beat Callum Waite (Harrogate) 3-1,
Michael Astley (Gateshead) 3-0 and Lee Shanker (Derby) 3-1.
He
lost 3-1 to England under-16 colleague Luke McEvoy (Halifax), 3-0 to Stuart
Carrington (Grimsby) and 4-0 in the last 32 to Nathan Jones (Kings Lynn).
earlier reports
SOUTHAMPTON’S Premier
Division could have four players on the EASB Premier Junior Tour next season.
Nick
Jennings has been confirmed as first reserve to join the country’s top 48
under-21s in September.
He
finishing runner-up in his group in Leeds at the play-off between the bottom six
from the Premier and the five players from each of the two feeder circuits
ranked below the four automatic promotion spots.
After
missing two of the six events on the EASB Regional Junior Tour South and
finishing 11th, the 16-year-old from Otterbourne thought his chance had gone.
But
two weeks ago during a practice session with world No 41 Judd Trump in Bristol,
Jennings received a phone call from John Hartley, chairman of the EASB
tournament committee, offering him a place as some of the relegated players had
declined.
Jennings,
dubbed The Otter Potter, posted breaks of 73, 58, 49 and 43 and lost only two
matches, against Sam Thistlewhite (Sheffield) 3-0 and Tom Kerslake (Nottingham)
2-1.
He
beat Sean O’Sullivan (London) 3-0, James Sumner (Bournemouth) 2-1, Shane
Castle (Marchwood) 2-1, Luke Campey (Leeds) 3-0 and Gareth Green (Bradford) 3-0.
An
EASB spokesman said if one of the 48 young stars fails to rejoin the tour, as is
likely, Jennings will join Churchills’ teammates Billy Castle and Dan
Hildyard, and Sarisbury Social’s Alex Dunkley on the national circuit.
The
youngest player in the competition must wait another year.
Ten-year-old
Shane Castle (Marchwood) chalked up breaks of 68 and 55, and finished seventh in
his group.
In
a remarkable debut season, Castle, who signed up purely for the experience,
qualified for the play-off by finishing sixth out of the 39 under-21s in the
southern section.
Coach
Dave Mumford said: “I entered him in this
event so that he understood what standard of play is required to compete and win
at this level. To get as far as he has done at his age is a superb achievement
in itself.”
EASB
national under-14 final
Trailing
3-0, the 12-year-old, who attends The Henry Cort Community College, pulled one
frame back with a 43 before the mid-session interval at the World Snooker
Academy in the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield.
The
more experienced Walker, 13, who finished 22nd on the EASB Premier Junior Tour,
took the next in his home city and wrapped up the match in the sixth on the
final black after Bobat had posted a 41.
Mum
Gail said: “It was a good match. Although the final score didn’t look very
impressive the actual games were very close.
“Joel
didn’t outplay Adam, he just pipped him to the post in some of the frames.”
Dad
Mo admitted it was disappointing and added: “It’s all part of the learning
curve. He’s done really well to get that far.”
previous news
ALEX Dunkley knocked in a
monster 138 total clearance during an “awful” day in Stockport.
At
the sixth and final event on the EASB Premier Junior Tour at Hazel Grove SC,
Dunkley chalked up his highest ever break and 36th tournament ton in the first
frame of a 3-2 defeat by James Silverwood (Lancaster).
Dunkley
beat Darryl Whitworth (Bedford) 3-2 but lost 3-0 to Mark Green (Salisbury) and
3-1 to Darren Cook (Hartlepool), despite taking the first with a 78.
Fair Oak’s Dan Hildyard also won just one group match to finish a disappointing tour for the 17-year-old.
BILLY
Castle is looking forward to competing against “the big boys” after just one
season on the feeder circuit.
But
the flu-ridden youngster was made to sweat on three other results after a
last-16 exit in the final event of the EASB Regional Junior Tour South in
Keynsham.
A
2-0 defeat by Sean O’Sullivan (London) left Castle relying on his promotion
rivals being knocked out to gain an automatic promotion spot and join the
country’s elite top 48 under-21s on the EASB Premier Junior Tour.
The
Marchwood 15-year-old watched as his cousin Shane stayed fifth after losing 2-0
to rankings leader Ben Harrison in the last eight.
And
the Castle family was celebrating as Kings Lynn teenager Nathan Jones disposed
of Sean Harvey (Bedford) and fought back from 1-0 down to beat O’Sullivan 2-1.
Delighted
dad Derek said: “It’s what we’ve worked for.
“I
had it all worked out, right to the last point. If Shane had got to the semis
he’d have taken the fourth spot or if Sean had got there he’d have taken
it.”
Castle
joins Alex Dunkley (Bursledon), currently seventh, and Dan Hildyard (Fair Oak),
31st, as the third player from Chandler’s Ford SC to compete on the tour next
season.
Castle
said: “I wanted to get on there to play the best. That’s where you’re
going to learn, from the best.”
The
youngster nearly missed out after going down with flu.
A
doctor was called out two days before the sixth tournament of the series and the
decision to travel was made on the day.
Chandler’s
Ford SC owner Jim Everett said: “I’m sure he'll do well and lift his game,
but he'll need to practice more and focus his mind on improving his game.
“Playing
better players will always improve a player.”
EASB
spokesman John Hartley quashed rumours that promotion may be extended down to
fifth place as Premier Junior Tour star Stephen Craigie has gained a place on
the pro-circuit after being crowned European under-19 champion in Glasgow.
This
would have made Shane, ten, the youngest ever player on the circuit.
Hartley
said: “It’s definitely only four going up automatically and the next five
are guaranteed to go in the play-offs.”
previous news
EASB
Pro-Ticket Tour event five at Woking
NICK Jennings pocketed £50
for winning one frame and Alex Dunkley picked up the same amount for winning
two, at the EASB Pro-Ticket Tour event five at Woking SC.
Both
players received a bye in the last 128 and Jennings (Otterbourne) received a
walkover in the next as Graham Cripsey (Skegness) failed to show.
Jennings,
16, lost 4-1 in the last 32 to the eventual tournament winner Wayne Cooper
(Bradford).
Alex
Dunkley, ranked 17th, received a two-frame start as Graham Beardmore (Stoke) was
stuck in football traffic. The 19-year-old from Bursledon made a 73 in a 4-1
victory but was turned over 4-0 by 20-year-old ex-professional Lee Page
(Kidderminster).
TWO century breaks and the
scalps of four current internationals took Alex Dunkley to a first ever final on
the EASB Premier Junior Tour.
The
Bursledon teenager climbed to seventh among the country’s top 48 under-21s
after losing 4-3 to Pontin’s under-21 champion Adam Duffy (Sheffield) in the
event-five final in Leeds.
“At
3-1 down I had nothing to lose,” admitted Dunkley.
“I
just wanted to prove I deserved to be there. I was disappointed not to get a
better chance in the decider.”
Dunkley
beat James Murdoch (Sheffield) 3-1 with a 75 and Dale Branton (Plymouth) 3-1 but
lost 3-2 to Stuart Carrington (Grimsby) despite rattling in breaks of 107 and
55.
A
3-1 victory over English under-19 champion John Astley (Gateshead), who
represented his country at the 2007 Home Internationals, saw the 19-year-old
safely through the group stages.
Dunkley
swept aside three more England players in the next day’s knockout.
He
beat Kyren Wilson (Kettering) 4-3, rankings leader Stephen Craigie (Newcastle)
4-2 with a 111, his 35th tournament ton, and Steven Gregson (York) 4-2.
Dunkley,
who pocketed £140, is now one of the eight seeded players for event six in
Stockport.