Tweet
LEICESTER ace Louis Heathcote reckons “not bottling it in tricky situations” was key to landing a first tournament win on the EASB Premier Junior Tour.
Heathcote improved throughout the weekend at Cambridge Snooker Centre to break his duck in the second leg on the circuit for the country’s top-48 amateurs aged under-21.
“I’m delighted,” declared the 16-year-old, who pocketed £200 prize money. “I just never thought I’d win it.
“I’ve been practising a lot and that’s why I have gone up the rankings. I’ve become more consistent so that’s helped me.”
And he added: “I’m not bottling it in tricky situations like I used to!”
Heathcote qualified in third place from his group but his confidence and ply improved throughout the tournament. He hardly put a foot wrong in a 4-1 victory over Sam Harvey in the final.
Harvey’s imperious (great word from tournament director Dan Lewis) form meant long waits between matches and he started to run out of steam in the semi-finals before being outplayed in the final.
Promoted to the tour via the play-offs in 2012, Heathcote ended last season ranked 20th. The Cambridge win took him up to second, behind leg-one winner Luke Garland (Dudley) who made a quarter-final exit.
Meanwhile, Londoner Peter Devlin, who had never before progressed from the group stages, was edged 4-3 by Harvey in the last-eight.
In that match, Harvey (Haynes, near Bedford) earned himself the high-break prize of £25 for a 130 total clearance.
That was one of four centuries scored over the two days. In additional, the lads posted 74 breaks of 50 or more.
Stoke potter Brandon Sargeant also recorded his best set of results. After finishing third in his group, he won two knockout matches before losing a seventh-frame decider to Heathcote in the last-eight.
And there was a welcome return to the tour for Billy O’Connor (Dagenham), who was diagnosed with cancer during last season.
The 16-year-old England international arrived with no expectation of winning a frame - let alone a match - having not been able to practise for some weeks.
Remarkably, O’Connor defeated Heathcote 3-1 in the group stages and qualified for the knockout where he took a frame off Jordan Winbourne (Southampton).
The third leg of eight is at the Atack Snooker Club, Nuneaton, on the weekend of February 1-2.
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.
Heathcote improved throughout the weekend at Cambridge Snooker Centre to break his duck in the second leg on the circuit for the country’s top-48 amateurs aged under-21.
“I’m delighted,” declared the 16-year-old, who pocketed £200 prize money. “I just never thought I’d win it.
“I’ve been practising a lot and that’s why I have gone up the rankings. I’ve become more consistent so that’s helped me.”
And he added: “I’m not bottling it in tricky situations like I used to!”
Heathcote qualified in third place from his group but his confidence and ply improved throughout the tournament. He hardly put a foot wrong in a 4-1 victory over Sam Harvey in the final.
Harvey’s imperious (great word from tournament director Dan Lewis) form meant long waits between matches and he started to run out of steam in the semi-finals before being outplayed in the final.
Promoted to the tour via the play-offs in 2012, Heathcote ended last season ranked 20th. The Cambridge win took him up to second, behind leg-one winner Luke Garland (Dudley) who made a quarter-final exit.
Meanwhile, Londoner Peter Devlin, who had never before progressed from the group stages, was edged 4-3 by Harvey in the last-eight.
In that match, Harvey (Haynes, near Bedford) earned himself the high-break prize of £25 for a 130 total clearance.
That was one of four centuries scored over the two days. In additional, the lads posted 74 breaks of 50 or more.
Stoke potter Brandon Sargeant also recorded his best set of results. After finishing third in his group, he won two knockout matches before losing a seventh-frame decider to Heathcote in the last-eight.
And there was a welcome return to the tour for Billy O’Connor (Dagenham), who was diagnosed with cancer during last season.
The 16-year-old England international arrived with no expectation of winning a frame - let alone a match - having not been able to practise for some weeks.
Remarkably, O’Connor defeated Heathcote 3-1 in the group stages and qualified for the knockout where he took a frame off Jordan Winbourne (Southampton).
The third leg of eight is at the Atack Snooker Club, Nuneaton, on the weekend of February 1-2.
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.
Comment