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A TEENAGE snooker ace from Aylesbury reckons the next three tournaments on a regional circuit could shape his future career.
Sonnie O’Sullivan, who had never reached the final before, triumphed in the fifth leg of the EASB (English Association of Snooker & Billiards) Regional Junior Tour South.
A 2-1 victory over Daniel Knox (Ascot) at the South West Snooker Academy, Gloucester, took the 17-year-old up two places to sixth in the rankings.
O’Sullivan, a semi-finalist in the fourth leg in Brighton last month, is targeting three wins from the final three legs to clinch promotion to the EASB Premier Junior Tour for the country’s top-48 under-21s.
And then it’s decision time.
“I didn’t really play very well through the day,” he said. “I just had to scrap it out a little and play really solid in a tight frame if it got down to it.
“I can get promoted. I started the season really bad without getting out of the groups in the first three tournaments so I knew I had to start doing well.
“I got to the semi-final in Brighton and now I’ve won the last one so hopefully I can kick on from there and win the last three events.”
O’Sullivan has taken a break from full-time education and will assess the situation in the summer.
“I will see at the end of the season what will happen next season,” he explained. “I’ll either be going back into education or sticking with my snooker.”
O’Sullivan, who pocketed £100, is based at the Liberal Club, High Wycombe, and was crowned the Cuestars South of England Under-21 Gold Champion in 2013.
The 18 players, who shared the venue with a large crowd of foosball (table football) players, struggled to score heavily on the tight professional tables.
In fact, James Budd (Fareham) pocketed the high break prize of £20 for a lowly 45 in the group stages.
Rankings leader Thomas Lancaster (Bristol), winner of the two previous events, was knocked out 2-0 by Knox in the last-four.
Knox is now fourth behind Jamie Hawkins (Bristol) and Mark Lloyd (Gosport).
The sixth leg of eight is at Cambridge Snooker Centre on Saturday, April 5.
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.
Sonnie O’Sullivan, who had never reached the final before, triumphed in the fifth leg of the EASB (English Association of Snooker & Billiards) Regional Junior Tour South.
A 2-1 victory over Daniel Knox (Ascot) at the South West Snooker Academy, Gloucester, took the 17-year-old up two places to sixth in the rankings.
O’Sullivan, a semi-finalist in the fourth leg in Brighton last month, is targeting three wins from the final three legs to clinch promotion to the EASB Premier Junior Tour for the country’s top-48 under-21s.
And then it’s decision time.
“I didn’t really play very well through the day,” he said. “I just had to scrap it out a little and play really solid in a tight frame if it got down to it.
“I can get promoted. I started the season really bad without getting out of the groups in the first three tournaments so I knew I had to start doing well.
“I got to the semi-final in Brighton and now I’ve won the last one so hopefully I can kick on from there and win the last three events.”
O’Sullivan has taken a break from full-time education and will assess the situation in the summer.
“I will see at the end of the season what will happen next season,” he explained. “I’ll either be going back into education or sticking with my snooker.”
O’Sullivan, who pocketed £100, is based at the Liberal Club, High Wycombe, and was crowned the Cuestars South of England Under-21 Gold Champion in 2013.
The 18 players, who shared the venue with a large crowd of foosball (table football) players, struggled to score heavily on the tight professional tables.
In fact, James Budd (Fareham) pocketed the high break prize of £20 for a lowly 45 in the group stages.
Rankings leader Thomas Lancaster (Bristol), winner of the two previous events, was knocked out 2-0 by Knox in the last-four.
Knox is now fourth behind Jamie Hawkins (Bristol) and Mark Lloyd (Gosport).
The sixth leg of eight is at Cambridge Snooker Centre on Saturday, April 5.
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.