CANNOCK cue star Riley Parsons has bounced back from his triple disappointment last season.
The teenager is in pole position to gain promotion after claiming the first leg of the Midlands section of the EASB Regional Junior Tour.
A 2-1 victory over Leicester lad Chae Ross in the final at Grantham Snooker & Pool Club earned Parsons £80 but, more importantly, top spot in the rankings.
“I played very well on the day, making consistent breaks (48, 40, 57 & 54), and I was cueing well,” he said.
“The day was very well run and hopefully I can have a few more wins to build my confidence and get on the Prem (EASB Premier Junior Tour) next year.”
After finishing fifth last season, Parsons missed out on promotion in the play-off by two places.
He lost to Hamim Hussain in the semi-finals of the English Under-14 Championship - the pair were drawn together in the same round-robin group in Grantham and Parsons won 2-1 - and reached the Under-16 final.
Ross had been the only player to sail through the group stages without dropping a frame.
Harry Farrell (Tamworth) was unfortunate to miss the cut by a single frame to Sam Gates (Chatteris) and took little comfort from the £15 prize money for the day’s highest break of 69.
Jack Harris also impressed by losing just one frame in twelve and compiling breaks of 55 and 63. But he kicked himself all the way home to Walsall after a last-eight exit to Gates. Having cleared to the black in the second frame, he failed to realise he needed the final ball to secure the match and went on to lose 2-1.
Tournament director Stuart Barker said: “Both finalists will be hard to beat this season if they carry on in the same vein.”
The second leg of six is at the Atack Snooker Club, Nuneaton, on Sunday, October 26.
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.
The teenager is in pole position to gain promotion after claiming the first leg of the Midlands section of the EASB Regional Junior Tour.
A 2-1 victory over Leicester lad Chae Ross in the final at Grantham Snooker & Pool Club earned Parsons £80 but, more importantly, top spot in the rankings.
“I played very well on the day, making consistent breaks (48, 40, 57 & 54), and I was cueing well,” he said.
“The day was very well run and hopefully I can have a few more wins to build my confidence and get on the Prem (EASB Premier Junior Tour) next year.”
After finishing fifth last season, Parsons missed out on promotion in the play-off by two places.
He lost to Hamim Hussain in the semi-finals of the English Under-14 Championship - the pair were drawn together in the same round-robin group in Grantham and Parsons won 2-1 - and reached the Under-16 final.
Ross had been the only player to sail through the group stages without dropping a frame.
Harry Farrell (Tamworth) was unfortunate to miss the cut by a single frame to Sam Gates (Chatteris) and took little comfort from the £15 prize money for the day’s highest break of 69.
Jack Harris also impressed by losing just one frame in twelve and compiling breaks of 55 and 63. But he kicked himself all the way home to Walsall after a last-eight exit to Gates. Having cleared to the black in the second frame, he failed to realise he needed the final ball to secure the match and went on to lose 2-1.
Tournament director Stuart Barker said: “Both finalists will be hard to beat this season if they carry on in the same vein.”
The second leg of six is at the Atack Snooker Club, Nuneaton, on Sunday, October 26.
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.