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Debutante Fortey shines on pro tables
The 15-year-old century-breaker edged past Romford’s Stuart Scott 3-2 to claim the sixth leg on the South West Snooker Academy’s professional tables in Gloucester.
Third-placed Scott, who was also runner-up at Chandler’s Ford last month, had beaten Fortey 2-1 in the round-robin group stages.
Fortey, a former Welsh junior pool international, accounted for rankings leader Ben Tanner on the way to qualifying for the knockout top of Group A.
And his 2-1 victory over Bradley Chappell consigned the Bournemouth teenager to his second semi-final defeat of the season.
Group B winner Danny Tallentire (Player’s, Westbury) went out at the same stage 2-1 to Scott.
Tanner (The Academy, Eastleigh) failed to make the knockout for the first time this season.
The seventh of the eight legs is at The Crucible Sports & Social Club, Newbury, on Sunday, April 1.
BREAKS
Ben Fortey: 50, 47, 46.
Ben Tanner: 50.
Bradley Chappell: 49, 46, 46, 42.
GOLD RESULTS
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP A: 1st, Ben Fortey (SWSA, Gloucester); 2nd, Stuart Scott (Romford SC); 3rd, Ben Tanner (The Academy, Eastleigh); 4th, Adam King (New Arches SC, Coventry); 5th, Lee Bell (The Academy, Eastleigh); 6th, Oliver Parsons (Jesters, Swindon).
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP B: 1st, Danny Tallentire (Player’s, Westbury); 2nd, Bradley Chappell (Greenbaize, Bournemouth); 3rd, Liam Burnet (The Academy, Eastleigh); 4th, Dean Matthews (Ivy Leaf Club, Maidenhead); 5th, Daniel Woods (Chandler’s Ford SC).
SEMI-FINALS (12 points): Fortey beat Chappell 2-1, Scott beat Tallentire 2-1.
FINAL (25/18 points): Fortey beat Scott 3-2.
He’s behind you
In a reverse of last month’s final at Chandler’s Ford, the circuit’s Mr Consistency exacted revenge over Thomas Lancastle (Eastville SC, Bristol) to clinch the sixth leg at the South West Snooker Academy, Gloucester.
And, astonishingly, the 2-0 victory took Lee to just five points behind Jesters clubmate Troy Bodman.
After the fourth leg in Salisbury in January, where Bodman completed his hat-trick of tournament wins, Lee trailed the runaway rankings leader by a massive 32 points.
However, Lee has at least reached the semi-finals in all six legs and Bodman’s charge has faltered with two successive last-eight exits.
Meanwhile, the SWSA’s professional tables were described by Sam Storey as “amazing”.
Still seeking a first illusive place in a final, the 16-year-old, based at Thatcham SC, climbed to fifth after a third semi-final exit this season.
Storey saw off Reading’s Cameron Holt 2-1 before a 2-0 defeat by the tournament winner.
“The SWSA really was an amazing place to play,” he told cuestars.uk.com. “It makes you want to be playing in these type of places as the norm as a high-level amateur.”
Group A winner Mark Lloyd (Stoke SC, Gosport) was responsible for knocking Bodman out of the tournament. But after the 2-0 win, Lloyd was beaten 2-1 by Lancastle.
In the quarter-finals, and making a first appearance this season, Ryan Gavin (Liberal Club, High Wycombe) fell 2-0 to Lancastle and Lee’s 2-1 win ended the run of Gavin’s clubmate Paul Ives.
The seventh of the eight legs is at The Crucible Sports & Social Club, Newbury, on Sunday, April 1.
BREAKS
Troy Bodman: 31.
SILVER RESULTS
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP A: 1st, Mark Lloyd (Stoke SC, Gosport); 2nd, Sam Storey (Thatcham SC); 3rd, Daniel Knox (Woking SC).
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP B: 1st, Thomas Lancastle (Eastville SC, Bristol); 2nd, Paul Ives (Liberal Club, High Wycombe); 3rd, Anthony Church (Greenbaize, Bournemouth).
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP C: 1st, Joshua Lee (Jesters, Swindon); 2nd, Ryan Gavin (Liberal Club, High Wycombe); 3rd, Callum Browne (Player’s, Westbury).
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP D: 1st, Cameron Holt (Liberal Club, High Wycombe); 2nd, Troy Bodman (Jesters, Swindon); 3rd, Joshua Hughes (Rileys, Worcester).
QUARTER-FINALS (8 points): Lloyd beat Bodman 2-0, Lancastle beat Gavin 2-0, Lee beat Ives 2-1, Storey beat Holt 2-1.
SEMI-FINALS (12 points): Lancastle beat Lloyd 2-1, Lee beat Storey 2-0.
FINAL (25/18 points): Lee beat Lancastle 2-0.
Third time lucky for nine-year-old Cowdroy
Bradley Cowdroy, who will be ten next month, gained sweet revenge over his Greenbaize clubmate Stewart Ball in the sixth-leg final at the South West Snooker Academy, Gloucester
Ball had beaten Cowdroy in the first-leg final in Salisbury and last month’s fifth-leg final at Chandler’s Ford.
But it was third time lucky as the youngster celebrated his first tournament win on his 11th Cuestars outing.
After watching his son go 1-0 down and then snatch the last two frames on the final blacks, dad Jim Cowdroy said: “Somehow all the travelling seems worth it now!”
Rankings leader Ball played well to take the first frame and was heading for a third ranking title of the season. But Cowdroy cleared the last three balls to force a decider and held his nerve to sink the black in the third after Ball had missed a double into the green pocket.
“Stewart played a great first frame in the final but I hung in there and it was nice to get revenge on him this time,” said Cowdroy.
And he added: “I found the Star tables slightly hard at first because the balls ran quickly on the fine nap. I also noticed that the pockets were quite tight. But, as I played more, I got used to both of those things. It was a privilege to play on the same tables that the professionals use.”
Cowdroy also claimed the day’s highest break of 27 against his clubmate Arnie Petty. And he won two other black-ball games: one in the group stages against Bradley Lane (Copnor SC, Portsmouth) and another to clinch his 1-0 quarter-final victory over Thomas Holton (Woking SC).
The Group D winner saw off Karl Eggar (Stoke SC, Gosport), who topped Group C, 2-0 in the last-eight.
Meanwhile, eight-year-old Jamie Wilson passed another couple of milestones in what is shaping up to be a remarkable snooker career.
The youngster from Copnor SC, Portsmouth, compiled a personal best tournament break of 26 and reached the knockout stages for the first time where he lost 1-0 to Ball.
Olly Clark (Chandler’s Ford SC) was one ball away from a first Cuestars final - in more ways than one.
The 13-year-old from Gosport was beaten 2-1 on the final black by Ball in the semi-finals.
Clark described the professional tables at the SWSA as “brilliant”, adding: “It took a bit of time to get used to the pace. The pockets were very tight so pots had to be dead centre to go in.”
Clark had seen off Woking schoolgirl Jasmine Bolsover, 12, in the last-eight.
Ball leads the rankings by 11 points from Cowdroy. Matthew Bellinger (Jesters, Swindon) failed to qualify for the knockout and trails Cowdroy by two points.
Jim Cowdroy said: “Competition is very close out there in the Bronze.”
Kaine Petty (Greenbaize, Bournemouth) summed up the experience for the youngsters. “It was great to play on the professional tables,” he said. “And I realised how hard or how soft to play a shot.”
Yes, the answer was “gentle”.
The seventh of the eight legs is at The Crucible Sports & Social Club, Newbury, on Sunday, April 1.
BREAKS
Bradley Cowdroy: 27, 22.
Jamie Wilson: 26.
BRONZE RESULTS
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP A: 1st, Jasmine Bolsover (Woking SC); 2nd, Thomas Holton (Woking SC); 3rd, Nathan Farmer (Stoke SC, Gosport); 4th, Kaine Petty (Greenbaize, Bournemouth).
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP B: 1st, Stewart Ball (Greenbaize, Bournemouth); 2nd, Mike Trigg (Chandler’s Ford SC); 3rd, Spike Hull (Chandler’s Ford SC); 4th, Matthew Clark (SWSA, Gloucester).
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP C: 1st, Karl Eggar (Stoke SC, Gosport); 2nd, Jamie Wilson (Copnor SC, Portsmouth); 3rd, Matthew Bellinger (Jesters, Swindon); 4th, Corey Tallentire (Player’s, Westbury).
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP D: 1st, Bradley Cowdroy (Greenbaize, Bournemouth); 2nd, Olly Clark (Chandler’s Ford SC); 3rd, Bradley Lane (Copnor SC, Portsmouth); 4th, Arnie Petty (Greenbaize, Bournemouth).
QUARTER-FINALS (8 points): O Clark beat Bolsover 1-0, Ball beat Wilson 1-0, Eggar beat Trigg 1-0, Cowdroy beat Holton 1-0.
SEMI-FINALS (12 points): Ball beat O Clark 2-1, Cowdroy beat Eggar 2-0.
FINAL (25/18 points): Cowdroy beat Ball 2-1.
Tanner wins Eastleigh derby match
The Gold Tour rankings leader triumphed over Burnet, 14 places below, in the consolation competition for players failing to qualify for the knockouts.
PLATE RESULTS (ONE-FRAME MATCHES)
LAST-16: Liam Burnet (The Academy, Eastleigh) beat Callum Browne (Player’s, Westbury), Ben Tanner (The Academy, Eastleigh) beat Nathan Farmer (Stoke SC, Gosport), Kaine Petty (Greenbaize, Bournemouth) beat Anthony Church (Greenbaize, Bournemouth), Daniel Woods (Chandler’s Ford SC) beat Arnie Petty (Greenbaize, Bournemouth).
QUARTER-FINALS: Spike Hull (Chandler’s Ford SC) beat Corey Tallentire (Player’s, Westbury), Burnet beat Joshua Hughes (Rileys, Worcester), Tanner beat K Petty, Woods beat Lee Bell (The Academy, Eastleigh).
SEMI-FINALS: Burnet beat Hull, Tanner beat Woods.
FINAL: Tanner beat Burnet.
Tim Dunkley (World Snooker coach)