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JON Charlton shrugged off his disappointment in Newbury in November to storm to the top of the Cuestars South of England Championship Tour rankings.
Charlton insisted he struggled to find his form before seeing off his practice partner Christian Chislett in the third-leg final at Salisbury Snooker Club.
Last season’s Cuestars champion - who is based at Selsey RBL, West Sussex, but lives near Haslemere, Surrey - defeated Chislett 3-0 after trailing Daniel Woods (Chandler’s Ford SC) 1-0 in the last-four.
Earlier, he dropped just one frame to home player Richard Arnold in the group stages and accounted for James Ray (Sovereign SC, Farnborough) 2-0 in the quarter-finals.
“I found my form at just the right time,” he said. “Although I came through top in my group, I was struggling to find consistency.
“It was at 1-0 down in the semi when I started to play better match snooker to come back to win 2-1.
“Then I played my best snooker of the day in the final. It was always going to be a tough final as I was playing Christian, who I practise with in Selsey. We also play in the same league team so I know how good he is.”
A “crucial clearance” from the last two reds in the first frame was key to the success.
Runner-up in the first leg in Swindon, Charlton failed to qualify from the group stages in Newbury the following month.
For Woods, who climbed to second place, it was the second tournament running that he had lost in the semi-finals to the eventual tournament winner.
“(Charlton) played well in the last two frames to pull it back,” he admitted.
Elsewhere, it was seventh time lucky for Jessie Stevens (Sovereign SC, Farnborough).
After failing to escape from his group in his six previous outings, Stevens only lost to Charlton and progressed to the knockout for the first time.
He then saw off Martin Wallace (Colours, Reading) 2-1 in the last-eight before losing by the same score to Chislett.
And he chalked up the day’s highest break of 59.
Gary Lobb said he “really enjoyed” his Cuestars debut.
Lobb, who is based at West End Social Club, near Chobham, picked up two frames and vowed to improve for the next leg.
Paying tribute to the tournament and his opponents, he said: “Despite a difficult first comp, I really enjoyed playing.
“The atmosphere was great and so were the players and the venue. I enjoyed playing for so long, too, with the round-robin format. I learnt a lot and it inspired me to really improve for next time.”
The fourth of the six legs is at Jesters Snooker Hall, Swindon, on Sunday, February 10.
BREAKS
Jessie Stevens: 59.
Ben Tanner: 54.
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP POSITIONS
GROUP A: 1st, Jon Charlton (Selsey RBL, West Sussex); 2nd, Jessie Stevens (Sovereign SC, Farnborough); 3rd, Alex Thorn (Salisbury SC); 4th, Richard Arnold (Salisbury SC); 5th, Gary Lobb (West End Social Club, near Chobham, Surrey).
GROUP B: 1st, Daniel Woods (Chandler’s Ford SC); 2nd, Christian Chislett (Selsey RBL, West Sussex); 3rd, Keith Beauchamp (Woking SC); 4th, Paul Burt (Salisbury SC); 5th, Trevor Thorn (Basingstoke Cons).
GROUP C: 1st, Dominic Holmes (Sovereign SC, Farnborough); 2nd, Steve Ashton (Salisbury SC); 3rd, Gary Hart (Salisbury SC); 4th, John Smith (Eastleigh).
GROUP D: 1st, Martin Wallace (Colours, Reading); 2nd, James Ray (Sovereign SC, Farnborough); 3rd, Ben Tanner (Eastleigh); 4th, Craig Marsh (Crucible, Newbury).
KNOCKOUT RESULTS
QUARTER-FINALS (£10, 12 points): Charlton beat Ray 2-0, Woods beat Ashton 2-0, Chislett beat Holmes 2-1, Stevens beat Wallace 2-1.
SEMI-FINALS (£20, 15 points): Charlton beat Woods 2-1, Chislett beat Stevens 2-1.
FINAL (£70/£30, 25/18 points): Charlton beat Chislett 3-0.
Tim Dunkley (World Snooker coach)
Charlton insisted he struggled to find his form before seeing off his practice partner Christian Chislett in the third-leg final at Salisbury Snooker Club.
Last season’s Cuestars champion - who is based at Selsey RBL, West Sussex, but lives near Haslemere, Surrey - defeated Chislett 3-0 after trailing Daniel Woods (Chandler’s Ford SC) 1-0 in the last-four.
Earlier, he dropped just one frame to home player Richard Arnold in the group stages and accounted for James Ray (Sovereign SC, Farnborough) 2-0 in the quarter-finals.
“I found my form at just the right time,” he said. “Although I came through top in my group, I was struggling to find consistency.
“It was at 1-0 down in the semi when I started to play better match snooker to come back to win 2-1.
“Then I played my best snooker of the day in the final. It was always going to be a tough final as I was playing Christian, who I practise with in Selsey. We also play in the same league team so I know how good he is.”
A “crucial clearance” from the last two reds in the first frame was key to the success.
Runner-up in the first leg in Swindon, Charlton failed to qualify from the group stages in Newbury the following month.
For Woods, who climbed to second place, it was the second tournament running that he had lost in the semi-finals to the eventual tournament winner.
“(Charlton) played well in the last two frames to pull it back,” he admitted.
Elsewhere, it was seventh time lucky for Jessie Stevens (Sovereign SC, Farnborough).
After failing to escape from his group in his six previous outings, Stevens only lost to Charlton and progressed to the knockout for the first time.
He then saw off Martin Wallace (Colours, Reading) 2-1 in the last-eight before losing by the same score to Chislett.
And he chalked up the day’s highest break of 59.
Gary Lobb said he “really enjoyed” his Cuestars debut.
Lobb, who is based at West End Social Club, near Chobham, picked up two frames and vowed to improve for the next leg.
Paying tribute to the tournament and his opponents, he said: “Despite a difficult first comp, I really enjoyed playing.
“The atmosphere was great and so were the players and the venue. I enjoyed playing for so long, too, with the round-robin format. I learnt a lot and it inspired me to really improve for next time.”
The fourth of the six legs is at Jesters Snooker Hall, Swindon, on Sunday, February 10.
BREAKS
Jessie Stevens: 59.
Ben Tanner: 54.
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP POSITIONS
GROUP A: 1st, Jon Charlton (Selsey RBL, West Sussex); 2nd, Jessie Stevens (Sovereign SC, Farnborough); 3rd, Alex Thorn (Salisbury SC); 4th, Richard Arnold (Salisbury SC); 5th, Gary Lobb (West End Social Club, near Chobham, Surrey).
GROUP B: 1st, Daniel Woods (Chandler’s Ford SC); 2nd, Christian Chislett (Selsey RBL, West Sussex); 3rd, Keith Beauchamp (Woking SC); 4th, Paul Burt (Salisbury SC); 5th, Trevor Thorn (Basingstoke Cons).
GROUP C: 1st, Dominic Holmes (Sovereign SC, Farnborough); 2nd, Steve Ashton (Salisbury SC); 3rd, Gary Hart (Salisbury SC); 4th, John Smith (Eastleigh).
GROUP D: 1st, Martin Wallace (Colours, Reading); 2nd, James Ray (Sovereign SC, Farnborough); 3rd, Ben Tanner (Eastleigh); 4th, Craig Marsh (Crucible, Newbury).
KNOCKOUT RESULTS
QUARTER-FINALS (£10, 12 points): Charlton beat Ray 2-0, Woods beat Ashton 2-0, Chislett beat Holmes 2-1, Stevens beat Wallace 2-1.
SEMI-FINALS (£20, 15 points): Charlton beat Woods 2-1, Chislett beat Stevens 2-1.
FINAL (£70/£30, 25/18 points): Charlton beat Chislett 3-0.
Tim Dunkley (World Snooker coach)
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