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MATT Ford fought back from 2-0 down and twice needing a snooker to win an enthralling fifth leg of the Cuestars South of England Championship Tour.
The 40-year-old from Bracknell was facing one of the heaviest defeats of his career against Christian Chislett in the final at Greenbaize Snooker Club, Bournemouth.
However, Ford turned the tables on his opponent from Basingstoke and wrapped up 55 minutes of pure entertainment with the day’s highest break.
“It was an interesting game,” laughed the rankings leader, following his 3-2 victory.
Chislett, aided by a 69 break, had restricted Ford to a meagre total of 12 points across the first two frames.
But the 29-year-old let the Berkshire cueman off the hook in the third. Ford twice needed a snooker to pull one back and then forced a fifth frame with a run of 58.
One thing best avoiding is leaving Ford in amongst 11 scattered reds in a deciding frame. By the time he departed the table, only the black remained.
The break of 90 surpassed the 85 scored by Chislett in his 3-0 semi-final victory over Neil Clayton (Woking).
“It was a good final,” said Ford. “Christian was awesome. He was potting everything. It was clinical.
“When I needed snookers, I found a gear and that was it.”
The defending champion, who also competes on the EASB Masters Tour, revealed he had reluctantly declined an invitation to represent England in the masters (40+) events at the European Championships in June.
Ford, who is married with two children – a boy, eight, and a girl, four – and works as a sports trader for Ladbrokes, explained that a ten-day trip to Lithuania was “not possible”.
“I’m honoured and proud to be selected,” he added. “But I won’t be going.”
Meanwhile, a 13-year-old from the home club received widespread praise for a remarkable performance on his first Championship Tour outing.
Bradley Cowdroy dropped just one frame in four group-stage matches, finishing with a personal best competitive break of 69 against David Rice (Fordingbridge), to set up a quarter-final tie against Neil Herd (Frome).
Herd, who five weeks previously had broken his collarbone in three places while snowboarding in Austria, missed a straightforward black off its spot for a 3-0 victory – and lost 3-2.
Cowdroy then led Ford 2-1 and by a couple of points on the colours in the decider before losing on the blue.
“What a future that kid’s got,” declared Ford. “He’s got all the shots. I was very impressed with him.”
Three other young guns also made their debuts. David O’Callaghan took a frame off Ford and three-time champion Jon Charlton - and beat circuit stalwart Peter Chin. Adam Cowdroy, Bradley’s younger brother, beat 21-year-old David Rice. And English Under-14 Championship finalist Jamie Wilson was one frame short of qualifying for the knockout.
A total of 20 breaks of 50 or more were recorded by the 15-strong field.
The sixth and final leg is at Chandler’s Ford Snooker Club on Sunday, April 17.
BREAKS
Matt Ford: 90, 72, 69, 60, 58, 57, 57.
Christian Chislett: 85, 72, 69, 60, 59, 56.
Paul Bunyard: 83, 66.
Neil Clayton: 81.
Bradley Cowdroy: 69.
Jon Charlton: 67, 57.
Neil Herd: 54.
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP POSITIONS
GROUP A: 1st, Matt Ford (Sunninghill Comrades Club); 2nd, Jon Charlton (Aldingbourne Social Club, Chichester); 3rd, Jamie Wilson (Chandler’s Ford SC); 4th, David O’Callaghan (Greenbaize, Bournemouth); 5th, Peter Chin (Jesters, Swindon).
GROUP B: 1st, Bradley Cowdroy (Greenbaize, Bournemouth); 2nd, Christian Chislett (Selsey RBL, Chichester); 3rd, Anthony Rice (Salisbury SC); 4th, Adam Cowdroy (Greenbaize, Bournemouth); 5th, David Rice (Salisbury SC).
GROUP C: 1st, Paul Bunyard (Woking SC); 2nd, Neil Clayton (Woking SC); 3rd, Neil Herd (Player’s, Westbury); 4th, Johnathan Reeves (Greenbaize, Bournemouth); 5th, Steve Wilson (Top Spot SC, Havant).
KNOCKOUT RESULTS
QUARTER-FINALS (12 points): Ford 3 A Rice 0, B Cowdroy 3 Herd 2, Chislett 3 Bunyard 2, Clayton 3 Charlton 2.
SEMI-FINALS (£15, 15 points): Ford 3 B Cowdroy 2, Chislett 3 Clayton 0.
FINAL (£80/£40, 25/18 points): Ford 3 Chislett 2.
Tim Dunkley (World Snooker coach)
The 40-year-old from Bracknell was facing one of the heaviest defeats of his career against Christian Chislett in the final at Greenbaize Snooker Club, Bournemouth.
However, Ford turned the tables on his opponent from Basingstoke and wrapped up 55 minutes of pure entertainment with the day’s highest break.
“It was an interesting game,” laughed the rankings leader, following his 3-2 victory.
Chislett, aided by a 69 break, had restricted Ford to a meagre total of 12 points across the first two frames.
But the 29-year-old let the Berkshire cueman off the hook in the third. Ford twice needed a snooker to pull one back and then forced a fifth frame with a run of 58.
One thing best avoiding is leaving Ford in amongst 11 scattered reds in a deciding frame. By the time he departed the table, only the black remained.
The break of 90 surpassed the 85 scored by Chislett in his 3-0 semi-final victory over Neil Clayton (Woking).
“It was a good final,” said Ford. “Christian was awesome. He was potting everything. It was clinical.
“When I needed snookers, I found a gear and that was it.”
The defending champion, who also competes on the EASB Masters Tour, revealed he had reluctantly declined an invitation to represent England in the masters (40+) events at the European Championships in June.
Ford, who is married with two children – a boy, eight, and a girl, four – and works as a sports trader for Ladbrokes, explained that a ten-day trip to Lithuania was “not possible”.
“I’m honoured and proud to be selected,” he added. “But I won’t be going.”
Meanwhile, a 13-year-old from the home club received widespread praise for a remarkable performance on his first Championship Tour outing.
Bradley Cowdroy dropped just one frame in four group-stage matches, finishing with a personal best competitive break of 69 against David Rice (Fordingbridge), to set up a quarter-final tie against Neil Herd (Frome).
Herd, who five weeks previously had broken his collarbone in three places while snowboarding in Austria, missed a straightforward black off its spot for a 3-0 victory – and lost 3-2.
Cowdroy then led Ford 2-1 and by a couple of points on the colours in the decider before losing on the blue.
“What a future that kid’s got,” declared Ford. “He’s got all the shots. I was very impressed with him.”
Three other young guns also made their debuts. David O’Callaghan took a frame off Ford and three-time champion Jon Charlton - and beat circuit stalwart Peter Chin. Adam Cowdroy, Bradley’s younger brother, beat 21-year-old David Rice. And English Under-14 Championship finalist Jamie Wilson was one frame short of qualifying for the knockout.
A total of 20 breaks of 50 or more were recorded by the 15-strong field.
The sixth and final leg is at Chandler’s Ford Snooker Club on Sunday, April 17.
BREAKS
Matt Ford: 90, 72, 69, 60, 58, 57, 57.
Christian Chislett: 85, 72, 69, 60, 59, 56.
Paul Bunyard: 83, 66.
Neil Clayton: 81.
Bradley Cowdroy: 69.
Jon Charlton: 67, 57.
Neil Herd: 54.
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP POSITIONS
GROUP A: 1st, Matt Ford (Sunninghill Comrades Club); 2nd, Jon Charlton (Aldingbourne Social Club, Chichester); 3rd, Jamie Wilson (Chandler’s Ford SC); 4th, David O’Callaghan (Greenbaize, Bournemouth); 5th, Peter Chin (Jesters, Swindon).
GROUP B: 1st, Bradley Cowdroy (Greenbaize, Bournemouth); 2nd, Christian Chislett (Selsey RBL, Chichester); 3rd, Anthony Rice (Salisbury SC); 4th, Adam Cowdroy (Greenbaize, Bournemouth); 5th, David Rice (Salisbury SC).
GROUP C: 1st, Paul Bunyard (Woking SC); 2nd, Neil Clayton (Woking SC); 3rd, Neil Herd (Player’s, Westbury); 4th, Johnathan Reeves (Greenbaize, Bournemouth); 5th, Steve Wilson (Top Spot SC, Havant).
KNOCKOUT RESULTS
QUARTER-FINALS (12 points): Ford 3 A Rice 0, B Cowdroy 3 Herd 2, Chislett 3 Bunyard 2, Clayton 3 Charlton 2.
SEMI-FINALS (£15, 15 points): Ford 3 B Cowdroy 2, Chislett 3 Clayton 0.
FINAL (£80/£40, 25/18 points): Ford 3 Chislett 2.
Tim Dunkley (World Snooker coach)