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ENGLISH Under-18 snooker champion Mark Lloyd insisted “it’s time to move on” after retaining his Cuestars South of England Under-21 Gold Tour rankings title.
But the 17-year-old from Gosport refused to rule out competing in the occasional event in the future.
Lloyd collected his fifth winner’s trophy of the season in the tenth and final leg sponsored by Attic Life at Salisbury Snooker Club.
He beat rankings runner-up Mickey Joyce (Basingstoke) 2-0 in the final to finish the 2016/17 campaign 32 points clear.
“I’m not doing this again but I might pop in every now and then,” said Lloyd, who is based at Stoke Snooker Club, Gosport.
“It’s nice to see the players coming through. It sounds like I’m about 50! You see the players developing and I’m developing myself.
“But it’s time to move on. I’ve enjoyed it.”
He added that he’ll “definitely” compete on the Cuestars Championship Tour next season for a place at Q School.
Lloyd won the Silver rankings title in 2012/13 and the following season shared the Gold title with Bradley Chappell (Poole). He also claimed the Gold championship play-off in 2014 and 2016.
Now competing on the EASB Premier Junior Tour and taking a business course at Fareham College, Lloyd still has a dream of turning professional but is realistic about his chances.
“I’ve always said to myself, even from an early age, just go out there and see what you can do,” he said.
“It will come if it’s meant to be. I’ve never set my sights too high. I just want to go as far as I can.”
Third-placed Connor Benzey (Eastleigh), who beat Lloyd in the final of the eighth leg in Swindon in March, prevailed 2-0 when the pair met again in their first group-stage match.
England international Joyce, 13, fresh from retaining his place on the EASB Premier Junior Tour for next season, dispatched his Chandlers Ford clubmate Steven Hughes in a one-frame play-off for the second of the two best third-place finishers.
Lloyd recorded the day’s highest break of 54 in his 2-0 semi-final victory over 11-year-old Oliver Sykes (Chandlers Ford), who had tripled the final black to edge Bradley Cowdroy (Bournemouth) 2-1 in the last-eight.
The top-16 ranked players will be invited to the championship play-off on finals day on Sunday, May 14, at Jesters Snooker Club, Swindon. World number 34 Mark Davis will present the trophies and play exhibition frames against all the champions.
For more information about loft conversion experts Attic Life, visit www.atticlife.co.uk.
BREAKS
Mark Lloyd: 54, 50.
Oliver Sykes: 48.
Mickey Joyce: 42.
Connor Benzey: 41.
GOLD RESULTS
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP A: 1st, Anthony Rice (Salisbury SC); 2nd, Bradley Cowdroy (Greenbaize, Bournemouth); 3rd, Mickey Joyce (Chandler’s Ford SC); 4th, Olly Gibbs (Chandler’s Ford SC).
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP B: 1st, Connor Benzey (Chandler’s Ford SC); 2nd, Mark Lloyd (Stoke SC, Gosport); 3rd, Steven Hughes (Chandler’s Ford SC); 4th, Adam Stacey (Legends, Leytonstone).
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP C: 1st, Callum Browne (Player’s, Westbury); 2nd, Oliver Sykes (Chandler’s Ford SC); 3rd, Aidan Murphy (Fishponds Cons Club, Bristol); 4th, Mike Trigg (Chandler’s Ford SC).
QUARTER-FINALS (12 points): Sykes 2 Cowdroy 1, Lloyd 2 Browne 1, Joyce 2 Benzey 0, Murphy 2 Rice 1.
SEMI-FINALS (15 points): Lloyd 2 Sykes 0, Joyce 2 Murphy 0.
FINAL (£60/£30, 25/18 points): Lloyd 2 Joyce 0.
Wallace proves you have to be in it to win it
A TEENAGER from Gosport received a just reward for having the confidence in his own ability to compete on a regional snooker circuit.
Brett Wallace picked up his first winner’s trophy in only his fourth event on the Cuestars South of England Under-21 Silver Tour.
The 16-year-old, who made his debut in February in Havant, beat rankings runner-up Charlie Pringle 2-1 in the final of the tenth and last leg at Salisbury Snooker Club.
“I’m happy with my first win,” said Wallace. “It’s been a very long day.”
And explaining his decision to step up from club competitions, he added: “I was aware of (Cuestars) but didn’t really have the confidence to play.
“But as I’ve improved recently, I felt like I may as well just play and see what happens.”
Wallace finished fourth in the seven-man round-robin group and qualified for the knockout by winning a third-frame decider against 12-year-old Bowen Zhu (Chandlers Ford).
He then defeated rankings champion Ryan Hughes (Chandler’s Ford) 2-1 in the last-four of the event sponsored by Attic Life.
Known for his attacking style, Wallace, who is based at Fareham Snooker Club, admitted there was even the “rare sight” of a safety game in the final.
Pringle (Chandler’s Ford) reached his seventh final in ten outings this season by overcoming Kaine Petty (Fordingbridge) 2-0 in the second semi.
The top-16 ranked players will be invited to the championship play-off on finals day on Sunday, May 14, at Jesters Snooker Club, Swindon. World number 34 Mark Davis will present the trophies and play exhibition frames against all the champions.
For more information about loft conversion experts Attic Life, visit www.atticlife.co.uk.
BREAKS
Charlie Pringle: 43, 41.
Ryan Hughes: 34, 30.
Brett Wallace: 34.
SILVER RESULTS
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP A: 1st, Ryan Hughes (Chandler’s Ford SC); 2nd, Charlie Pringle (Chandler’s Ford SC); 3rd, Kaine Petty (Salisbury SC); 4th, Brett Wallace (Fareham SC); 5th, Bowen Zhu (Chandler’s Ford SC); 6th, Nat Kidner (Greenbaize, Bournemouth); 7th, Ally Pollard (Salisbury SC).
SEMI-FINALS (15 points): Pringle 2 Petty 0, Wallace 2 Hughes 1.
FINAL (25/18 points): Wallace 2 Pringle 1.
Ellis wraps up title-winning season in style
THE first Cuestars rankings champion from Wiltshire since 2013 wrapped up his triumphant season by picking up a fourth winner’s trophy.
Riley Ellis has already secured top spot before the tenth and final leg of the Under-21 Bronze Tour at Salisbury Snooker Club.
But the 13-year-old from Clyffe Pypard, near Royal Wootton Bassett, was in no mood to take his foot off the pedal in the event sponsored by Attic Life.
“It was harder because I had to focus more,” he said. “Even though I’d already won (the rankings), I still wanted to win again.”
Ellis defeated Ronnie Sullivan (Coulsdon) 2-1 in a hard-fought final when his opponent fouled the pink and conceded in the decider.
“He did some great pots and great safety shots,” admitted Ellis.
The teenager revealed his target at the start of the season was to win one event.
But after achieving that aim in the fifth leg in Bournemouth, in January, and then overtaking Shane Kearns (Swindon) at the top of the rankings following victory in Havant the following month, his sights were raised.
“That was when I thought I actually stood a good chance of winning,” he said.
Ellis at least reached the semi-finals in all ten events during the 2016/17 campaign and has only once failed to qualify for the knockout in 18 legs since his debut in October, 2015.
Reflecting on promotion to the Silver Tour, he said: “It’s going to be tough.”
Meanwhile, there were two sets of dramatic three-way play-offs to eventually find the two best third-place finishers from the three round-robin groups.
Riccardo Drayton (Chandler’s Ford), O’Shay Scott (Chandler’s Ford) and James Woodley (Nailsea) had identical records behind Ellis in their group.
Only four points separated the trio in an aggregate points tie-break. Drayton qualified and eight-year-old Scott, in third place, missed out on another play-off with Arnie Petty (Fordingbridge) and Oliver Cooper (Banstead) from the two other groups.
Oscar Livesey-Lodwick (Nailsea) made the knockout for the first time but lost 2-1 to Ellis.
Kearns secured the runner-up spot in the rankings when third-placed Chloe White (Havant) failed to qualify for the quarter-finals. Sullivan and Thomas Saunders (Braintree) are joint fourth.
The top-16 ranked players will be invited to the championship play-off on finals day on Sunday, May 14, at Jesters Snooker Club, Swindon. World number 34 Mark Davis will present the trophies and play exhibition frames against all the champions.
For more information about loft conversion experts Attic Life, visit www.atticlife.co.uk.
BREAKS
Will Forster: 32.
Ronnie Sullivan: 22.
Oliver Cooper: 21.
BRONZE RESULTS
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP A: 1st, Shane Kearns (Jesters, Swindon); 2nd, Will Forster (Mayfair, Gosport); 3rd, Arnie Petty (Salisbury SC); 4th, Chloe White (Copnor SC, Portsmouth).
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP B: 1st, Ronnie Sullivan (Frames, Coulsdon); 2nd, Oscar Livesey-Lodwick (Nailsea SC); 3rd, Oliver Cooper (Frames, Coulsdon); 4th, Thomas Saunders (Stepfield SC, Witham, Essex).
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP C: 1st, Riley Ellis (Jesters, Swindon); 2nd, Riccardo Drayton (Chandler’s Ford SC); 3rd, O’Shay Scott (Chandler’s Ford SC); 4th, James Woodley (Nailsea SC).
QUARTER-FINALS (12 points): Kearns 2 Cooper 0, Sullivan 2 Petty 1, Ellis 2 Livesey-Lodwick 1, Drayton 2 Forster 0.
SEMI-FINALS (15 points): Ellis 2 Drayton 0, Sullivan 2 Kearns 0.
FINAL (25/18 points): Ellis 2 Sullivan 1.
Stacey collects second Plate trophy
A POPLAR snooker player has collected his second Plate trophy of the season on the Cuestars South of England Under-21 Tours.
Adam Stacey failed to qualify from a tough round-robin group in the Gold section in the event sponsored by Attic Life at Salisbury Snooker Club.
The 16-year-old beat Steven Hughes (Chandler’s Ford) 2-1 but lost 2-0 to English Under-18 Champion Mark Lloyd (Gosport) and 2-0 to Connor Benzey (Eastleigh), who finished the ten-leg series ranked third.
Stacey, who is based at Legends Snooker Club, Leytonstone, then followed up his success in Swindon in March by overcoming Hughes, again, in the final of the competition for non-qualifiers.
The top-16 players on each tour will be invited to the championship play-off on finals day on Sunday, May 14, at Jesters Snooker Club, Swindon. World number 34 Mark Davis will present the trophies and play exhibition frames against all the champions.
For more information about loft conversion experts Attic Life, visit www.atticlife.co.uk.
PLATE RESULTS (ONE-FRAME MATCHES)
PRELIMS: Adam Stacey (Legends, Leytonstone) beat Nat Kidner (Greenbaize, Bournemouth), Steven Hughes (Chandler’s Ford SC) beat James Woodley (Nailsea SC), O’Shay Scott (Chandler’s Ford SC) beat Olly Gibbs.
SEMI-FINALS: Stacey beat Chloe White (Copnor SC, Portsmouth), Hughes beat Scott.
FINAL: Stacey beat Hughes.
Tim Dunkley (World Snooker coach)
But the 17-year-old from Gosport refused to rule out competing in the occasional event in the future.
Lloyd collected his fifth winner’s trophy of the season in the tenth and final leg sponsored by Attic Life at Salisbury Snooker Club.
He beat rankings runner-up Mickey Joyce (Basingstoke) 2-0 in the final to finish the 2016/17 campaign 32 points clear.
“I’m not doing this again but I might pop in every now and then,” said Lloyd, who is based at Stoke Snooker Club, Gosport.
“It’s nice to see the players coming through. It sounds like I’m about 50! You see the players developing and I’m developing myself.
“But it’s time to move on. I’ve enjoyed it.”
He added that he’ll “definitely” compete on the Cuestars Championship Tour next season for a place at Q School.
Lloyd won the Silver rankings title in 2012/13 and the following season shared the Gold title with Bradley Chappell (Poole). He also claimed the Gold championship play-off in 2014 and 2016.
Now competing on the EASB Premier Junior Tour and taking a business course at Fareham College, Lloyd still has a dream of turning professional but is realistic about his chances.
“I’ve always said to myself, even from an early age, just go out there and see what you can do,” he said.
“It will come if it’s meant to be. I’ve never set my sights too high. I just want to go as far as I can.”
Third-placed Connor Benzey (Eastleigh), who beat Lloyd in the final of the eighth leg in Swindon in March, prevailed 2-0 when the pair met again in their first group-stage match.
England international Joyce, 13, fresh from retaining his place on the EASB Premier Junior Tour for next season, dispatched his Chandlers Ford clubmate Steven Hughes in a one-frame play-off for the second of the two best third-place finishers.
Lloyd recorded the day’s highest break of 54 in his 2-0 semi-final victory over 11-year-old Oliver Sykes (Chandlers Ford), who had tripled the final black to edge Bradley Cowdroy (Bournemouth) 2-1 in the last-eight.
The top-16 ranked players will be invited to the championship play-off on finals day on Sunday, May 14, at Jesters Snooker Club, Swindon. World number 34 Mark Davis will present the trophies and play exhibition frames against all the champions.
For more information about loft conversion experts Attic Life, visit www.atticlife.co.uk.
BREAKS
Mark Lloyd: 54, 50.
Oliver Sykes: 48.
Mickey Joyce: 42.
Connor Benzey: 41.
GOLD RESULTS
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP A: 1st, Anthony Rice (Salisbury SC); 2nd, Bradley Cowdroy (Greenbaize, Bournemouth); 3rd, Mickey Joyce (Chandler’s Ford SC); 4th, Olly Gibbs (Chandler’s Ford SC).
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP B: 1st, Connor Benzey (Chandler’s Ford SC); 2nd, Mark Lloyd (Stoke SC, Gosport); 3rd, Steven Hughes (Chandler’s Ford SC); 4th, Adam Stacey (Legends, Leytonstone).
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP C: 1st, Callum Browne (Player’s, Westbury); 2nd, Oliver Sykes (Chandler’s Ford SC); 3rd, Aidan Murphy (Fishponds Cons Club, Bristol); 4th, Mike Trigg (Chandler’s Ford SC).
QUARTER-FINALS (12 points): Sykes 2 Cowdroy 1, Lloyd 2 Browne 1, Joyce 2 Benzey 0, Murphy 2 Rice 1.
SEMI-FINALS (15 points): Lloyd 2 Sykes 0, Joyce 2 Murphy 0.
FINAL (£60/£30, 25/18 points): Lloyd 2 Joyce 0.
Wallace proves you have to be in it to win it
A TEENAGER from Gosport received a just reward for having the confidence in his own ability to compete on a regional snooker circuit.
Brett Wallace picked up his first winner’s trophy in only his fourth event on the Cuestars South of England Under-21 Silver Tour.
The 16-year-old, who made his debut in February in Havant, beat rankings runner-up Charlie Pringle 2-1 in the final of the tenth and last leg at Salisbury Snooker Club.
“I’m happy with my first win,” said Wallace. “It’s been a very long day.”
And explaining his decision to step up from club competitions, he added: “I was aware of (Cuestars) but didn’t really have the confidence to play.
“But as I’ve improved recently, I felt like I may as well just play and see what happens.”
Wallace finished fourth in the seven-man round-robin group and qualified for the knockout by winning a third-frame decider against 12-year-old Bowen Zhu (Chandlers Ford).
He then defeated rankings champion Ryan Hughes (Chandler’s Ford) 2-1 in the last-four of the event sponsored by Attic Life.
Known for his attacking style, Wallace, who is based at Fareham Snooker Club, admitted there was even the “rare sight” of a safety game in the final.
Pringle (Chandler’s Ford) reached his seventh final in ten outings this season by overcoming Kaine Petty (Fordingbridge) 2-0 in the second semi.
The top-16 ranked players will be invited to the championship play-off on finals day on Sunday, May 14, at Jesters Snooker Club, Swindon. World number 34 Mark Davis will present the trophies and play exhibition frames against all the champions.
For more information about loft conversion experts Attic Life, visit www.atticlife.co.uk.
BREAKS
Charlie Pringle: 43, 41.
Ryan Hughes: 34, 30.
Brett Wallace: 34.
SILVER RESULTS
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP A: 1st, Ryan Hughes (Chandler’s Ford SC); 2nd, Charlie Pringle (Chandler’s Ford SC); 3rd, Kaine Petty (Salisbury SC); 4th, Brett Wallace (Fareham SC); 5th, Bowen Zhu (Chandler’s Ford SC); 6th, Nat Kidner (Greenbaize, Bournemouth); 7th, Ally Pollard (Salisbury SC).
SEMI-FINALS (15 points): Pringle 2 Petty 0, Wallace 2 Hughes 1.
FINAL (25/18 points): Wallace 2 Pringle 1.
Ellis wraps up title-winning season in style
THE first Cuestars rankings champion from Wiltshire since 2013 wrapped up his triumphant season by picking up a fourth winner’s trophy.
Riley Ellis has already secured top spot before the tenth and final leg of the Under-21 Bronze Tour at Salisbury Snooker Club.
But the 13-year-old from Clyffe Pypard, near Royal Wootton Bassett, was in no mood to take his foot off the pedal in the event sponsored by Attic Life.
“It was harder because I had to focus more,” he said. “Even though I’d already won (the rankings), I still wanted to win again.”
Ellis defeated Ronnie Sullivan (Coulsdon) 2-1 in a hard-fought final when his opponent fouled the pink and conceded in the decider.
“He did some great pots and great safety shots,” admitted Ellis.
The teenager revealed his target at the start of the season was to win one event.
But after achieving that aim in the fifth leg in Bournemouth, in January, and then overtaking Shane Kearns (Swindon) at the top of the rankings following victory in Havant the following month, his sights were raised.
“That was when I thought I actually stood a good chance of winning,” he said.
Ellis at least reached the semi-finals in all ten events during the 2016/17 campaign and has only once failed to qualify for the knockout in 18 legs since his debut in October, 2015.
Reflecting on promotion to the Silver Tour, he said: “It’s going to be tough.”
Meanwhile, there were two sets of dramatic three-way play-offs to eventually find the two best third-place finishers from the three round-robin groups.
Riccardo Drayton (Chandler’s Ford), O’Shay Scott (Chandler’s Ford) and James Woodley (Nailsea) had identical records behind Ellis in their group.
Only four points separated the trio in an aggregate points tie-break. Drayton qualified and eight-year-old Scott, in third place, missed out on another play-off with Arnie Petty (Fordingbridge) and Oliver Cooper (Banstead) from the two other groups.
Oscar Livesey-Lodwick (Nailsea) made the knockout for the first time but lost 2-1 to Ellis.
Kearns secured the runner-up spot in the rankings when third-placed Chloe White (Havant) failed to qualify for the quarter-finals. Sullivan and Thomas Saunders (Braintree) are joint fourth.
The top-16 ranked players will be invited to the championship play-off on finals day on Sunday, May 14, at Jesters Snooker Club, Swindon. World number 34 Mark Davis will present the trophies and play exhibition frames against all the champions.
For more information about loft conversion experts Attic Life, visit www.atticlife.co.uk.
BREAKS
Will Forster: 32.
Ronnie Sullivan: 22.
Oliver Cooper: 21.
BRONZE RESULTS
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP A: 1st, Shane Kearns (Jesters, Swindon); 2nd, Will Forster (Mayfair, Gosport); 3rd, Arnie Petty (Salisbury SC); 4th, Chloe White (Copnor SC, Portsmouth).
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP B: 1st, Ronnie Sullivan (Frames, Coulsdon); 2nd, Oscar Livesey-Lodwick (Nailsea SC); 3rd, Oliver Cooper (Frames, Coulsdon); 4th, Thomas Saunders (Stepfield SC, Witham, Essex).
ROUND-ROBIN GROUP C: 1st, Riley Ellis (Jesters, Swindon); 2nd, Riccardo Drayton (Chandler’s Ford SC); 3rd, O’Shay Scott (Chandler’s Ford SC); 4th, James Woodley (Nailsea SC).
QUARTER-FINALS (12 points): Kearns 2 Cooper 0, Sullivan 2 Petty 1, Ellis 2 Livesey-Lodwick 1, Drayton 2 Forster 0.
SEMI-FINALS (15 points): Ellis 2 Drayton 0, Sullivan 2 Kearns 0.
FINAL (25/18 points): Ellis 2 Sullivan 1.
Stacey collects second Plate trophy
A POPLAR snooker player has collected his second Plate trophy of the season on the Cuestars South of England Under-21 Tours.
Adam Stacey failed to qualify from a tough round-robin group in the Gold section in the event sponsored by Attic Life at Salisbury Snooker Club.
The 16-year-old beat Steven Hughes (Chandler’s Ford) 2-1 but lost 2-0 to English Under-18 Champion Mark Lloyd (Gosport) and 2-0 to Connor Benzey (Eastleigh), who finished the ten-leg series ranked third.
Stacey, who is based at Legends Snooker Club, Leytonstone, then followed up his success in Swindon in March by overcoming Hughes, again, in the final of the competition for non-qualifiers.
The top-16 players on each tour will be invited to the championship play-off on finals day on Sunday, May 14, at Jesters Snooker Club, Swindon. World number 34 Mark Davis will present the trophies and play exhibition frames against all the champions.
For more information about loft conversion experts Attic Life, visit www.atticlife.co.uk.
PLATE RESULTS (ONE-FRAME MATCHES)
PRELIMS: Adam Stacey (Legends, Leytonstone) beat Nat Kidner (Greenbaize, Bournemouth), Steven Hughes (Chandler’s Ford SC) beat James Woodley (Nailsea SC), O’Shay Scott (Chandler’s Ford SC) beat Olly Gibbs.
SEMI-FINALS: Stacey beat Chloe White (Copnor SC, Portsmouth), Hughes beat Scott.
FINAL: Stacey beat Hughes.
Tim Dunkley (World Snooker coach)