Feeling grand

A TEENAGER from Hampshire has pocketed the South’s richest cash prize in amateur snooker.

Clutching £1,000 in £20 notes, Arron McIntyre celebrates moments after the year-long Chandler’s Ford SC Senior Roll-Up was settled on the final frame of the final match on the final night.

Arron McIntyre

“I never actually thought that I could do it,” said the 19-year-old. “I’m really pleased that I’ve won it. I’ve got my name up on the board. Be nice every time I walk in and see it on there.”

McIntyre, a general builder, led Malcolm Harvey by just £10 going into competition No 102. But it was heartbreak for Harvey who, needing to reach the final to overtake his young rival, lost a tense semi-final deciding frame worth £500 against 2004 champion Danny Newman.

McIntyre was gracious in victory: “It’s going to give you a bit of a low-blow, getting so close, one frame away,” he said. “Malcolm fought a good battle. He won 80 quid a couple of weeks ago that put him a tenner behind me at the last comp. He’s been up here every day practising and putting the work in, so I knew he was serious about it.”

Left-hander Harvey, a 48-year-old print firm director, had to settle for runners-up spot and £500 after the last-four defeat finished at 1.30am.

The twice-weekly handicap series, which this year paid out more than £13,000, distributes all entry fees as prizes on the night apart from a percentage which is ‘Rolled-Up’ to create a £2,500 pot for the top six money winners.

Picture: Kevin Legg