Castle: I can do it

BILLY Castle insists he’s “relaxed and confident” ahead of the Cuestars South of England Championship play-off after shading Alex Dunkley in the final of the last leg.

Picture by Kevin Legg: Billy Castle

The 18-year-old from Marchwood, who had lost in the quarter-finals in all four previous events he’d played in this season, will be seeded fifth on Finals Day in Swindon, on June 5.

Cue T’s clubmates, and practice partners, Castle and Dunkley met in the final of the eighth event at Chandler’s Ford Snooker Club. 

Playing with a brand new tip, Castle constructed a break of 83 to lead 2-0. Dunkley, 23, forced a decider, needed a snooker on the colours but went ‘in off’ the final black.

Castle said: “My game is coming back now and I’m more relaxed and confident.

“I’ve got a great chance of winning the Championship Tour in Swindon if I carry my form through.”

Earlier, Castle, who pocketed £60, recorded breaks of 69, 62, 51 and 50.

In the knockout stage, he accounted for Martin Wallace (Colours SC, Reading) 3-0 and Jonathan Charlton (Aldwick RBL, Bognor Regis) 3-1.

Dunkley, who collected £30 and finished runner-up in the rankings, made breaks of 75 and 60 in defeating 15-year-old Jordan Winbourne (Chandler’s Ford SC) 3-0 in the quarter-finals. He beat Mark McLean (Churchills, Eastleigh) 3-1 to reach the final.

Dunkley has reached three finals this season – and lost them all.

McLean, whose break of 92 was the highest of 20 half-centuries scored throughout the tournament, finished second to Castle in his round-robin group and accounted for David Beakhouse (Colours SC, Reading) 3-1 in the last-eight.

At the same stage, Charlton prevailed 3-0 against Ben Tanner (The Academy, Eastleigh).

Cuestars director John Hunter will invite both Adam Nash and Chris Richards, who finished joint 16th, to the Championship Play-Off at Jesters, Swindon, on Sunday, June 5, in front of guest-of-honour Ryan Day.

Qualifiers: Ryan Mears (Sovereign SC, Farnborough), Alex Dunkley (Marchwood Cue T’s), Mike Finn (Woolston Cons, Southampton), Neil Craycraft (147 SC, Swindon), Billy Castle (Marchwood Cue T’s), Martin Wallace (Colours SC, Reading), Mark McLean (Churchills, Eastleigh), Jonathan Charlton (Aldwick RBL, Bognor Regis), Shane Castle (Chandler’s Ford SC), Jordan Winbourne (Chandler’s Ford SC), David Beakhouse (Colours SC, Reading), Ben Tanner (The Academy, Eastleigh), Ben Harrison (Player’s, Westbury), Andy Rogers (Rileys, Newport, Wales), Gavin Rogers (Ambassador SC, Poole), Adam Nash (Woolston Cons, Southampton), Chris Richards (Roath Labour Club, Cardiff).

BREAKS:

Mark McLean: 92.
Billy Castle: 83, 69, 62, 51, 50.
Alex Dunkley: 75, 74, 60, 55.
Mike Finn: 69, 66, 56.
Jordan Winbourne: 65, 63, 51.
Ben Tanner: 62, 51.
Bouwe Bosma: 50, 50.

ROUND-ROBIN GROUP POSITIONS:

GROUP A: 1st, Jordan Winbourne (Chandler’s Ford SC); 2nd, Ben Tanner (The Academy, Eastleigh); 3rd, Will Meharg (Chandler’s Ford SC); 4th, Trevor Thorn (Basingstoke Cons).

GROUP B: 1st, David Beakhouse (Colours SC, Reading); 2nd, Martin Wallace (Colours, Reading); 3rd, Dan Bentley (The Academy, Eastleigh); 4th, Chris Richards (Roath Labour Club, Cardiff).

GROUP C: 1st, Billy Castle (Cue T’s, Marchwood); 2nd, Mark McLean (Churchills, Eastleigh); 3rd, Mike Finn (Woolston Cons, Southampton); 4th, Lee Roling (The Academy, Eastleigh).

GROUP D: 1st, Jonathan Charlton (Aldwick RBL, Bognor Regis); 2nd, Alex Dunkley (Cue T’s, Marchwood); 3rd, Bouwe Bosma (Chandler’s Ford SC); 4th, Lee Bell (The Academy, Eastleigh); 5th, Gary Bennett (Roath Labour Club, Cardiff).

KNOCKOUT:

QUARTER-FINALS (8 points): Dunkley beat Winbourne 3-0, McLean beat Beakhouse 3-1, Castle beat Wallace 3-0, Charlton beat Tanner 3-0.

SEMI-FINALS (12 points): Dunkley beat McLean 3-1, Castle beat Charlton 3-1.

FINAL (25/18 points, £60/£30): Castle beat Dunkley 3-2.