28th January 2006
Talented youngster, Dale Branton, claimed his fourth successive win at the fifth leg of the Plymouth West of England Billiards & Snooker Foundation under 15 Bronze Waistcoat Tour held at Rileys, Plymouth.

Victoria Snooker Centre players Branton and Daniel Keane met in a tense final where expectations ran high on both sides. Keane’s determination to succeed became apparent after taking an early 24 point lead managing to keep Branton at bay during the first frame. Keane consistently found good length in his safety play leaving Branton in trouble on several occasions. Faced with what only looked like a safety shot, Branton chipped a red into the corner pocket gaining ideal position on the blue to complete a 31 break. A shell-shocked Keane then struggled to find good safety, which gave Branton a further chance to make another decisive 31 to take the first frame. Unable to retain his composure in the second frame, Keane didn't quite find the safety play he had demonstrated in the first frame, leaving Branton to run out a 53-9 winner for a 2:0 win. This result reinforcing what is already a convincing lead for Branton at the top of the ranking list.

Keane reached the final with a favourable run of the ball against 9 year old Haydon Pinhey of Rileys. Keane took full advantage of this to win the first frame with ease. During the second frame, Pinhey refused to let Keane’s good fortune get the better of him and battled to the end, taking the game to the colours. Keane’s experience of playing League snooker was apparent after playing some tactical snookers of which Pinhey failed to escape from. This was enough to secure him a 2:0 win.

The second semi-final saw Branton against Riley’s potting machine, Dylan Chilcott. Armed with the knowledge of Chilcott’s potting power, Branton kept him at distance, forcing a series of mistakes, which he made the most of to cruise to a 2:0 win, making breaks of 33, 24 and 21 along the way.

Group A saw Branton finish top without dropping a frame making breaks of 31, 29 and the highest of the day, a 44 against Pinhey. Pinhey had a comfortable 2:0 win against Christopher Corry making two breaks of 14 demonstrating a level of consistency despite his young years. Corry’s second match against 10 year old Curtis Campbell went the distance. After Campbell took a 1:0 lead, Corry’s dedication paid off for him to level. Despite Corry taking the initial lead in the deciding frame, Campbell fought hard to win comfortably 2:1. The last match in Group A saw Pinhey vs Campbell, the winner taking the runner up slot to secure a place in the semis. Pinhey potted well to win an edgy first frame on the colours. The next frame was much the same going all the way to the black. Pinhey then made a telling mistake on a safety shot allowing Campbell to bring the match level. In the decider, Pinhey scored freely to secure his place in the semis by winning the match 2:1.

Group B saw Keane take the lead 2:0 against Chilcott in what were very close frames. The match between Keane and Negus was also a close affair, both players sharing the first 2 frames on the colours. Negus failed to make the most of his opportunities following a string of excellent long pots.

Although the frames were even at one each, Keane stepped up a gear on the deciding frame to win comfortably 53-10. The result of the tie between Chilcott and Negus would see the winner go through to the semi’s. With both players aware of this, it made for a very tense encounter. After sharing the first two frames, the decider really put their nerves to the test with both players making mistakes throughout the match. Chilcott came through 54-44 to secure his place in the semi-final.

The Tournament Director commented, "The youngsters are a credit to the sport showing determination and dedication throughout the highs and lows of the tournament. The level of sportsmanship demonstrated is admirable and will no doubt stand them in good stead in developing their confidence and social skills outside of the tournament arena".

Report by Steve Brookshaw