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Home Hero Castle is the Champion in Reading
Billy Castle defeated Daniel Womersley 4-0 in the final to win the 2023/24 English Amateur Snooker Tour Event Three title at his home club venue, the Crucible Sports & Social Club Reading.
The 31-year-old former professional produced a string of brilliant performances throughout the weekend, dropping just four frames in six matches.
Castle began his campaign with a 4-2 victory against Jed Mann; a quality encounter that featured six half-century breaks between the pair. He then registered runs of 59, 50 (twice) and 65 in a 4-0 last 32 success over Connor Benzey to book his place in Sunday’s last 16.
The 2017 English Amateur Championship winner returned and eliminated Callum Beresford 4-0 (breaks of 61 and 56), Sean McAllister 4-2 (66, 58) and Lewis Ullah 4-0 (68) in the last 16, eight and four respectively.
Emerging from the other side of the draw was Womersley, who too enjoyed a strong display in Reading as he completed four whitewash wins en route to the title match.
Womersley – also aged 31 – did have to survive a deciding frame finish, though, in his quarter-final tie with last season’s English Amateur Snooker Tour number one, George Pragnell. After losing the opening frame, Womersley levelled up with a break of 130 – an effort which stood as the weekend’s highest – before needing to string together the final three frames from 3-1 down.
In the semi-finals, Womersley denied 2016 English Amateur Championship finalist Wayne Townsend 4-0.
However, Castle was not to be stopped on home soil as he compiled back-to-back century breaks of 106 and 114 on his way to moving 2-0 ahead in the final before finishing the task by winning the next two frames.
Castle shoots up to third place in the national rankings with Womersley five points ahead in second.
Events One and Two champion Steven Hallworth had his 12-match winning streak ended by teenager Aidan Murphy in the opening round, although he remains 95 points clear at the top of the standings with two events to go.
The 2023/24 English Amateur Snooker Tour Event Four takes place at the Landywood Snooker Club on the weekend of December 2 & 3. Entries close on Friday 24 November at 12:00 noon. Players can enter here.
