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2004 EUROPEAN UNDER 19 CHAMPIONSHIP NEWS

PHOTO GALLERY - RESULTS

European Events 2004 - INFORMATION

JONES IS TOP EURO STAR

Jamie Jones beat Mark Allen 6-3 to take the 2004 European Under 19 title at the First Artist Academy in Wellingborough on Thursday.

"I played like an alien", said a delighted Jones, who went on to explain that he wasn't emulating "spaceman" Dominic Dale, his regular practice partner, but referring to his near invincible form all week.

"I hardly missed a ball in four days, but if you can't play in these fabulous conditions then you can't play anywhere."

Jones got off to the best possible start with a stunning 91 break in the first frame. He then snatched the second with a clearance to the pink, and thumped in a run of 76 to lead 3-0 to leave Allen, the youngest ever Northern Ireland champion, rocking.

Or was he? Allen's response to adversity was to conjure up a scintillating 129 total clearance to get his name on the board.

Jones stretched his lead to 4-1 at the interval, with a run of 49.

On the resumption Allen launched his come back. Runs of 59 and 30 closed the gap to 4-3 and it was looking all over 4-4, as Allen opened the eighth with a 50 break. But Jones clawed his way back into the frame, and then produced a green to black clearance to win a pivotal frame.

And it was all over bar the cheering when Jones pieced together a run of 43 in the ninth, adding a further 21 to put the match beyond any doubt.

The ever-sporting Allen commented "He got off to a good start and I don't think anyone could have kept up with him.

"I think Jamie played the best snooker right through the week and he really deserved his victory."

Jamie, who is sponsored by the Top Ten Company and his home Club, The Empire in Neath, was virtually speechless after his win.

"I feel great. I did feel a bit edgy at the start and we both missed a couple of balls, but once I settled down I really enjoyed the match.

"I've won a lot of tournaments at home in Wales, but this is by far the biggest win of my career.

"I'd like to thank the EASB and the First Artist Academy and the European Association for the great organisation and playing conditions. It's just been fabulous here all week."

Jones collected 1000 Euros for his victory and a bonus of 100 Euros and an Acuerate cue and case for his superb 139 total clearance, made in the group stage. Allen took home the runners-up consolation prize of 500 Euros.

NORTHERN IRELAND AND WALES TO CONTEST EUROPEAN UNDER 19 FINAL

Mark Allen from Antrim and Jamie Jones from Neath, left host country England stunned as they inflicted resounding 5-1 semi final defeats on the fancied English players.

Jones, who celebrated his sixteenth birthday in February, produced the biggest shock of the day, beating the near invincible Judd Trump.

Jones had suffered several defeats by Trump in the past, but today it was a different story.

It started as business as usual for Bristol's precocious fifteen year old, who tuned up with breaks of 43 and 41 to take the first frame.

Jones got first bite in the second and ran in a break of 61 before losing position and before forced to run for cover. But he left a semblance of a red sticking out and Trump smacked it down the rail and set about the clearance. Having negotiated all the seemingly impossible shots, Trump sailed through the colours landing, just a little too close to the cushion for comfort, to attempt the final black It stayed out and with the miss the confidence drained from Trump who was barely in contention for the remainder of the match. Jones capitalised to the tune of 47, 38, 44 and 77 to sail into the final.

And Jones will face his good mate and sometime practice partner Mark Allen, who inflicted similar damage on England's Chris Norbury, but in a far more closely contested and tactical match.

Norbury sneaked the opener on the black but having run in 57 to start the next, lost out to a 61 clearance from Allen.

Allen added further breaks of 45, 36 and 64, and try as he might Norbury couldn't stop the Irish champion from progressing.

MORRIS TRUMPED BY JUDD

Judd Trump, the golden boy of English snooker, produced a mature performance to overcome Ireland's talented teenager David Morris in the quarter finals.

The two fifteen year olds whistled in breaks of 51, 39, 50, 74, 40, 66 and 44 as the frames whizzed by. Trump nicked the opener on the colours and took the second despite 50 from Morris. He added the third before Morris countered with 74. A run of forty gave Morris the fifth and the next two frames were shared. But just as it looked as if Morris might send the match into a decider, Trump pounced with a 44 clearance to win 5-3.

Northern Ireland's Mark Allen won a low key encounter against Ireland's Jonny Connors. Allen won a scrappy opener and went further ahead with a break of 51. He added two out of the next three to break the back of Connors' challenge and wrapped up the sixth with little resistance to book his semi final place.

"It was a bit scrappy tonight", said Allen. "But I'm thrilled with the win and I'm really looking forward to the semi finals."

And Allen's semi final opponent will be Chris Norbury who clinched a 5-4 win over Kidderminster's Lee Page with a vital 59 break in the decider.

The match had contained plenty of drama prior to that as Page got called for nine consecutive misses in frame three, conceding 36 points and losing the frame. But his response was to smash in a break of 122 in the next, missing the blue for a possible 140 and the tournament high break.

Welshman Jamie Jones was pushed to a decider by Germany's Patrick Einsle. Jones cantered into a 2-0 lead with a break of 72, but then found himself only 2-2 at the interval at Einsle compiled 60 to level. Jones regained the lead with a break of 88, but then went 4-3 behind as Einsle ran in 62.

Jones won a tense eighth frame to level and then smacked in a long red at the start of the decider and rampaged through a match-winning break of 84.

NORBURY PRODUCES THE GREAT ESCAPE

Chris Norbury played his "get out of jail" card to squeeze past Scotland's Mark Owens and book himself a place in the quarter final line up.

The Englishman trailed 1-0 to a break of 48 from Owens, but levelled with a run of 92. Owens sneaked the third on the black despite a run of 38 from Norbury and then moved 3-1 up and 56 points up. With defeat staring him in the face, Norbury somehow clawed his way back into the frame, got the snooker he required and brought the scores level. And when the going gets tough, the tough get going and the Challenge Tour player smacked in a match-winning run of 88 to be the most relieved man in Wellingborough.

A more straightforward 4-1 win for Lee Page over Northern Ireland's Jamie McArdle set up an all-English quarter final tie between Page and Norbury.

Judd Trump came from behind to beat his English team mate Linh Tieu. Trump trailed 2-1 and needed two snookers in the next, which he got and then added a colours clearance to be level at the interval. And then Trump, with the momentum in his favour, swept through the next two for victory.

Mark Allen thumped in a 127 clearance, and finished with a 59 to beat Scotland's Michael Collumb 4-0 and Welshman Jamie Jones returned a similar result against Ireland's Jason Waters. Breaks of 36, 46 and 85 helped the Neath lad on his way.

Davy Morris from the Republic of Ireland was involved in a titanic struggle against Northern Ireland's Jordan Brown. He eventually secured a 4-3 win, having come from behind three times to level the match, before securing victory on the colours in the decider.

Ireland's Jonny Connors produced the shock of the round, beating defending champion Jamie O'Neill 4-3. Connors led 3-1, despite a break of 106 from O'Neill. But after the interval the champion came back strongly, adding runs of 64 and 39 to draw level. But the crucial contribution came in the decider as 46 from Connors saw him over the line.

Germany's Patrick Einsle kept the continental hopes alive with another shock win, beating WSA Challenge tour professional Gary Wilson 4-1 with emphatic scoring whenever he got the chance. He swept to a 3-0 lead with breaks of 83 and 75. Wilson took the next and had hopes in the fifth with a run of 46, but that didn't prove decisive and Einsle mopped up the frame to book his quarter final place.

Before play got under way a special presentation was made to the European B&SA Referee's Chairman, Billy Telford, from Northern Ireland.

It was Billy's seventy-fifth birthday and a bottle of wine signed by all the officiating referees was presented to Billy by the EBSA Secretary Maxime Cassis.

OWENS SCORES LAST MINUTE WINNER

Scotland's Mark Owens was the last player to book himself a place in the knock out draw, after an enthralling, final frame, black ball finish to his all-or-nothing shoot out with Ireland's David Hogan.

Reward for that effort was to book a last sixteen match against England's Chris Norbury.

Another Englishman, Adam Wicheard from Trowbridge, needed to win his last group match, against Welshman Jamie Jones to stand any chance of qualification. While Jones, boasting a 100% record, wanted to keep his clean sheet intact to secure the number one seeding. Both were disappointed!.

In an exciting match, Jones took a close opening frame, before Wicheard stepped in with an 82 clearance to level. Jones moved ahead again, but he couldn't shake off the Englishman, who sent the frame into the decider, where Wicheard got the first chance.

But he fluffed a shot and left Jones smack in the balls and the Welshman needed no second invitation to harvest enough points for victory.

After the maths,  Lee Page and Judd Trump shared the best group record and the toss of a coin gave the number one seeding to Page. Likewise Jamie Jones and Mark Allen were separated by the call of "heads" to take the third and fourth seeding positions, in a draw dominated by players from the British Isle and Ireland, with the solitary continental representative being Germany's Patrick Einsle.

FARMER BROWN TAMES BULLOCK

Northern Ireland's Jordan Brown booked himself a place in the knock out draw with a nail-biting 3-2 win over England's Sean Bullock in Group A. Brown joined defending champion Jamie O'Neill as the Group A qualifiers.

O'Neill beat Brown in their head to head, but not before Brown had taken the opening frame to give O'Neill something to think about.

England's Lee Page and Ireland's Jason Waters have taken Group B by storm. Both boast an unbeaten record, but they play each other in the last group match, which will determine the placings.

In the same group, France's Kevin Bisval, appearing in his first international event, gave the Welsh Under 19 champion a mighty scare, before experience prevailed and Aled Brothers recovered from 2-1 down to win 3-2.

Group C is already cut and dried. Northern Ireland's Mark Allen and England's Linh Tieu have qualified. Their final match will determine who is top dog in the group.

Jamie Jones has not only dominated Group D, he remains the only player yet to drop a frame in the event. A 3-1 or better win over England's Adam Wicheard (right) would guarantee Jones number one seeding, but undoubtedly Wicheard, who needs a win to get into the draw, will have other ideas. Watching anxiously will be Ireland's Jonny Connors. He needs a Welsh win to give him a slot in the draw.

England's Judd Trump has quietly eased his way through Group E, but who joins him hinges on the final matches. If Holland's Mitchel de Kok can spring a surprise and beat Trump then his reward will be a knock out place, otherwise Northern Ireland's Jamie McCardle, who beat Scotland's Francis Hughes 3-2, will go through.

Ireland's Davy Morris is safely through from Group F and it will be a straight shoot out between England's Robbie Williams, and Scotland's Michael Collumb to see who joins him.

Chris Norbury has secured a ticket out of Group G, but not as convincingly as he might have hoped. Norbury was beaten by his English team mate Ian Ali 3-2. Ali dished up with 97 in the decider and the result gives him a good chance of qualifying, if he can beat Patrick Einsle. But Patrick Einsle is still in with a shout and the winner of Anthony Hughes against Darren Dornan will also have a chance, should Einsle win and then it will be out with the slide rules and calculators to see who progresses. It promises to be a tense final round of matches on Wednesday morning.

No such problems for Newcastle's Gary Wilson (left). He smashed in a superb 134 clearance and a run of 60, in a 3-1 win over Finland's Johannes Kauhanen to top the group.

JONES BREAKS TOURNAMENT RECORD

Sixteen year old Welsh star Jamie Jones, set the First Artist Academy buzzing on Tuesday.

The Neath lad set a new European Under 19 championship record with a scintillating 139 total clearance in the second frame of his Group D match against Ireland's Jonny Connors.

The first frame was extremely close, before Jones nipped in to pot a re-spotted black. A long red set him on the way to his total clearance, which surpassed the 137 made by Northern Ireland's Mark Allen in the 2001 Championship in Germany.

Further breaks of 45 and 34 completed a whitewash for the Welshman, which leaves him riding high at the top of Group D, yet to even drop a frame.

Team mate Craig Davis had to give second best to Northern Ireland's Mark Allen, but not before a tremendous struggle between the pair. Allen set out with a run of 64, but Davis turned the deficit into a 2-1 lead with 64 of his own. Allen brought the scores level and then punched in a match-winning 79 in the fifth frame.

Allen and his team mates were still laughing after a little trick they'd played on their team mate Jamie McCardle.

Left-hander McCardle was berating his form and suggesting he wasn't happy with his cue. Quick as a flash Allen tells him "You know the problem? You're left-handed and you're using a right-handers cue. Go downstairs to the cue stand and you can buy a left-handed cue."

And everyone kept a dead pan face as the boys watched McCardle trot downstairs to the cue stand, who'd been let in on the joke. And they proceeded to show him a range of left-handed cues he could try out!

Meanwhile back on the tables a titanic neighbourly struggle between Holland and Belgium was resolved when Holland's Kai Corvalen clinched victory on a re-spotted black in the final frame against Davy Pauly in Group D.

CHAMPION STARTS IN STYLE

England's Jamie O'Neill set out on the defence of his European Under 19 title, playing in his home surroundings, the fabulous First Artist Academy in Wellingborough.

After an opening ceremony, conducted by the Chief Executive, Malcolm Holland, play got under way and no sooner had the tournament director said "play", than the breaks were flying in all over the place.

O'Neill tuned up with a 3-0 win against Belgium's Davy Degenaers, plundering breaks of 62 and the tournament high to date, 119.

O'Neill's second match of the day was a far closer affair. Playing fellow Englishman Sean Bullock from Woking, O'Neill took the opener with a break of 53, but then found himself 2-1 down. He rallied with a break of 72 before dominating the final frame.

Northern Ireland's Mark Allen looks set to dominate Group C. In his first match Allen ran in breaks of 59 and 50 to easily dispose of Thorri Jensson from Iceland. And Allen added further breaks of 50 and 51 in his second match, posting another 3-0 win against Giovanni Duquenois from Belgium.

Some of the fancied players found themselves in some tight matches on the opening day. Republic of Ireland's Davy Morris (right) was pushed all the way by Scotland's Michael Collumb, who stroked in 59 during the game, but it was Morris who won the vital decider.

Chris Norbury cantered into a 2-0 lead against Germany's Patrick Einsle. A break of 67 brought Einsle back into contention and he then levelled the scores. But he handed a chance to Norbury in the last frame and the Englishman duly produced a crucial 49 clearance to the green to take the match.

England's Gary Wilson and David Hogan from Republic of Ireland dished up a real thriller. Hogan snatched a high scoring opener on the black, only to sit out the next as Wilson smacked in a run of 95. Hogan went 2-1 up and again had to watch as Wilson smashed in 90 to level. The final frame was anybodies until Wilson nipped in to clear the colours to gain victory.

There were also opening days wins for the Welsh trio of Craig Davis, Jamie Jones and Aled Brothers. Jones compiled two breaks of 51 in a 3-0 win over Belgium's Davy Pauly.

 © Janie Watkins 2005

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