Jamie Clarke, the young 16 year old from Pemberton in Llanelli, was crowned the Future Star of Snooker 2011 at Rileys Victoria on Tuesday 18th October.
Jamie, who qualified for the final by winning his regional heat in Bristol, beat off 6 other Under 16s to win the title of Future Star of Snooker 2011 and a cheque for £5,000.
Judged by snooker legend Ronnie ‘The Rocket’ O’Sullivan, the finalists had to undertake 5 different tasks, each task having a point value. At the end of all 5 tasks the winner was chosen.
Ronnie said: “There was some great snooker on display today, these young lads are all brilliant and I reckon we’ve definitely seen a few stars of the future. Jamie was a worthy winner, he managed two maximum breaks which is some achievement. I think we’ll be seeing a lot more of him on the snooker circuit!”
Jamie got through to the final of Future Star of Snooker 2010 last year, but unfortunately didn’t win.
Speaking after being presented with the cheque and trophy by Ronnie, Jamie said:
“I was gutted I didn’t win last year but I just didn’t perform well enough on the day. I came back this year determined to perform well and I was pleased with my performance and that Ronnie saw my potential and pick me as the winner. Thank you to Rileys and Ronnie for this opportunity because the money enables me to enter more tournaments that will hopefully enhance my snooker career and my aim to becoming a professional”
The Future Stars of Snooker was introduced by Rileys and Ronnie O’Sullivan for the first time in 2010.
Maurice Kelly, Rileys CEO said: “We introduced this competition to help young snooker players progress in the sport. The £5,000 prize money will help Jamie enter into more tournaments and hopefully help him on his way to getting on the professional ladder. Jamie was excellent today; it was a close competition with some great talent from all the lads in the final.”
To get to the final the boys had to win their heats in local qualifiers which took place at Rileys clubs across the UK in March, and then go on to win their regional finals in April.
The other finalists were: Elliot Slessor from Gateshead; George Pragnell from Norwich; Robert Dagnall from Rainford, St Helens; Adam Bobat from Fareham, Hants; Toby Simpson from Long Eaton, Nottingham and Steven Hallworth from Skellingthorpe, Lincoln.