Clarke Hits Q Tour Summit
Jamie Clarke has defeated Stuart Carrington 4-2 to make it back-to-back victories at the WPBSA Q Tour Europe at the National Snooker Academy of Bulgaria in Sofia.
Success for Welshman Clarke, who has now won 12 consecutive matches on the Tour, sees him become the first player to win multiple titles this season and moves him to the top of the latest rankings ahead of Peter Lines.
The 31-year-old now stands on the verge of an immediate return to the professional circuit and could seal his place at Event 6 in February, should he reach at least the final in Belgium and other results go his way.
The third Q Tour Europe event held at the Sofia venue attracted a strong field of 93 players from 20 countries, as the race for crucial ranking points continued.
Having received a bye in the opening round, Clarke dropped just one frame during his first three matches as he dispatched Andrew Higginson, Nicolas Mortreux and compatriot Alfie Davies to reach the semi-finals.
There he was given a stern test by fellow former professional Alfie Burden, who hit the tournament high break of 141 during their clash, before ultimately coming through a final frame decider 4-3.
He would await another player who dropped off the World Snooker Tour at the end of last season in Stuart Carrington, in a repeat of their semi-final encounter at the previous event held in Leeds last month.
The Englishman defeated local hope Velian Dimitrov, Alex Millington and George Pragnell to reach the final day, before overcoming Peter Lines and 19-year-old Oliver Sykes in the last four to qualify for his first Q Tour final.
It was Carrington who made the stronger start to take an early lead, before Clarke responded with breaks of 83 and 52 to hit the front at 2-1.
Back came Carrington, who won frame four on the pink and looked set to hit the front as he complied 62 in the next, only for a misjudged safety shot to prove crucial as Clarke cleared with 75 to move to within a frame of victory. The Welshman was not to be denied as duly completed victory in frame six to move into pole position to regain his status on the World Snooker Tour.
Clarke, a former ranking event semi-finalist, dropped just a single frame in his first two matches as he whitewashed Anthony Wall before overcoming France’s Brian Ochoiski 4-1 in the last 64.
A hard-fought contest against William Lemons followed as Clarke came through a deciding frame against the Englishman and then downed George Pragnell 4-2 to secure a place in the concluding day of action.
The WPBSA Q Tour Europe series continues with Event Six at the Delta Moon, Mons, Belgium on 12-15 February. Enter now via WPBSA SnookerScores.
