Pragnell Wins Challenge Tour Ten
George Pragnell won the tenth and final Challenge Tour event of the season, beating Callum Lloyd 3-2 in the final at the South West Snooker Academy in Gloucester.
Pragnell, age 23 from Norwich, had previously earned just £1,025 on the Challenge Tour this season, but scooped the £2,000 top prize at the last event. He won six matches, notably knocking out both Barry Pinches and his son Luke Pinches, then beating David Grace 3-0 in the semi-finals.
There was still plenty to celebrate for Grace as he finishes second in the overall Challenge Tour rankings and earns one of the two World Snooker Tour cards available. Brandon Sargeant knew coming into the event that he had one of those cards secured, and he tops the rankings despite losing 3-2 to Zak Surety in the first round in Gloucester. Mitchell Mann lost 3-1 to Shane Castle in the second round to end his hopes of finishing ahead of Grace.
Leeds cueman Grace reached the semi-finals of the UK Championship in 2015 but was then relegated from the tour last year. The 33-year-old said: “It’s a massive relief because it had been very close all season between the top three players, with only two cards available.
“When I dropped off the pro tour I just wanted to stay positive and enjoy playing on the Challenge Tour, and I have done that. I have learned a lot about the strengths and weaknesses of my game. Once next season starts I’ll appreciate being on the pro tour even more, having missed it for a year.”
Results:
Round 1
1) Mitchell Mann 3 (5) 1 Steven Hallworth
2) Andy Hicks 0 (5) 3 Shane Castle
3) David Grace 3 (5) 1 Ronan Whyte
4) Andy Milliard 0 (5) 3 Sean Maddocks
5) Imran Puri 3 (5) 1 Joshua Saywell
6) Zak Surety 3 (5) 2 Brandon Sargeant
7) Luke Pinches 3 (5) 0 John Foster
8) Joshua Thomond 3 (5) 0 James Trump
9) Saqib Nasir 2 (5) 3 George Pragnell
10) Ben Hancorn 0 (5) 3 Barry Pinches
11) Oliver Brown 3 (5) 1 Matthew Glasby
12) Simon Dent 1 (5) 3 Kevin Van Hove-Speltincx
13) Patrick Whelan 3 (5) 1 Kuldesh Johal
14) David Lilley 3 (5) 2 Adam Duffy
15) Andy Marriott 3 (5) 2 Luke Simmonds
16) Farakh Ajaib 3 (5) 2 Peter Devlin
17) Jackson Page 3 (5) 0 Ryan Thomerson
18) Wayne Townsend 3 (5) 2 Danny Brindle
19) Matthew Day 0 (5) 3 Callum Lloyd
20) Reanne Evans 2 (5) 3 Iulian Boiko
21) Zsolt Fenyvesi 0 (5) 3 Matthew Couch
22) Jenson Kendrick 3 (5) 1 Sergey Isaenko
Round 2
23) Mitchell Mann 1 (5) 3 Shane Castle
24) Daniel Gorton 0 (5) 3 David Grace
25) Daniel Womersley 1 (5) 3 Sean Maddocks
26) Imran Puri 0 (5) 3 Zak Surety
27) Luke Pinches 3 (5) 2 Joshua Thomond
28) Ryan Davies 2 (5) 3 George Pragnell
29) Leo Fernandez 1 (5) 3 Barry Pinches
30) Adam Edge 2 (5) 3 Oliver Brown
31) Kevin Van Hove-Speltincx 3 (5) 0 Patrick Whelan
32) Dylan Emery 0 (5) 3 David Lilley
33) Andy Marriott 1 (5) 3 Farakh Ajaib
34) Christopher Keogan 1 (5) 3 Jackson Page
35) Chae Ross 0 (5) 3 Wayne Townsend
36) Callum Lloyd 3 (5) 1 Iulian Boiko
37) Louis Heathcote 3 (5) 0 Matthew Couch
38) Simon Blackwell 2 (5) 3 Jenson Kendrick
Round 3
39) Shane Castle 2 (5) 3 David Grace
40) Sean Maddocks 1 (5) 3 Zak Surety
41) Luke Pinches 0 (5) 3 George Pragnell
42) Barry Pinches 3 (5) 2 Oliver Brown
43) Kevin Van Hove-Speltincx 3 (5) 0 David Lilley
44) Farakh Ajaib 0 (5) 3 Jackson Page
45) Wayne Townsend 1 (5) 3 Callum Lloyd
46) Louis Heathcote 2 (5) 3 Jenson Kendrick
Quarter Final
47) David Grace 3 (5) 1 Zak Surety
48) George Pragnell 3 (5) 2 Barry Pinches
49) Kevin Van Hove-Speltincx 1 (5) 3 Jackson Page
50) Callum Lloyd 3 (5) 1 Jenson Kendrick
Semi Final
51) David Grace 0 (5) 3 George Pragnell
52) Jackson Page 0 (5) 3 Callum Lloyd
Final
53) George Pragnell 3 (5) 2 Callum Lloyd
