WAYNE SNOOK, from the Clarrie Dunbar indoor club at Standerwick, won the annual Torquay United Open Singles tournament held at the Devon club’s green over the Easter Bank Holiday weekend.

It was a remarkable victory as it was his second on the Open Singles Circuit this season – but only the third OSC tournament he had entered.

Snook had previously won the Moonfleet OSC tournament last October in Weymouth but went out in the first round in the other at Loddon Vale (Basingstoke) in February.

However, this latest win and 100 ranking points takes him to 204 points and sees him leap up the overall OSC rankings to 10th and virtually certain to finish in the top 32 gain a place in the Grand Final play-offs at Potters Leisure Resort, Hopton-on-sea, Norfolk in mid-November.

Snook won six matches to lift the Torquay title and £1,000 first prize.

In an extremely tight final, he beat local player Ian Lesley. Snook edged the first set 7-6 and drew the second 7-7 for a 1.5-0.5 victory.

On the road to the final, Snook beat Clive Vaughan (Westlecot) 6-4, 8-1, Tony Frowd 6-2, 9-5 and Steve Mayhew (C Dunbar) 6-4, 11-4.

After three straight set wins, Snook was taken to a tie-breaker in the quarter and semi-finals against Neil Smith (Westlecot) and Simon Jones (Malvern Hills).

He beat Smith in the quarters 5-4, 5-11, 2-0 and then Jones 3-8, 10-0, 2-0 to book his place in the final.

  • ANOTHER OSC tournament was held over Easter at Dolphin IBC (Poole, Dorset), with several local players competing.

Christie Miller’s Andy Moore, who had made a swift exit at Torquay in round two, fared far better at Dolphin.

He reached the quarter-finals before losing to Westlecot’s Neil Smith 2-0.

However, Moore bagged a further 44 points from Torquay and Dolphin to take his OSC total to 250 points and move up to fourth in the rankings and virtually certain to book his spot for the Grand Final.