JUNIOR BOYS TOP 20 INVITATION TOURNAMENT

On the first occasion the traditional Top 10 tournament was increased to a Top 20 event Miles Chan, who has been Top 10 Champion for the last two years, again dominated the opposition winning all of his matches. The event included 12 of the top Juniors in the county along with the highest ranked and best placed Cadets from their Top 20 held on September 9. Alex Ramsden was a late withdrawal and Alec Kingston and Richie Bailey accepted their invitations to play but did not attend.

A full report by Dennis Millman :

Miles Chan, an early season winner of the Masters Invitation Singles for Senior Men, proved too strong for the opposition in the Junior Boys event. However in Group One Thomas Wildman started well to take the opener against Chan before going down in four ends, while Corby's Kyle Murie was another Chan victim after taking the second. Wildman also excelled against Ben Tombs who edged through 11-9, 9-11, 11-8, 6-11, 11-9 to take second place in the group.

Chan's straight game win against Tombs confirmed pole position while the otherwise unbeaten Tombs had to settle for second place, with Wildman third after a 15-13 fifth end verdict against James Allington who finished fourth.

In Group Two Aiden Smith dominated the exchanges and it wasn't until his final encounter against Leon Chan that he dropped a solitary end. Aaron Lee was well beaten by Smith but persevered to win all his remaining matches. Ross Campbell provided the sternest test with Lee easing through 11-8 in the fifth, while Ryan Cassidy was accounted for with a 15-13 finish. One of the closest finishes saw Guy Sparrow shade William Shepherd 9-11, 11-9, 13-11, 8-11,12-10, while in another fifth end finish Shepherd got the better of Jonathan Edlund after trailing by two games to one.

In the play-offs Chan took the gold medal with a straight game success against Smith who had to settle for silver. Ben Tombs then did exceptionally well to beat Aaron Lee 11-9, 11-8, 12-10 in the battle for bronze. Harborough's Campbell took fifth place when he beat Wildman in five, while Allington's fourth end success against Cassidy eased him into seventh position.

BOYS CADET TOP 20 INVITATION TOURNAMENT 2012

Sam Coleman and Rias Prescod were invited but did not attend

This was the first time we have held a Top 20 Tournament and we did so to have a good look at all the new talent that is emerging at Under 15 age group in the county. After many hard fought matches a number of the final placings had to be decided by count back the matches won having been equal. The quality of performance will give us much food for thought when considering County Squad and Cadet and Junior Team selection but no doubt about the winner  - Alex Ramsden was in excellent form and retained his title without losing a match.

A full report by Dennis Millman:

Alex Ramsden again demonstrated his potential when he won all nine of his matches to win the Northants Cadet Boys Invitation Tournament. The 18 participants were initially separated into two equal groups with Ramsden's only serious opposition coming from William Shepherd who took the second and fourth ends before Ramsden asserted his authority in the decider. Shepherd finished second in his group but only following a defeat at the hands of Richie Bailey, who in turn went down in five to Patryk Polanski.

In Group Two ben Tombs was expected to come out on top and he duly obliged, winning all his rubbers in straight games with an 11-9, 11-4, 11-6 success against Travis Holly his closest call.

The third and final stage of the event saw players from Group One facing their corresponding opponents in Group Two. This brought Ramsden and Tombs in opposition with the title at stake. Tombs started well and took the opener but Ramsden gradually gained control to win 10-12, 11-6, 13-11, 11-6 and so make sure of the gold medal. The closest match of the day came in the battle for thirteenth place with Jack Bain holding on to beat Priyam Savani 11-8, 11-9, 6-11, 11-13, 11-9.

Dennis Millman

BOYS JUNIOR TOP 10 CHAMPION 2011

MILES CHAN

At the 2011 Top 10 Invitation Tournament held at Weavers Leisure Centre on 2 October 2011 Miles Chan retained his title winning all his matches. There were some excellent competitive matches with clear evidence of the number of young talented players coming through - four of the best Juniors invited are still Cadets. The ten were reduced to nine as Leon Chan was indisposed.

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