PTC3 2011 - Brilliant Ben Wins Maiden Title

Ben Woollaston a 24-year-old pro from Leicester won his maiden professional title today when he beat Graeme Dott 4-1 in the final of Event 3 of the World Snooker Players Tour Championship in Sheffield.

PTC Event 3

World Snooker Academy, Sheffield

EVENT RESULTS & CENTURIES

Article source; World Snooker

Former World Champion Dott had beaten the likes of Ronnie O'Sullivan, John Higgins and Stephen Hendry to reach the final, but could not stop inspired Leicester cueman Woollaston winning his first professional title.

The 24-year-old is a former European Under-19 Champion but has never been past the last 32 of a full ranking event.

Woollaston won the first frame of the final with a break of 70, then in the second Larkhall's Dott got the snooker he needed on the last red and cleared for 1-1. Another tight frame went the way of Dott, but Woollaston dominated the last three frames, taking them with top runs of 42, 43 and 50.

"I think this shows the strength in depth on the Tour, no result surprises me these days," said Woollaston after collecting a cheque for £10,000 and receiving 2,000 ranking points. "Hopefully I am starting to fulfil my potential now. I'm guaranteed to be in the PTC finals now and my target for the season is to get into the top 48 and qualify for a few venues.

"I didn't play a bad match in the tournament, the only time I was worried was in the quarter-finals when I was 2-0 down to Alan McManus. I came back to win that 4-3, and in the final against Graeme I did well to recover from 2-1 down."

Woollaston believes that his improved form is a result of his settled personal life as he recently married Tatiana, a referee from Belarus, and she is moving to England permanently tomorrow.

"I'll see her for the first time in two months, and that gave me extra inspiration today because I felt as if I had nothing to lose," he said. "I wanted to win it for her. We've not had a honeymoon yet so the money will help with that."

The Players Tour Championship is a series of 12 short events, with the top 24 on the final Order of Merit to qualify for the Grand Finals, providing they play in at least three in the UK and three in Europe. The next event is PTC4, the Paul Hunter Classic, next week in Furth, Germany. All PTC events are streamed on www.liveworldsnooker.tv

Photo courtesy; Global Snooker

It is great to see another lesser known professional win a PTC title and has joined Leicester friends Tom Ford and Mark Selby by winning the event. Ben has had flashes of brilliance in the last few years and this can only inspire the youngster to go on to qualifying for more ranking venues and possibly even winning more titles in the future.

This win was also vital for Ben in his battle to stay in the top 64 and remain on the tour for next season. The all-important 2000 ranking points means he now resides at provisionally 59th and with little points to defend from two seasons ago he has a good chance to get in to the top 48 later in the season.

PTC3 may be over but there is little respite for the players as they all head off to Furth in Germany for PTC4, also known as the Paul Hunter Classic which Judd Trump won last year. Will we get another surprise winner or will one of the top stars take the title? Who knows, but what we do know is that it will be the first of the European PTC's to be broadcast by EuroSport. Coverage starts on Friday and will also be available to watch online at http://liveworldsnooker.tv

Once again, congratulations to Ben Woollaston and all the best for the rest of the season!

Photo courtesy; World Snooker