“A 52-year-old window cleaner shouldn’t win!?” Veteran absolutely made up with Championship Tour record

Colin Norton admitted he was overwhelmed after winning a high-quality amateur snooker tournament in London.
Colin Norton. Picture: Tim DunkleyColin Norton. Picture: Tim Dunkley
Colin Norton. Picture: Tim Dunkley

The Portsmouth League legend has endured a 10-year battle with a condition, sometimes referred to as cueitis, which makes it hard to pull his cue back. 

But now he has earned a place in the Cuestars Championship Tour record books.  

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Clutching £200 prize money after beating Nick Jennings, 27, 2-0 in the final of the sixth leg at Frames Sports Bar, Coulsdon, Norton opened his heart.

He said: ‘This means as much to me as anything I’ve ever won. 

‘I didn’t think I could do it.’

Cuestars officials confirmed that the 52-year-old from Gosport is the oldest winner of a Championship Tour event.

It was certainly not a crash, bang, wallop final. Not exactly old-school, either, but thoughtful.

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Norton, who is based at Waterlooville Sports Bar and was making his debut in the competition, took the opening frame on the pink.

And he set up a remarkable victory in the next with a 58 break, his highest of the day.

Norton has been suffering with cueitis since the Championship Tour was launched in 2009.

He said: ‘A few times I’ve taken six or eight months off snooker just to then come back and think that’s it, cured. But no, it soon creeps back. 

‘So I never thought I’d win anything again. 

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‘It’s incredible, to beat a field like this. A 52-year-old window cleaner, it shouldn’t really happen, should it?’

Under-playing the fact that he compiled a 58 break on a tight professional standard Star table, Norton insisted: ‘My safety game got me through. 

‘It wasn’t my potting. I only take simple ones on.’

And explaining why he entered the event, he said: ‘I missed playing in that sort of environment. 

‘I wanted to challenge myself a bit more against the younger ones, to see if I could still do it – and torture them a little bit.’

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The 35-strong field for the event, which was sponsored by Frames Sports Bar and Mr Gold, returned 28 breaks of 50 or more.

Rankings leader Mark Lloyd recorded the highest break of 84 in his 2-1 quarter-final defeat by Norton.

Gosport-based Lloyd extended his advantage over Aldershot hotshot Ryan Mears to 10 points after beating his title-rival 2-0 in the last-16. 

Pascal Richard, also from Gosport, is 12 points further back in third place.

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Portsmouth’s Elliott Weston reached the last-eight for the first time.

Elsewhere, Zak Truscott won his first Open Series tournament at Chandlers Ford SC.

In the same event, Jamie Wilson, who knocked in a personal best 112 break in a Portsmouth league doubles match last week, made a 100.  

Meanwhile, a more mature game is paying dividends for Owen Jenkins in the Monday Junior Snooker League at Waterlooville Sports Bar.

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The 10-year-old was undefeated in the top group and moved to within one frame of division one front-runner Samuel Laxton.

And Truscott has leapfrogged Laxton into first place in the Wednesday Junior Snooker League.

Ryan Wilson, unbeaten on Monday, repeated the feat two days later.

World Snooker coach Tim Dunkley runs snooker sessions for under-19s from 4.30pm to 6.30pm every Monday and Wednesday and junior pool sessions from 4.30pm to 6.30pm every Thursday.