Waterside snooker teen set for Euro championship (From Daily Echo)

Waterside snooker teen Shane set for Euro championship

8:20am Saturday 20th October 2012 in Sport

TWO more century breaks and another tournament win has set Waterside wonderkid Shane Castle on course for another crack at the European Under-21 Championship.

The 14-year-old from Marchwood took his tally of tons to 29 during the second leg of the EASB Premier Junior Tour at the Northern Snooker Centre, Leeds.

In the round-robin group stages, Castle dropped only one frame in three matches and compiled a 108 against Aaron Lowe (Bristol).

After easing past Haydon Pinhey (Plymouth) 4-0 in the last-16, he was put to the test by Joseph O’Connor. “He outplayed me on safety,” said Castle, who trailed 3-1 at one stage.

But the 16-year-old from Leicester could not counter his younger opponent’s break-building skills.

Castle squared the match and posted a 112 in the decider.

It was then business as usual with a 4-1 victory over James Cahill (Blackpool) and he “was always in front” in a 4-0 whitewash of Elliot Slessor (Gateshead) in the final.

Castle, a quarter-final casualty in the first leg, now leads the rankings and needs a top-four place to book a trip to the European Under- 21 championships. In last season’s event in Bulgaria, he lost in the final.

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