Ladies Snooker - South Coast Classic
Reanne Evans has regained the world number one spot in women’s snooker.
The four-time world champion from Dudley moves back to the top of the World Ladies Billiards & Snooker Association’s rankings after winning the fourth ranking event of the season, without dropping a single frame.
Evans beat Ronnie O’Sullivan’s 26-year-old cousin Maria Catalano 3-0 in the final at the Q Ball Snooker Club, Eastbourne.
In the semi-finals, Evans missed the green on 95 to wrap up a 3-0 victory over Katie Henrick.
Portsmouth’s Emma Bonney, who took the number one spot with victory in the British Open in Newmarket in November, fired in a 77 in the second frame of a 3-1 semi-final defeat by Maria Catalano.
Evans said: “I thought I was way in front but I’m happy to be back to number one now.
“It’s good to be ladies number one but I want to play on the men’s (circuit). I do need to improve but I’m cueing OK.”
Catalano said: “She played well. I had a few chances but didn’t take them. It’s a bonus to get to the final. I haven’t been practising much so I suppose I should be happy with what I’ve done.”
Evans, who won the inaugural EASB Ladies Tour event in Leeds on February 1, heads to St Petersburg, Russia, next month with Catalano for the European Team Championships.
Derby schoolgirl Hannah Jones, 12, doubled the black off the cushion in the deciding frame of the Plate final to become the youngest in WLBSA history to clinch a senior title.
WLBSA chairman Mandy Fisher said: “Hannah is the youngest person to have won anything in the WLBSA by a mile.”
Supanni Yam-Oum, a director of SR Cues Ltd based in Ashford, Kent, donated a handmade £380 cue to Evans.
Making her WLBSA debut, Yam-Oum, originally from Thailand and now living in Canterbury, started playing snooker in November aged 56.
She said she “loved” the event and added: “If you can’t play snooker you can’t sell the cues.”
The WLBSA South Coast Classic attracted a 21-strong field.
It was the fourth of six WLBSA ranking events this season. Following the Connie Gough National Championship in Luton in March, Cambridge Snooker Centre hosts the World Championships in April. Evans will be bidding for a record fifth straight world title.
