Pool wizard Mark Gray made the perfect start to the new GB9 Ball Tour season by emphatically winning the opening round at the Radisson Park Hotel in Telford.
The Bourne ace, who is a regular player in the Spalding and District Snooker League, saw off 95 other players to win the £1,200 top prize and consolidate his number two ranking.
In what was Gray’s first outing since helping Europe retain the Mosconi Cup in December, he waltzed through the first round with a 9-0 triumph over Craig Seeney (Bristol).
A 9-2 success over Aslum Abubaker (Leicester) and a 9-5 victory against Chris Cowie (Sunderland) moved him into the last 16, before an impressive 9-1 win over Derby’s Ian McCormick clinched a spot in the quarter-finals.
There, Gray ruthlessly dispatched Benji Buckley (Sheffield) to book a semi-final showdown with Maltese legend Tony Drago.
“Granite” looked to be heading out when Drago, a former snooker world number ten, raced 5-2 up.
But he had five ‘break and runs’ to inspire a cracking comeback, which sealed an amazing 9-7 triumph.
Another ex-pro awaited in the final, in the shape of Darryn Walker from Wolverhampton, who is ranked sixth in the GB9 rankings.
Undeterred, Gray got off to a great start and went 8-1 up, before finishing off the job to win 11-5.
The resident pro at Bourne Snooker Centre, Gray is ranked number two in Europe.
