GB pool glory for 'Granite' Gray who now shoots for snooker success

Bourne Snooker Centre’s resident professional Mark ‘Granite’ Gray has ended the season as the number one ranked 9-ball pool player in the UK.

Gray beat his sole rival for the top spot Imran Majid 11-7 in the final of the final event of the GB9 season in Telford.

It was a high-class affair as befits the two best players in the country with Gray making four break and runs and Majid managing three.

Gray claimed the £1550 first prize after also beating Kevin May 9-4, Carlo Blasi 9-1, Benji Buckley 9-2, Gabriel Vasilache 9-3, Jake Dylan Newlove 9-3 and Adam Benn Smith 9-6.

Gray (49) contested four of the five GB tour events and won three of them, while finishing runner-up in the other.

Gray will now gun for revenge when the Snooker Q Store Legends League takes place at the Court Club, Bretton on Sunday.

Gray's opening match is against Russell Huxter, the man who ended ‘Granite's’ 33-match winning run in September, and who has since gone on to topple the local legend from the top of rankings.

They will be joined in Group A by Six Reds champion Richard Jones and 8th seed Vaughan Lutkin from Peterborough.

Group B sees Peterborough duo Steve Martin and Gavin Cork alongside Newmarket's Tom Parry and Skegness potter Kristian Willetts.

The 8-man event is the final tournament of the year on the Legends Tour, with the winner pocketing the £350 first prize.

Four players are also in contention to become the year-end number one, with the top ranked competitor earning a £100 bonus.