SWINDON'S Shane Kearns was a beaten finalist, but earned the praise of his conqueror in the first leg of the Cuestars U21 Silver Tour at Salisbury.

Essex teenager Louie Leighton saluted his opponent’s sportsmanship after claiming the crown on his debut, the newly-promoted 14-year-old fighting back from 1-0 down to defeat Kearns 2-1 in the final.

“He called a few fouls (on himself) so it was sportsmanship,” said Leighton, who is based at Basildon Snooker Club.

“But then I took advantage of it.

“In the first frame, I felt like I just rushed it and was too attacking. Then I started a bit more safety play and when I got in among the balls, I was quite clinical.”

Reflecting on his fruitful 260-mile round trip, he added: “It was quite a long journey but worth it in the end

“It is hard but I played well and made a few nice breaks.”

Leighton was undefeated in his four-man round-robin group at Salisbury Snooker Club.

He dispatched his practice partner and clubmate Richard Hillgrove 2-1 in the last-eight and then denied Silver Tour stalwart Keegan Reed a first ever final appearance with a 2-0 victory in the semis.

O’Shay Scott also won his group on his Silver debut.

The nine-year-old from Eastleigh lost 2-1 to Kearns in the last-four after missing the final black on 46 for his first half-century to wrap up a 2-1 quarter-final victory over Brett Wallace (Gosport).

Meanwhile Wiltshire teenager Riley Ellis has collected his first snooker trophy of the season.

The 14-year-old from Clyffe Pypard near Royal Wootton Bassett, won the competition for non-qualifiers during the first legs of the Cuestars U21 Gold, Silver and Bronze Tours at Salisbury Snooker Club.

Ellis, who is sponsored by Swindon-based Save On Tyres, missed out on a place in the Silver knockout but, receiving a 14-point handicap start, he beat women’s world number 26 and Gold Tour player Chloe White in the Plate final.

The second legs of ten are at Waterlooville Sports Bar on Sunday, October 7.