A 14-YEAR-OLD from Wiltshire has scooped a massive £475 for winning a six-month snooker competition.

Long-time leader Riley Ellis was forced to keep the champagne on ice during a nail-biting final few matches of the 26th week.

But it all came good in the end for the teenager who makes a 120-mile round trip from his home in Clyffe Pypard, near Royal Wootton Bassett, to Chandlers Ford Snooker Club, just outside Southampton, every Saturday.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Ellis said: “It’s been really good.”

His World Snooker coach Tim Dunkley reckons the teenage has matured as a player and as a person over the course of the competition.

He said: “Riley has learnt a lot about himself during the past six months.

“Where once his head used to drop, he is developing skills to combat this and battle back.”

He was declared champion of the handicapped Open Series when Riccardo Drayton knocked out title contender David Stewart in the second round of the final tournament.

Ellis, who is sponsored by Swindon-based Save On Tyres, is currently in third place on the Cuestars Under-21 Silver Tour and tenth on the EASB Regional Junior Tour South.