Campbell The Champ At EPTC3

Marcus Campbell beat Liang Wenbo 4-0 in the final to win Euro Players Tour Championship event three in Russelsheim, Germany.

Dumbarton’s 38-year-old Campbell picked up the 10,000 Euros top prize and now looks certain to finish in the top 24 of the Order of Merit and qualify for the grand finals in March. The Scot climbed into the top 32 of the world rankings (at No 32) for the first time in his career after reaching the semi-finals of PTC6 last week, and the 2,000 points he earned tonight is sure to move him further up the list.

A scrappy final saw Campbell win the first three frames despite a top break of just 32, as China’s Liang saw his all-out attack approach frustrated. A run of 29 put Campbell in control of frame four, and though Liang hit back with a break of 41, Campbell eventually won the frame on the colours to become the ninth different winner in nine PTC events so far this season.

“I never missed much and I shut him out,” said Campbell after the final. “It was the same for me throughout the event, I was just steady and didn’t make many mistakes. I knew these events were winnable, but to do it is a different matter.”

Best known for beating Stephen Hendry 9-0 at the 1998 UK Championship, Campbell later suffered a few lean years and dropped out of the world’s top 50. But he insists he never considered quitting snooker. “I always kept the faith,” he said. “I’ve always practised hard, and sometimes you get the rewards, sometimes you don’t. Two years ago I switched clubs and started playing with the likes of Stephen Maguire, John Higgins and Graeme Dott, and that has made a big difference. Since then I’ve got the rewards – I’ll keep punching away and hope to keep it up.”

The next event is EPTC4 at the South West Snooker Academy in Gloucester from October 28 to 31.