A YOUNG potter from Wiltshire found some fighting spirit he didn’t know he possessed to extend his lead on a regional snooker circuit.

Riley Ellis was forced to dig deep into his reserves to collect his third winner’s trophy of the season on the Cuestars South of England Under-21 Bronze Tour.

The 12-year-old from Clyffe Pypard, near Royal Wootton Bassett, takes a 25-point lead into the last two events following a hard-fought 2-0 victory over Chloe White (Havant) in the final of the eighth leg at Jesters Snooker Club, Swindon.

“Chloe put up a tremendous battle which was full of brilliant safety and great matchplay,” said Ellis.

“I couldn’t afford to lose focus for even a minute. But remembering everything I’ve been working on for the last few months with my coach and in practice, I held on until the end.”

It looked like Ellis’s bid to claim the rankings title had suffered a setback when he lost his first match against Thomas Saunders (Braintree) in the event sponsored by Swindon-based Smarter Cue Sports.

But he bounced back to win his next three and qualified for the knockout in second place.

He then beat newcomer Oliver Cooper (Banstead) 2-0, despite being 30 points down in the second frame, and came back from 1-0 down to beat Ronnie Sullivan (Coulsdon) 2-1 in the semi-finals.

“I started out a bit tense today knowing it was going to be an important and hard day,” said Ellis.

“That first match made me re-focus and I went on to win all of my other group-stage games. I was then prepared to go and do battle.”

World Snooker coach Tim Dunkley, who has worked with the budding star for nearly two years, said: “Riley is maturing as a player and as a person.

“I am so proud that he kept his head up in Swindon battled hard.

“If he does win the title, this may have been a defining moment.”

Ellis’s mum Jackie said: “The final was fantastic to watch. Both players were fabulous.”

But she added: “I wish he had shown a bit of that fighting spirit going to school the next day.”