MARCHWOOD star Billy Castle turned in a jaw-dropping performance to claim the sixth leg of the Cuestars South of England Championship Tour in Newbury.

The 24-year-old rankings leader knocked in back-to-back centuries for the first time following a sleepless night in hospital and on a professional standard table.

From handshake to handshake, the 3-0 demolition of title rival Seb Worrall at The Crucible Sports & Social Club took a mere 26 minutes.

“I buzzed in the final,” said Castle, who pocketed £150 prize money.

“Everything I hit turned to gold. If I’m on it, I’m on it.”

The former Town Champion kicked off the rout by clearing the table for 109. He followed that with a 130 total clearance and was threatening a third straight ton before going in-off on a break of 44.

But the glimmer of hope offered to his shell-shocked opponent from Swindon soon faded and Worrall conceded on the green.

The match table had recently been re-covered with the cloth on which Ronnie O’Sullivan won his seventh Masters title at the Alexandra Palace last month.

“You can see why Ronnie makes it look so easy,” quipped Castle.

And, remarkably, Castle revealed his preparation for the tournament had been far from ideal as his son, Billy-James, nearly two, was taken ill the previous day.

“He was in the hospital all night with croup so this win is for my little son,” said the shattered dad-of-two. “I wasn’t going to play but my missus told me to play.”

Two of Castle’s teammates from Super League outfit Churchills A also hit tons in the event sponsored by Miles Better Wines before being knocked out by him.

Mike Finn (Eastleigh), who recorded centuries in each of his five round-robin matches in last season’s corresponding fixture, knocked in a 134 in the deciding frame of his last group game against Anthony Rice (Fordingbridge).

And Adam Nash (Southampton), who hadn’t made three figures in a match for about two years before compiling a 100 against Dave Lovejoy in a league match the previous Monday, missed the final black on 113 to wrap up a last-16 victory over Christian Chislett (Basingstoke).

Nash declared: “It was the best I’ve played for ten years.”

Castle didn’t drop a frame in the four knockout rounds, beating Finn 2-0, Ollie Douglas (Newbury) 3-0 and Nash 3-0.

He leads Worrall by 32 points in the race for the Q School place going into the final two legs in Bournemouth next month and Coulsdon in April.

Chandler’s Ford SC hosts the sixth leg of the Cuestars Seniors (40+) Tour tomorrow at 10.30am.

ROUND-ROBIN GROUP POSITIONS

Group A: 1st, Ryan Mears (Aldershot); 2nd, Ollie Douglas (Newbury); 3rd, Matt Ford (Bracknell); 4th, Grant Mason (Bournemouth); 5th, Oliver Sykes (Chandler’s Ford).

Group B: 1st, Mike Talmondt (Portsmouth); 2nd, Pete Ferguson (Portsmouth); 3rd, Adam Nash (Bitterne); 4th, Andrew Seymour (Newbury); 5th, David Rice (Fordingbridge).

Group C: 1st, Seb Worrall (Swindon); 2nd, Billy Castle (Marchwood); 3rd, Martin Wallace (Wokingham); 4th, Dan Sykes (Chandler’s Ford); 5th, Jake Baker (Bournemouth).

Group D: 1st, Mike Finn (Eastleigh); 2nd, Anthony Rice (Fordingbridge); 3rd, Mickey Joyce (Basingstoke); 4th, Jonjo Sharkey (Newbury).

Group E: 1st, Christian Chislett (Basingstoke); 2nd, John Hunter (Andover); 3rd, Wasim Khan (High Wycombe); 4th, Mike Trigg (East Wellow).

Group F: 1st, Richard Clark (Swindon); 2nd, Matt Wilson (High Wycombe); 3rd, Rikki Moore (Bournemouth); 4th, Reece King (Bournemouth).

KNOCKOUT RESULTS

Last-16: Mears 2 Wallace 1, Talmondt 2 Joyce 1, Worrall 2 Wilson 1, Hunter 2 A Rice 1, Douglas 2 Ferguson 0, Castle 2 Finn 0, Nash 2 Chislett 1, Ford 2 Clark 1.

Quarter-finals: Talmondt 3 Mears 0, Worrall 3 Hunter 2, Castle 3 Douglas 0, Nash 3 Ford 0.

Semi-finals (£25): Castle 3 Nash 0, Worrall 3 Talmondt 0.

Final (£150/£70): Castle 3 Worrall 0.