BUDDING snooker star Jackson Page has revealed he won’t be frittering away his winnings from a historic run at the Coral Welsh Open – the cash is heading straight for the bank to help him in his bid to turn professional.

The Ebbw Vale teenager, who is just 15 years old, bowed out of the tournament today but picked up £3,500 after becoming the youngest player to reach the last 32 of a ranking event.

Amateur wildcard Page recorded deciding-frame wins over Jason Weston and John Astley in the first two rounds before exiting the competition following a 4-0 defeat by world number four Judd Trump.

Despite missing out on a place in round four, Page has garnered a wealth of experience at Cardiff’s Motorpoint Arena this week.

Requests for interviews with him, his family and school – Ebbw Fawr Learning Community – have flooded in thanks to the world under-18 champion’s feats in the Welsh capital.

His attention will now turn to the European Championships in Cyprus, where he could claim a tour card to play alongside snooker’s elite on a much more regular basis.

Page wants to turn professional and, if he isn’t successful at the Europeans, he could qualify for a place on the tour at Q School later this year.

Either way, the earnings from his run to the last 32 in Cardiff will be put towards reaching his ultimate goal.

“Even if I don’t turn pro now there are still a lot of amateur tournaments I’ve got to go to so I can try and turn pro, and they do cost money,” he said.

“I’ll probably just keep it in the bank for the rest of the tournaments so I can go to them all. I won’t just spend it on technology, I don’t bother with that stuff anyway, I want to focus on snooker and go to as many events as I can, so that’s what I’ve got to do.”

He added: “I think I’ll have a week in school then I’m off to Cyprus for two weeks, so it’s not too bad. It’s the European under-18s, under-21s and men’s, and there are two chances to turn pro.

“I’m looking forward to it and hopefully I can get through.”

Breaks of 61 and 96 saw Trump spring into a 2-0 lead this afternoon, with the left-hander showing Page exactly why he is one of the best players in the world.

The Bristolian also took the third frame and then withstood a brave fight by Page in the fourth to seal a whitewash.

“It was great out there but there were a lot of nerves and pressure, you’ve got all the support behind you as well, and when someone like Judd is making breaks it doesn’t help,” said Page.

“I don’t think I got a good chance until the last frame. He’s one of the best in the world and you’re not going to get many chances.

“It was great, just watching him play his positional shots and the way he gets on every ball perfectly – there was a lot to learn from.”

He continued: “When I came into it, even if I’d have been knocked out in the first round I would have been happy and taken a lot from it.”

South Wales Argus:

Meanwhile, Newbridge's Lee Walker (above) saw off another former world champion today, as he was the only Welshman to make the last 16 of this year’s Coral Welsh Open.

After recovering from 3-1 down to beat 2010 Crucible king Neil Robertson, Walker overcame Scotland’s Graeme Dott 4-2 in the third round to set up a meeting with China’s Zhou Yuelong.

Walker, 41, reached the quarter-finals of the World Championships in 1997 and he rolled back the years to get past Dott, the Crucible champion in 2006.

Despite losing the opening frame, Dott rallied with a break of 126 to level and then took the lead.

But Walker compiled a 61 break, won a scrappy fifth, before holding his nerve to seal victory on the final black in frame six.

Reflecting on the match, and his tournament as a whole, Walker said a lot of the credit had to go to snooker guru Steve Feeney.

“It was a bit of a slog,” said Walker. “I’m very pleased to get through again and with the way I held myself toge-ther at the end to close it out.”

He added: “Since I’ve been working with Steve he has been trying to instil a bit of self-belief in me.

“We’ve been working toge-ther for 12-18 months and it has gone well. A lot of the success I’ve had here is down to him.”

Walker’s fellow Welshmen, Dominic Dale and Michael White, both bowed out of the event today.

Dale lost 4-1 to Igor Figueiredo and White was beaten 4-2 by Robbie Williams.

World champion Mark Selby was one of several big name casualties, with just three of the world’s top 30 making the last 16.