DARWEN snooker ace Justin Astley managed to beat two people at once!

The 18-year-old claimed the second whitewash of this year's Poplar Classic with a 5-0 victory over Glenn Stevenson, ready to face Accrington's Dale Clark in the semi-final.

And he also knocked Preston's Justin Smalley out of the running for highest break by scoring a 125 in the third frame.

"Young Justin dominated the match, he's been looking on top form throughout the competition so far," said Lennie Herbert, president of the Poplar Social Club.

"We could well see the same final line up as last year, Colin Morton and Justin are both looking strong at the moment.

"But you can never be sure and things are really heating up in the final stages of the competition. Colin has to get past Ian Martin first who won't give in without a fight, and Dale Clark has been putting in some great performances too.

"The club has been jam packed for the last few matches, it's getting really close now and is a tough one to call. Anything could happen!"

Burnley ace Glenn Stevenson isn't going to be too worried about losing out in the competition - he's got other things on his mind.

For he recently opened Chalkers Snooker Club on Scotland Road, Nelson, and he has big plans.

"Since opening the club I've managed to get together a team of excellent local players and we're currently playing in the Lancashire Small Table Snooker Championships," said Glenn. "The competition has been running for well over 20 years now and not once has a Nelson team won it. But I think we've got the best team Nelson has ever entered and we're aiming for the top - we're hoping to make history this year!"

The team's plight is certainly on track so far after they managed a 4-3 victory over Blackpool's Bispon Conservative Club last week.

Ex-professional Paul Rinaldi, owner of Padiham Snooker Club, took the first frame for Chalkers, coming back from 40 points behind to win on the black.

Team-mate Jamie Southern from the Talbot, Burnley, then took the second, before Chris Mount lost his to bring the score to 2-1. Dean Emmott managed to win a frame back for Chalkers to put them two ahead again, but losses by Nelson's living legend Graham 'Cabbage' Howard and Eric Catlow levelled the score out at 3-3.

But Glenn himself stepped up to play the match decider, bagging both himself and his team a well-deserved win.

"We played really well, our form has been very good so far and I think we have as good a chance as any of winning the competition. We'll just have to wait and see."

Chalkers has been attracting players from all the surrounding areas since it was opened, and if there is one thing Glenn is keen on it's the development of the younger players.

"We hold a Junior League on Sundays from 12:30 onwards which is really successful. And there are already about eight young lads who are showing huge potential for the future. Hopefully we'll be able to produce some very good players."

Any youngster interested in joining the club can contact Glenn Stevenson at Chalkers on 01282 447220 for more information.