Name: Ashley Wright

DOB: 7/4/87

Status: Amateur

Biography: Grimsby snooker prodigy Ashley Wright is one of the brightest young snooker talents in North East Lincolnshire and proved his potential by qualifying for a place on the professional Main Tour in 2007/08.

It didn’t work out for the Cue World star as his inexperience of playing against the world’s top players proved an Achilles heel too difficult to overcome.

During the course of the season, he was beaten three times by up-and-coming Chinese star Liang Wenbo, who went on to reach the quarter-finals of 2008 World Snooker Championships at the Crucible.

One of those defeats came in the Maplin UK Championship qualifiers in November, when Wright narrowly lost out 9-8 in a 17th-frame decider.

Despite his season-long struggle, he nevertheless felt his game had improved greatly and returned to the amateur ranks confident of bouncing back.

Wright won his place on the Main Tour in May 2007 after being awarded a wildcard entry by World Snooker.

He missed out on the automatic Tour qualifying positions by finishing ninth in the 2006/7 Pontin’s International Open Series.

But a spare place later became available and after applying to fill it, he was given the nod by the sport’s governing body. It was the realisation of a life-long dream.

In February 2007, Wright took a giant step towards joining the professional ranks by reaching his first Pontin’s International Open Series final.

He was unable to win the match, but his runner-up finish lifted him to 11th in the Order of Merit and left him only three places off the Main Tour qualifying positions.

Wright’s opponent in the final, Norwegian player Kurt Maflin, already had a place on the 2007/08 Main Tour and showed why with a 6-2 win.

Previous to that, towards the end of 2006, Wright potted one of the best victories in his young career so far in Wales.

He won the first of six events in the 2006/7 Pontin’s Under 21 Series at Prestatyn – part of a pyramid system to the Main Tour. And, aged just 19, he was giving many of his 60 rivals a two-year start in terms of experience.

Wright plays for Cue World Potters in the Grimsby Snooker Singles League and Dave Devaney Builders in the Intermediate League.

He has practiced for many years with former top Grimsby pro Dean Reynolds and also fellow prospect Stuart Carrington.