HARD work and potting power were the key as Jonny Hannan became the first Blackburn player to win a Fosters Golden Cue title.

In one of the best finals the competition has seen in years, Hannan defeated Stephen Croft 4-2 to win the Large Table crown.

The Poplar Club ace will now face Small Table winner Peter Mercer for the Grand Golden Cue title at Ighten Leigh Snooker Club on Thursday, July 5.

Hannan went in to the final in the form of his life but he was up against the break building skills of fellow Blackburn potter Croft who had the tournaments three highest knocks and had defeated reigning champion Farakh Ajaib in the semi finals.

Croft, who had already posted breaks of 87, 78 and 71 this season got his eye in early and appeared to be on course for the opening frame only to miss a black when on 49.

The odds were against Hannan but despite being 55 points behind, he produced a brilliant break of 62 under pressure to win on the black.

Hannan dominated the second frame with a break of 59 to go 2-0 up meaning Croft had to pull something out of the bag in the best of seven final and he did just that, wining the third with a run of 54 to put his first frame on the board.

And it was all level after the fourth frame - much to the delight of a packed Ighten Leigh - as a 40-odd break was good enough for Croft, playing for Hollins Grove, to make it 2-2.

The momentum was now with Croft and Hannan could easily have folded but the Poplar potter produced another wonderful break of 60 with some superb safety play to get his nose in front again.

It was a cagey start to the fifth frame and Croft appeared to play a great safety until Hannan knocked in a long red and got lucky as the white landed inch perfect on the pink. Despite running out of position, a safety shot put Croft under pressure and when he returned to the table, a break of 37 from Hannan proved to be enough to win the frame and take the title.

A delighted Hannan, who has set up the East Lancashire Snooker Championship, paid tribute to the organisers of the Golden Cue - a blueprint he has used for his own tournament.

“I have been practicing hard because I want to improve and take my game to the next level and it was a privilege to be involved in a fantastic snooker match like that,” said Hannan who is running the East Lancs event with Jonny Clark. “I just want to say well done to Neil McGovern and the Golden Cue committee for once again putting on a great competition.”

McGovern was impressed by what he saw and added: “The large table was a fantastic match one of the best, it was like watching two professionals going at it, both attacking and making really good solid breaks and clearances.”

In the small table final, Adam Haslam opened up a 2-0 lead but 2009 champion Mercer hit back, showing his big game mentality to rattle off the next four frames to seal a 4-2 win.

The grand final will be the best of seven, with alternate frames played on each table and McGovern says it is too close to call.

“You would probably make Hannan the slight favourite because of his ability on the big table but you can’t rule out Mercer,” he said. “He won the grand final back in 2009 in the days when it was just played on a big table so we will have to wait and see but I am sure it will be great night with a great crowd.”