Rodney Goggins from the 147Club in Wexford won the RIBSA Senior Billiards Ranking Event No.3 of the season in the Ivy Rooms Snooker Club in Carlow. In the final he beat Wayne Doyle from the Q Club in Wicklow. Both players played excellent Billiards to reach the final after wins over Larry Drennan and Aidan Murray.
The format was a timed event, all rounds being played to 90 minutes. Rodney, having lost his quarter final match in last month’s tournament to Wayne, was able to savour victory when he beat Wayne in the final.
Early round eliminations were Brendan Devlin (Celbridge), Rathkeale duo of Anthony O’Flaherty and Jason Dowling, Joe Doheny (Borris-in-Ossory), John Kehoe (Enniscorthy) and Aonghus McAnally (Portmarnock).
The semi final in the top half of the draw was a repeat of last month’s semi final when Wayne Doyle (Dun Laoghaire), seeded No 1, met seed No 4, Larry Drennan (Ivy Rooms). Wayne progressed to the semi final having had a fine win, including the day’s high break of 131, in his quarter final match against Brendan Devlin while Larry had an equally impressive win over Lloyd Myers (Cork). In the semi final, Wayne got into his stride, scoring early breaks of 109 and 81. At first, Larry responded well, scoring steadily when at the table, but a loss of form, which seemed to hit him at a critical point in the game, allowed Wayne to pull ever more ahead, taking the semi final by more than double scores.
The semi finalists in the bottom half of the draw were Aidan Murray (Ivy Rooms) and Rodney Goggins (Wexford). Both had relatively unchallenged wins in their quarter final matches against Anthony O’Flaherty (Rathkeale) and Robert McCrum (Celbridge) respectively. In a tight and intense semi final, both players matched each other in points until, with just under half an hour to go, Rodney scored a 58, which was the only significant scoring visit in the game. This break, having put Rodney ahead by about 60 points, proved to be decisive, Rodney claiming his place in the final by a margin of 53 points.
In an absorbing final Rodney was first to show scoring form, amassing a 100 point lead within 15 minutes, before Wayne had a chance to settle. From this point it was always a catch up situation for Wayne. As the game progressed, both players, having brought the balls into scoring position, repeatedly fell victim to a loose shot, spoiling their chance of compiling any significant score. In an edgy finish to the game, Rodney’s better composure, no doubt acquired through his extensive experience of playing tight snooker matches at the highest international level, enabled him to retain his lead and claim a well deserved tournament win.
In the Plate, Brendan Devlin somehow managed to combine his tournament director duties with winning the Plate, which he did in a very close final against Anthony O’Flaherty.
The next Senior Billiards event takes place at The Ivy Rooms Snooker Club, Carlow on Sunday, 14th December 2014. The format will be best of 3 x 150up, open draw, untimed. Entries will be accepted before 10.30am on the morning of the event.
As always, our thanks are due to Marian Leacy for the excellent playing facilities and to all at the Ivy Rooms Snooker Club for their help on the day.
Results (all matches 90 minutes, timed)
Pre-Quarters:
Jason Dowling 208 v 290 Lloyd Myers
John Kehoe 196 v 391 Larry Drennan
Aonghus McAnally 263 v 275 Robert McCrum
Rodney Goggins (111, 56) 377 v 199 Joe Doheny
Quarter-Finals
Wayne Doyle (61, 131, 93) 557 v 141 Brendan Devlin
Lloyd Myers 250 v 368 Larry Drennan (58)
Aidan Murray 257 v 196 Anthony O’Flaherty (53)
Robert McCrum 213 v 350 Rodney Goggins (68)
Semi-Finals
Wayne Doyle (109, 81) 535 v 217 Larry Drennan
Aidan Murray 206 v 259 Rodney Goggins (58)
Final:
Wayne Doyle (55) 215 v 320 Rodney Goggins (70, 57, 51)
