This weekend will see the most exciting weekend in Irish Snooker for years as RIBSA hold their Championship Finals Weekend. To be the National Champion is the pinnacle for every Irishman whether it is the Under 12 Championship or the Senior Championship and it is a proud day to have your name wrote down into the records books.
The 2015 Championship Weekend will feature National Championships in the different age groups in Snooker and Billiards. It will be held in the Ivy Rooms Snooker Club in Carlow from Friday the 22nd to Sunday the 24th of May, with free admission it is something you would not want to miss if you are a Cue Sports lover.
AGM
This year a new Senior Champion will be crowned after defending Champion Martin McCrudden was beaten in the qualifying rounds of this year’s event. Also this weekend we will have the annual AGM and this is where all members have a chance to voice their opinions and ideas, RIBSA encourage as many members to attend.
This year sees an election vote for the position of Chairman when current Chairman John Doherty will be up against former Chairman Jim Leacy in a vote to see who will become the Chairman for 2015-2016. Both men have outlined their plans and you can view it on the www.ribsa.ie web site.
Senior Championships
The 2015 Championship promises to the best in years with so many top players playing at their best and it is almost impossible to call the winner. The top half of the Championship sees the current Irish Number 1 Rodney Goggins facing John Sutton in the last 16 with the winner playing Daniel O Regan or Robert Redmond. Next it is Greg Casey facing Peter Donegan with the winner playing Adam Nolan or Number 4 Seed Robert Murphy.
The bottom half has the winner in 2013 and runner up in 2014 Michael Judge up against Colvin O Brien with the winner up against David Hogan or John Farrell in the next round. The final four places see David Cassidy playing former champion Colm Gilcreest and the winner will play Philip Browne or Brendan O Donoghue who is the No.2 seed.
The last 16 is scheduled for 2pm on Friday with the Q-Finals at 7pm. The Semi Finals will be played on Saturday at 10am and the final is scheduled for 5.30pm after the AGM.
Intermediate Championship
The final of this year’s Intermediate Championship promises to be a fantastic match after two experienced players Frank Sarsfield and John Farrell came through the Qualifying rounds. Both players are in the semi-finals of the Masters Championship also, it will a long weekend for them and the final is down for 5.30pm but that could all change with other results.
Ladies Championship
The Ladies Championship final will be between defending Champion Michelle Sherwin and Claire Mill and in recent years Sherwin has been unstoppable and the final will be played Saturday at 5.30pm.
Masters Championship
The Semi Final of the Masters Championship will be John Farrell against Nigel Power and Colm Gilcreest up against Frank Sarsfield and both matches will be very close as they are all very experienced players. With some players also involved in the Senior, Intermediate Championships they schedule might have to be altered throughout the weekend.
150 Up Billiard Championships
Wayne Doyle will play against Aidan Murray in the 150up Senior final on Saturday at 5.30pm while Robert McCrum will face Brendan Devlin in the Intermediate 150up final on Sunday at 10am.
Long Format Billiards Championships
The Semi Final of the Senior Billiards will see Wayne Doyle playing Rodney Goggins and Aidan Murray against Larry Drennan on Sunday at 10am with the final on at 2.30pm. The Intermediate final will be between Aonghus McAnally and Robert McCrum at 2.30pm on Sunday.
The Under Age Snooker Finals
One Club dominates the junior finals this year, when Youghal CYMS in Cork, Junior players will compete in all but one final. Club mates will face each other in two finals and young Ross Bulman who has to get a special mention for an incredible season will play in three finals while Adam Fitzgerald and Noel Landers will play in two finals which is a remarkable feat due to the number of top class juniors in Ireland at present.
The Under 12 final will be between Adam Quinn and Jamie Lee Gardiner
The Under 14 final will be between Ross Bulman and Aaron Goldrick
The Under 16 final will be between Ross Bulman and Ronan Whyte
The Under 18 final will be between Ross Bulman and Noel Landers
The Under 19 final will be between Adam Fitzgerald and Andrew Doherty
The Under 21 final will be between Adam Fitzgerald and Noel Landers
RIBSA have to be commended as this weekend needs a lot of organisation. RIBSA have outlined the full weekend schedule and all the matches will have referees, and it promises to be one of the most exciting championships weekends ever.
You can follow all the results and photos on www.ribsa.ie and on the official Facebook page RIBSA
CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL SCHEDULE
