SBI U-16 Number 1 seed Ronan McGuirk from R&R SC won the second Snooker & Billiards Ireland U-16 Snooker Ranking event of the season in the HQ Academy of Excellence in Carlow on Saturday 16th of April.
In a repeat of the event one final Ronan beat No. 2 seed Jack O Brien from St Johns SC in a great final 3 frames to 1. Jack won the opening frame but Ronan fought back to win the next three to win the title. The TD for the event was our National Coach PJ Nolan, PJ was very again impressed with all the players and said he is really excited to watch how these young Irish stars develop in the future.
Q-Finals
- Ronan McGuirk 3-1 David Farrelly
- Jamie Walsh 3-1 Aaron Donnelly
- Max Kennedy 3-0 Ben De Bois
- Jack O Brien 3-2 Joe Shannon
They were four top class matches in the Q-Finals with Number 2 seed Jack O Brien win against Joe Shannon in a real thriller for the Limerick man winning 3-2, Max Kennedy was also in great form to beat a top opponent in Ben Deb Bois in an all Galway clash 3-0.
New comer Jamie Walsh from Crucible SC Cork beat fast improving Aaron Donnelly from Newbridge 3-1 in a good match and Ronan McGuirk beat David Farrelly from Celbridge SC 3-1 in a very tight match which could of went either way.
High Break
12year old Joe Shannon from Longford won the high break prize on the day with a fantastic 44 break which is also his highest break ever in a SBI event.
Players who have really impressed on day were Ben de Bois from Galway, David Farrelly from Celbridge, Davy Hickey from Youghal CYMS, Jamie Walsh from Crucible SC Cork plus David Kelly from Carlow and Robert Riordan from Youghal CYMS who were competing in their first SBI event.
Plate Event
David Farrelly won the plate event at this Event 2 with a great display of potting to beat star of the day Aaron Donnelly from Newbridge on the final black 2 frames to 1. Aaron and David potted great shots and both could have won it. A big well done to Davy Hickey from Youghal CYMS plus David Kelly from Carlow on reaching the semi-finals of the plate event.
National Championships
The National Championships is being held on Sunday the 8th of May in Newbridge CYMS. The TD will be PJ Nolan and we would like to encourage all clubs to inform their young members of this event and help make the championships as successful as event 1 & 2 were.
These events are open to players under 16 on the 31st December 2021. Players should be aware that all entries are now through the on line system and you have to enter before the closing date.
These events will qualify our elite players for Celtic Challenge, Home Internationals, EBSA, IBSF International events and it promises to be an exciting season of Irish Snooker to have our best players battling out in the rankings.
Well Done
Well done Ronan on a fantastic win and to all the juniors to keep up the practice and we hope to see you all at the National Under 16 Championships in May.
