The second tournament of the Senior Billiards series was played at The Ivy Rooms Snooker Club, Carlow on Sunday, 5th of October 2014. The format for the event was 400up with a 90 minute time limit, the time limit being restored after last year’s absence. Wayne Doyle (Dun Laoghaire), having been to every final last season, and winner of last month’s first tournament of the season, continued to establish himself at the top of the rankings by taking the event’s honours with a convincing win in the Final.
Early round eliminations were Anthony O’Flaherty (Rathkeale), Liam O’Brien (Borris-in-Ossory), Celbridge players Robert McCrum and Brendan Devlin and Cork trio of Timmy Murphy, Lloyd Myers and Derek O’Neill.
The semi finalists in the top half of the draw were Wayne Doyle (Dun Laoghaire) and Larry Drennan (Ivy Rooms), Wayne having had a fine win, including the day’s high break of 101, in the quarter finals over double National Champion Rodney Goggins (Wexford) while Larry came through a closely fought tussle with Enniscorthy man John Kehoe, John using a pair of playing spectacles for the first time. The semi final was a close game, neither player gaining much of an upper hand until Wayne, with a break of 78, put himself well clear in points. Although Larry responded well, scoring steadily when at the table, he was still 32 points adrift when time was called. The result could lead one to speculate on whether the outcome might have been different had the game continued to the full 400up format without the 90 minute time limit reintroduced this season.
The semi finalists in the bottom half of the draw were Aidan Murray (Ivy Rooms) and Joe Doheny (Borris-in-Ossory). Both enjoyed comfortable wins in their quarter final matches against Robert McCrum (Celbridge) and James Bateman (Kilkenny) respectively. In the semi final Aidan was always in command, taking the game from Joe by more than 100 points.
In an absorbing final Wayne was first to settle, outscoring Aidan from the start. An early break of 69 further widened the gap. Despite his every effort when at the table Aidan, having brought the balls into scoring position with the first four or five strokes, consistently broke down early in the scoring sequence on seemingly the simplest shots, perhaps a straightforward pot or a precise close cushion control cannon. As Aidan struggled to establish some form in his game, a further break of 80 by Wayne put the game well beyond Aidan’s reach, leaving Wayne a well deserved winner by almost double scores.
In the final of the Plate, Robert McCrum won a close game against his practice partner Brendan Devlin.
The next Senior Billiards round of the season takes place at The Ivy Rooms Snooker Club, Carlow on Sunday, 23rd November 2014. The format will be seeded draw 90 minutes, timed. 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 400up, 90 minute time limit):
Pre-Quarters
Wayne Doyle (Brk: 84, 51, 56) 400 – 249 Anthony O’Flaherty (Brk: 69)
Liam O’Brien 184 – 350 Rodney Goggins (Brk: 60)
Lloyd Myers 154 – 246 John Kehoe
Timmy Murphy 159 – 337 Larry Drennan
Brendan Devlin 242 – 293 James Bateman
Derek O’Neill 29 – 291 Joe Doheny
Quarters
Wayne Doyle (Brk: 101) 315 – 228 Rodney Goggins
John Kehoe 207 – 249 Larry Drennan
Aidan Murray (Brk: 100, 62) 311 – 200 Robert McCrum
James Bateman 238 – 311 Joe Doheny
Semi-Finals
Wayne Doyle (Brk: 78) 325 – 293 Larry Drennan
Aidan Murray 308 – 193 Joe Doheny
