Last season RIBSA number 1 player David Hogan won the 2013 Nenagh Invitational Snooker Tournament in the New Institute Snooker Club in Nenagh this weekend. In the final David beat former Professional player and reining National Champion Michael Judge 4 frames to 1 in a superb final that featured breaks of 131, 108 and 81.
A total of twenty-two entries took part in the competition. New Institutes David Hogan and Brendan O`Donoghue were seeded one and two respectively. Saturday morning saw the first of the round of 32 matches being played. These matches featured six players from the New Institute, Patsy Farrell, Tom Forde, Jason Burns, Andy McCloskey, Tony Seymour and Michael Healy.
Last 32 results:
Patsy Farrell 4-0 Tom Forde
Andy McCloskey 4-0 Tony Seymour
Greg Casey 4-0 Jason Burns
Joe Delaney 4-0 Michael Healy
Ger Delaney 4-2 Shane Gorman
Joe Corrigan 4-0 Billy Kelly
Benny O`Brien 4-3 Tom O`Driscoll
Freddie Chute w/o Dave Garrett
Saturday evening saw the start of the last 16 matches, where the six seeds entered the draw. In this round former professional Michael Judge and Greg Casey of Cork played arguably the game of the tournament. With the game tied at 2-2, a fluke by Casey allowed him to clear up on the colours and take a 3-2 lead. Judge responded in the next frame to level the match once again.
The final frame saw Casey take a thirty point lead, only for Judge to wipe out the deficit. The match hung in the balance as Casey played the yellow, with only the colours remaining. Casey unluckily went in off the yellow, which allowed Judge to come to the table and reach the quarter-finals 4-3. David Hogan had a break of 130 in his victory over Freddie Chute.
Rodney Goggins was on course for a 147 against Patsy Farrell, only for the fourteenth red to rattle the jaws, with Goggins focusing on his positioning on the black ball.
Last 16 Results:
David Hogan 4-0 Freddie Chute
Adrian Morrissey 4-3 Andy McCloskey
Joe Delaney 4-1 Josh Boileau
Rodney Goggins 4-0 Patsy Farrell
Michael Judge 4-3 Greg Casey
John Sutton 4-0 Ger Delaney
Joe Corrigan w/o Ryan Cronin
Brendan O`Donoghue 4-0 Benny O`Brien
The quarter-final stage saw all six seeds remaining in the competition. David Hogan took on Adrian Morrissey of the 147 Club Wexford in the first quarter-final.
Hogan was in good form and was too powerful for his opponent, winning out 4-0. Michael Judge advanced to the semis after a 4-1 victory over John Sutton. Brendan O`Donoghue defeated Joe Corrigan 4-1, while Rodney Goggins defeated Joe Delaney 4-1.
Quarter-final results:
David Hogan 4-0 Adrian Morrissey
Brendan O`Donoghue 4-1 Joe Corrigan
Michael Judge 4-1 John Sutton
Rodney Goggins 4-1 Joe Delaney
The semi-finals started after lunch on Suday afternoon. Both semis were extremely close. Michael Judge fought from 2-1 against Brendan O`Donoghue in his semi to win by 4 frames to 3, wrapping up victory with a 108 break in the final frame.
David Hogan and Rodney Goggins was a hugely entertaining match. Both players shared the opening exchanges, leaving the game tied at 2-2. However, Hogan went on to take control and ran out the victor 4-2.
Semi final results:
David Hogan 4-2 Rodney Goggins
Michael Judge 4-3 Brendan O`Donoghue
Into the final and David Hogan raced into a 3-0 lead, with a break of 81 in the third frame. Judge responded with a tournament high break of 131 to reduce the deficit to two. However, an ambitious attempt in the fifth frame cost Judge dearly, with Hogan returning to the table to make a 108 and secure victory and the 2013 Title.
A thank you to all the players who travelled ,and who stayed overnight for the tournament. Thanks to Breda Doherty who was head referee for the weekend. Thanks also to Seamus Ryan of the Talbot Bar, who sponsored the high break prize.
