It was another fantastic and nerve shattering day in Carlow for the Under 16 ranking event 2 and the Ken Doherty Cup. The quarter finals all proved to be absolute crackers. Joe Shannon had a 3-1 victory against an up and coming star of Irish snooker, Callum Wheatley. At 1-1 it was too close to call but Joe had the better of the safety exchanges and it proved to be the winning of the match for Joe as he saw it out 3-1. Callum is such a natural player and will only get better. James Stewart O’Reilly and Scott Cooke played out a cracker. Scott who is improving at every tournament went in to a deserved 1-0 lead and looked to have the second frame sown up when he potted a good long black only to touch the blue with his waistcoat, this was a 14 point swing and gave James an opportunity to take the frame. He did exactly that with a clutch brown to black clearance to win the frame. They shared the next two frames so it all came down to the decider. It was James clever hiding of the balls and some great long potting that eventually saw him win this one. Scott can be proud of his display and will certainly have learned from this one. He is another star in the making.
Cathal Horgan from Youghal was outstanding in his quarter final, an excellent show of safety and potting but also cue ball control as he beat Tadgh O’Shea 3-0. Tadgh went for an hours coaching after this match and sorted out some of the issues he was having. Cathal may have won today but Tadgh has the talent to be one of Irelands best young amateurs and left Carlow confident in his game and eager to put in the hard practice.
The final quarter final saw young Callum Behan play the number 2 seed Liam Dunne. It was Callum that raced into a 1-0 lead only for Liam to win the next two with some nice high scoring including a 31 break. Callum came right back at Liam though and won the 4th comfortably to make it yet another final frame decider. It was Liam that came out on top but it was his experience at this level that won it for him. Callum is without doubt one of the most gifted young kids in snooker right now. He has a lot still to learn but his willingness to listen and practice hard will have him winning these tournaments sooner rather than later.
The semi finals were two great games. Joe Shannon and James Stewart O’Reilly shared the first two frames but the third frame was decisive. Joe had a commanding lead only for James to fight back with a couple of great snookers to look like taking the crucial 3rd frame. However, Joe got James into a snooker of his own and stole the frame on the pink to lead 2-1. The next frame went down to the brown and a slice of luck from Joe saw him pot the brown from a safety shot and land perfect on the blue to take the match. It was fantastic to see James shake joe’s hand with a smile and wish him the best in the final. James, the Under 14 National champion has a few years at this age group and will be back to winning ranking events very soon. You can be very proud of your performance James both at the table and off as you prove every time we see you that you are a player with the utmost respect for your opponent and so gracious in defeat. The other semi final saw yet another final frame decider between Liam Dunne and Cathal Horgan. Liam didn’t do anything wrong in the first two frames and raced into a 2-0 lead only for the young man from Youghal to fight back and bring it to a decider. This was a tense as you can get and Liam Dunne again showed his class with a fantastic long pink to win the match. Cathal Horgan was outstanding all day and he can be very proud of his fightback. He is part of the conveyer belt of talent in Youghal and there is no doubt in my mind he will be winning ranking events at every level in the coming years.
So to the final between number one seed, Joe Shannon and number two seed, Liam Dunne. A repeat of the first ranking event final of the year. This went down to the deciding frame also and to the black ball. It was Liam that took revenge from the first event to pot the winning black and claim the Ken Doherty cup. Both players showed why they are the top two in the country currently. The talent these guys have is off the scale. Liam Dunne under pressure is something to behold, winning his quarter final, semi final and final 3-2 proves one thing, the kid’s got bottle !!
We cant wait for event 3 and if this tournament has proved, any of the above can win it on their day.
