The first SBI amateur ranking event got underway last Saturday and Sunday the 13^th and 14^th of September. There were 63 entries that went into the draw which was done live on Facebook at 5:30 the Thursday before. Chairman Tommy O’Donoghue, Secretary Leslie Carroll and National men’s coach PJ Nolan took part in the exciting return of live draws for our men’s tour.

Eight seeds were the order of the day and with such a huge entry it meant that the last 16 would start on the Sunday morning, a complaint everyone attached to the SBI was very happy with. The last 64 clashes pulled up some amazing matches, the SBI social media lead, David Lynch bringing Leslie Carroll to a final frame decider only to be pipped at the post. The highlight of the round had to be the tie between two young up and coming stars, Clayton Cregan and Charlie Cronin, too many highlights to remember but everyone watching will remember the match at 2-2 and down to the final black, both players ability to hide the black from each other was nothing short of spectacular.

They say the young guns don’t like playing safety, well this match was won on safety as Clayton dug deep and cut back a tough black to seal the win. There is no doubt that Charlie will be disappointed, but his time is coming. Adam Fitzgerald and Benny O’Brien showed a masterclass in potting and break building from both players and yet again the big crowd at HQ in Carlow were given an epic that went to 2-2 and down to the final black.

Adam was on a clearance to win the match but played a poor shot from pink to black that left him with an easy dump shot on the black or the most difficult of cut ins with the rest. We all know what Adam was going to do, its not in his nature to flinch, but this time he came up just short, jawing the black and giving Benny the easiest of final blacks to take the match. Stephen O’Reilly and Brian O’Rourke went toe to toe and Stephen grasped victory from the jaws of defeat 3-2, again an incredible snooker on the yellow that Brian missed 6 times by the narrowest of margins being the decisive moment.

A five hour marathon on table 2 saw Pat O’Rourke defeat Xiaohui Ling 3-.John Sutton defeated John Farrell 3-0 in what was a closer game then the scoreline suggested, Johnny Farrell returning after a year out will be back and stronger no doubt.

It was now the last 32 and surprises and near misses a plenty, young Clayton Cregan dispatched Leslie Carroll on table 8 3-1, his tough first round standing to him. Tommy O’Donoghue came from 2-0 down and plenty behind in the third to win 3-2 against Stephen O’Reilly who had endured two marathon 3-2 matches.

A huge shock saw Aaron Goldrick the newly crowned Leinster close champion beaten by Clive Smith 3-1, a massive victory for Clive and a promising season ahead for him. Johnathan Williams and Mark Gleeson played out yet another final frame decider as these two know each other well, it Was Johnny that got the better of this one but Mark gives you nothing easy and although he will be disappointed, this is a huge season for the Tipperary man. Davy Morris playing some incredible snooker all day beating James Flaherty with breaks of 102 and 76.

Colvin O’Brien the world number one disability player was beaten by Richie Flynn from Waterford in another final frame decider. Stephen Sherry got out of jail against a rejuvenated Jay Chopra 3-2, Jay’s ability to go toe to toe with Stephen was admirable but he will be disappointed not to have come away with the victory. The final match of the day was between two Nenagh men, number two seed and seven times Irish champion Brendan O’Donoghue v Tony Seymour, the fact they know each other’s games so well is always going to be a leveller and it proved that way with a massive upset as Tony ran out a 3-1 winner, Brendan was gracious in defeat as you would expect but this one will have hurt and an injured animal is a dangerous thing, so wait for the backlash from O’Donoghue.

Sunday morning was an experience, as our 8 tables were looking incredible as the last 16 got underway. The number one seed Ryan Cronin reaped revenge on his brothers slayer by beating Clayton Cregan 3-0. Noel Landers was at his breathe taking best with a fine win over number eight seed Benny O’Brien 3-1.

The number five seed Tommy O’Donoghue played well to see off Clive Smith and number four seed Philly Browne was in great form beating Johnny Williams 3-0. Davy Morris the number three seed continued from the day before with a display of great break building beating Richie Flynn 3-1. John Sutton the number 6 seed had too much for Cork man Alan O’Connor. Michael Judge rolled back the years with a great win against current Q tour player Dan Merrigan 3-1 and the last game saw Tony Seymour follow up his fantastic victory the night before with another very good display against Stephen Sherry as he ran out a 3-0 winner.

The Quarter finals got underway at 12pm on our 4 Star tables and with 5 of our 8 seeds remaining it meant we were going to be treated to fantastic snooker. Ryan Cronin and club man Noel Landers were locked at 2-2 and in a tense battle in the fifth when Ryan got the run of the balls and clear up from the yellow to go 3-2 up. When the snooker Gods are against you, you just have to try and dig deep but it wasn’t to be for Noel as Ryan ran out a 4-2 winner.

Ryan was thanking his lucky stars as Noel had to ponder what he had done to lose that match. The match on table 8 was a cracker between the number 4 and 5 seeds. Philly had led 3-1 but Tommy fought back with a 54 in the fifth and looked to be getting the edge only for Philly to play some great safety and take the 6^th frame to win 4-2. Davy Morris had an easier than expected 4-0 win against an out of sorts John Sutton and Michael Judge was in no humour to have giant killer Tony Seymour take another scalp by dispatching the Nenagh man 4-1.

Both semi finals were a one sider affair with Ryan Cronin the number one seed beating Philly Browne 4-1. Philly will be happy with his weekends work and is one step closer to winning his first ranking event as his improvement is on an upward curve. In the other semifinal David Morris went toe to toe with Michael Judge who shared the first two frames, but Davy was in great form and two breaks in the 70’s dispatched his good friend and fellow ex pro Michael Judge 4-1.

The final was eagerly awaited and Ryan Cronin was looking forward to the test as the number one in the country pitted himself against the current Irish champion Davy Morris. Davy got off to an absolute flyer which left Ryan Cronin wondering what he had done wrong. It was Davy in control at 3-0 but Ryan had a big lead in the fourth frame and it looked like a comeback would happen until Davy got a sniff of a long red and duly potted it to make 62 and take the Barracks cup back to Kilkenny with a 4-0 win.

Amateur Tour Event 2- Talbot Cup – ENTER NOW