The 3rd Billiards Ranking Event of the season made a welcome return to the AOH Club in Cork on Sunday 12th November that saw nine players took part and finished with Aidan Murray coming out on top for the second time this season after winning the first event in Newbridge on the 8th October. The format was 90 minutes.
Aidan had little trouble getting to the final with wins against John Kehoe and Eugene Hughes respectively, The sole last 16 game saw Anthony O’ Flaherty enjoy a comfortable win over Annette Newman that included the highest break of the day with 97 before falling in the quarter final stage to Eugene.
The bottom half of the draw saw local player Lloyd Myers book his meeting with Aidan in the final with impressive wins over Larry Drennan and Jason Dowling who he just about survived a close game by 16 points when the time ran out.
The early stages of the final was closely contested and Lloyd established a 49 points lead as the final approached halfway, however in true form Aidan got a timely 49 break to level matters at 115-115 and all of a sudden momentum shifted to the former National Champion from Co. Wicklow.
Aidan scored heavily while Lloyd scored very little who struggled to match Aidan’s scoring prowess, the second half of the final saw Aidan gain full control with impressive breaks of 55 and 90 as he went out of sight of Lloyd before the time clock sounded ending the game with a resounding victory for Aidan on a scoreline of 331-154 to maintain his No.1 position in the SBI Billiards Rankings as we approach the second half of the season.
Well done to Lloyd on getting to the final in his home club who unfortunately ran into a player of Aidan’s calibre who played top billiards and scored at will when on the table and probably had his best performance in his semi final triumph against Eugene Hughes with breaks of 76 and 82 to win by a huge margin of 301 points.
Thanks to John Kehoe as Tournament Director and Lloyd Myers and the AOH Club for hosting a wonderful event. The next Billiards Ranking Event of the season will take place in Hot Shots Snooker Club in Galway City on 5th January next.
Pre Quarters:
- Annette Newman 177-468 Anthony O’ Flaherty
Quarter Finals:
- Aidan Murray 294-224 John Kehoe
- Eugene Hughes 324-311 Anthony O’ Flaherty
- Jason Dowling 310-213 Alan O’ Connor
- Lloyd Myers 284-184 Larry Drennan
Semi Finals:
- Aidan Murray 453-152 Eugene Hughes
- Jason Dowling 280-296 Lloyd Myers
Final:
- Aidan Murray 331-154 Lloyd Myers
High Breaks:
- Anthony O’ Flaherty 66, 97
- Aidan Murray 76, 82, 55, 90
