The first Senior Ranking Points Tournament of the season took place in Carlow this weekend on the 26th September 2015. There was a superb entry of 74 players, but seven no shows brought the total numbers down to 67. Four of the notable no shows were under 16’s who avail of free entry to the tournament. As these no shows distort the draw, RIBSA have decided if these free entries do not turn up they will be fined €15 before they can enter another RIBSA event.
The most interesting last 64 game was between number 3 seed Michael Judge and five time National Champion Martin McCrudden. After a very intense match, Martin was victorious with a 3-2 win.
In the last 32, the top of the draw saw number 1 seed Rodney Goggins pushed to his limit by Aaron Moyles, but Rodney gained the upper hand in the fifth frame to move to the next round. Also in the top half of the draw, TJ Dowling, who has had a couple of seasons rest moved easily to the next round 3-0 against Daniel O Regan. Another noteworthy return was David Hogan who also beat Greg Casey 3-0 to fly through to the last 16. Josh Boileau, who had the high break of the tournament (142) lost out in the last 32 to Ryan Cronin, 3-2.
In the bottom half of the draw, Martin McCudden, who had defeated the number 3 seed, lost out to Tony Corrigan 3-2. Anthony Bonnar who has been selected for the Masters Team for the World Amateur Master’s Championships in December moved on to the next round with a 3-1 victory over Karl Fitzpatrick. At the bottom of the draw, number 2 seed Brendan O Donogue cruised to the next round with a 3-0 win over Jason Burns.
The quarter final line up saw number 1 seed Rodney Goggins lose out to TJ Dowling 3-1 and former Irish Champion David Hogan cruised past Ryan Cronin 3-0. The latter half of the draw presented a very exciting game between Tony Corrigan and Jason Devaney, which concluded with Devaney moving to the net round with a 3-2 win. The ever reliable Brendan O Donoghue concluded the line up with a 3-2 victory over Wayne Doyle.
After a long day’s snooker, it was decided to delay play and so the semi-final and final matches were settled on Sunday afternoon.
The first semi-final between TJ Dowling and David Hogan was a very exciting match with both players coming back to the senior tournaments this year. TJ proved that he hasn’t lost any of his talent by defeating David Hogan 4 frames to 2 to move in to the final. In the other semi-final, Brendan o Donoghue justified his number 2 seeding from last year by moving to the semi-final with a 4-2 victory over Jason Devaney.
In the final, TJ Dowling’s return came to an abrupt conclusion, with the experience of Nenagh man Brendan O Donoghue cruising to a 4-1 victory, and to securing his first title of the year.
The return of many players who have been unseen over the last couple of years made sure this tournament was an interesting one. We hope that they will continue to play in the remainder of the tournaments this season in order to continue the strong and vibrant atmosphere of the first Ranking tournament of the season.
RIBSA would like to thank the tournament directors and referees for their hard work over the weekend and also the Ivy Rooms for their excellent playing conditions and hospitality.
The next Senior Points Tournament will take place on the 31st October in Carlow. We hope to see you all there.
The Tournament high break prize went to young Josh Boileau with a superb 142 break.
RIBSA would like to thank all the players for making it a great success
Last 16:
Rodney Goggins 3 v 0 James Fennessy
Diarmuid O’Connor 1 v 3 TJ Dowling
David Hogan 3 v 1 Johnny Williams
Charlie Sweeney 1 v 3 Ryan Cronin
Tony Corrigan 3 v 1 Tony Seymour
Jason Devaney 3 v 2 David Cassidy
Wayne Doyle 3 v 1 Anthony Bonnar
Philip Browne 1 v 3 Brendan O’Donoghue
Quarter-Finals:
Rodney Goggins 1 v 3 TJ Dowling
David Hogan 3 v 0 Ryan Cronin
Tony Corrigan 2 v 3 Jason Devaney
Wayne Doyle 2 v 3 Brendan O’Donoghue
Semi-Finals:
TJ Dowling 4 v 2 David Hogan
Jason Devaney 2 v 4 Brendan O’Donoghue
Final:
TJ Dowling 1 v 4 Brendan O’Donoghue
