AMATEUR SNOOKER - UK & IRISH ROUND-UP (APRIL / MAY 2016)

NORTHERN IRELAND

​2016 Northern Ireland Snooker Championship

23rd & 24th April 2016 (Last 8) / Pot Black Snooker, Cookstown, Northern Ireland

Patrick Wallace (pictured above) secured a record 8th Northern Irish National Snooker Championship after a high quality 10-8 victory over Jordan Brown last month.

Wallace is a former professional of 15 seasons, and in 2001 reached the Quarter-Finals of the World Championship at the Crucible Theatre.

The initial rounds were played at an earlier date, the 46 year old dropping just one frame on route to the 'Finals Weekend'. There he ousted Alistair Wilson 5-4 and Dareen Dornan 6-3 in the Last 8 and Last 4 respectively. His final meeting with Brown was a repeat of the 2015 decider.

The final would essentially be a tale of two different halves. 

Wallace claimed the opener with a 61 break, but Brown led 6-3 at the end of the session after contributions of 67, 60, 46, 80 and 57.

However, on the resumption, the Dungannon cueist turned on the class with efforts of 78, 94 and 69 to take the front at 8-7.

Brown equalised for 8-8, but Wallace responded to the pressure, finishing in style with breaks of 89 and 107.

​Patrick already held the record for NI wins. This was the fifth year in succession he took the trophy.

Photo credit above - NIBSA Facebook Page.

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND

​2016 Republic of Ireland National Snooker Championship

6th-8th May 2016 (Final 16 onwards) / Ivy Rooms, Carlow, Republic of Ireland

TJ Dowling made it a hat-trick of national titles after beating Johnny Williams 7-3 in the final this past weekend in Carlow.

16 qualifiers had previously battled it through to be part of the Republic of Ireland Billiards and Snooker Association's (RIBSA) Finals Weekend, where they would be contesting for the most prestigious title in the country.

Dowling was fairly comfortable throughout in making the final, eliminating Jason Devaney 4-0, Joe Delaney 5-1 and David Hogan 6-3.  

​Williams reached his maiden major final by seeing off John O'Sullivan 4-2, squeezing past former pro Rodney Goggins 5-4, and then newly crowned European Under 21's champion (and soon to be professional) Josh Boileau 6-2. 

The entertaining final was a tight affair at times, but TJ broke free from 3 all by chalking up the last four frames.

It meant the end of an 18 year wait for Dowling, who had originally captured this title in 1997 and 1998 as a teenager (16 and 17 at the time).

For further information, and the full results, please visit the RIBSA website here.

SCOTLAND
2016 Scottish National Championship Final

​8th May 2016 / The Creamery, Falkirk, Scotland

​17 year old Chris Totten became the youngest winner of the Scottish National Snooker title since Stephen Hendry after his 7-4 victory over former professional Craig MacGillivray.

The tournament was played in a number of stages over the last two months. In the latter rounds, Totten was superb with 4-0 wins in the Last 32 and 16, then by beating Paul Hardy 5-1 and Michael Collumb 6-3 (breaks of 64, 52) in the Quarter and Semi-Finals respectively.

The teenager, who will be taking part at Q-School this week, crafted efforts of 68 and 50 in the final.

For information, and the full results, please visit the Scottish Snooker Facebook page here.

WALES

2016 Welsh National Snooker Championship

The final of this year's edition will feature the reigning champion Darren Morgan and 2013 winner David John, after both won their respective semi-final matches 6-2 against Andrew Pagett and Alex Taubman.

The championship decider is likely to be played this month, with the exact date released over the next few days.

To read about both finalist's path to this stage, please visit the Welsh Snooker website here.

Would you like one of your national championship events to feature on 'The Cue View'? If so, please get in touch with us via our Facebook / Twitter pages, or email michaelday@thecueview.com.

Written and published by Michael Day on the 10th May 2016​​​​​​​​​​​​

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