Magnificent Morris Wins Nenagh Invitational

There were a total of thirty eight entries for the 2015 renewal of the Nenagh Invitational sponsored by The Great National Abbey Court Hotel, Nenagh. The tournament was played on Saturday and Sunday in the New Institute Snooker Club. There was a high quality entry list from across the Irish snooker scene, which included current world number 59 Davy Morris, 2015 Irish Championship winner Brendan O`Donoghue, last season’s Irish no.1 Rodney Goggins, as well as 2015 European Men`s Team Championship winner Michael Judge.

Tournament Report by Niall Farrell

Play got underway at 10am on Saturday morning with one of the first matches being between Nenagh`s Mark Coonan and St.Johns Frank Sarsfield. The opening two frames were shared one apiece, before Mark took a 2-1 advantage. However, this lead was short lived with Frank soon levelling at 2-2. Frank then went on to win the next two frames and earn a 4-2 win. Jason Burns equipped himself well against Charlie Sweeney, matching his opponent throughout most of their match. However, Jason was lacking cutting edge on table three, as Charlie`s superior experience allowed him to run out a 4-0 winner. Meanwhile, John Torpey provided an excellent display, as he defeated Martin Kelly by four frames to nil.

In the next session of play Billy Kelly made his return to competitive action, when he played the Crucible`s David Cassidy. A shock appeared to be on the cards early on, as Billy took an early one frame advantage. However, this was as good as it got for Billy, as despite a very inconsistent performance, David won the next four frames to win 4-1. It was the same result in the match between Nenagh`s Tony Seymour and the Crucible`s Daniel O`Regan, with Tony running out a clear winner.

The standout fixture in the afternoon session was Greg Casey versus Waterford`s Tom O`Driscoll. This was the first match to go the distance, with Greg winning by four frames to three. Current professional, Davy Morris, got his campaign underway with a match against Charlie Sweeney. This match was very close, with the scores locked at 2-2 after an hour. They shared the next two frames, meaning that a decider was required. In the end it was Davy who won the final frame and win 4-3. Reigning National Under 19 Champion Andrew Doherty also got his tournament underway in this session, when he took on Cork`s John Murphy. Andrew played well throughout and earned a deserved 4-1 win. Elsewhere, second seed Rodney Goggins suffered an early exit, as David Cassidy beat him 4-0.

Preliminary Round Results:

Jason Burns 0-4 Charlie Sweeney

Shane Gorman 0-4 Colm Gilcreest

John Torpey 4-0 Martin Kelly

Adrian Morrissey w-o John Sutton

James Bateman 2-4 Martin McCrudden

David Cassidy 4-1 Billy Kelly

Last 32 Results:

Davy Morris 4-3 Charlie Sweeney

Greg Casey 4-3 Tom O`Driscoll

Colm Gilcreest 4-0 Tom Forde

Jake McMahon w-o Philip Browne

Daniel O`Regan 1-4 Tony Seymour

Tony Corrigan 4-0 Noel Gleeson

Frank Sarsfield 4-2 Mark Coonan

John Torpey 2-4 Michael Judge

Brendan O`Donoghue 4-0 Adrian Morrissey

Mark Gleeson 1-4 Johnny Williams

Ryan Cronin w-o Jason Devanney

Josh Boileau 4-0 Marc Cunningham

Martin McCrudden w-o Gary Power

Dave Garrett 0-4 TJ Dowling

Andrew Doherty 4-1 John Murphy

David Cassidy 4-0 Rodney Goggins

Davy Morris was involved in a thrilling game against Greg Casey in the standout last 16 encounter. Both players went the distance in their opening matches and they did so once again in this game. Davy was victorious in the deciding frame and set up a quarter final game against Colm Gilcreest, after he beat Jake McMahon 4-0. TJ Dowling defeated Martin McCrudden 4-2 in a high quality encounter and that was also the score as David Cassidy defeated Andrew Doherty late on Saturday night.

Last 16 Results:
Davy Morris 4-3 Greg Casey

Colm Gilcreest 4-0 Jake McMahon

Tony Seymour 1-4 Tony Corrigan

Frank Sarsfield 1-4 Michael Judge

Brendan O`Donoghue 4-3 Johnny Williams

Ryan Cronin 4-3 Josh Boileau

Martin McCrudden 2-4 TJ Dowling

Andrew Doherty 2-4 David Cassidy

Michael Judge became the first man to reach the semi-finals, after he defeated Tony Corrigan 4-2. Brendan O`Donoghue was the next to join him, after he defeated the Crucible`s Ryan Cronin. This was despite Ryan taking the opening frame. However, some below par safety play from Ryan coupled with a solid potting display from Brendan, saw Brendan run out a 4-1 winner. Meanwhile, Davy Morris defeated Colm Gilcreest 4-1 and TJ Dowling overcame David Cassidy 4-2.

Quarter Final Results:
Davy Morris 4-1 Colm Gilcreest

Tony Corrigan 2-4 Michael Judge

Brendan O`Donoghue 4-1 Ryan Cronin

TJ Dowling 4-2 David Cassidy

The semi-finals proved to be two one sided affairs, with Davy Morris defeating Michael Judge 4-0 and Brendan O`Donoghue beating TJ Dowling by the same margin.

In the final, Davy raced into an early 3-0 lead. Brendan then responded to level a 3-3 with breaks of 54, 70 and 65 in consecutive frames. With six reds remaining in the deciding frame Brendan was ahead by four. Davy went on to make a 30 break later in the frame, which left Brendan requiring snookers. He was unable to achieve these and Davy ran out a 4-3 winner.

L-R: Ray Lynch (Abbey Court Hotel, Deputy General Manager), Brendan O`Donoghue, Davy Morris and Patsy Farrell (Club Chairman)

The high break prize which was sponsored by Tadhg Flaherty Auto – Parts Nenagh was won by Michael Judge, who had a superb 131 break against John Torpey in the last 32.

The club would like to thank all those who participated and we hope to see everyone in Nenagh again next year.