Causier Is A Double Champion In Carlow

For the second consecutive month, David Causier has won both legs of a major World Billiards double-header. His latest victories came at the Ivy Rooms in Carlow, Republic of Ireland where he got his hands on both the Irish and European Open trophies.

Irish Open

Causier made his intentions clear during the curtain-raising Irish Open, a level three world ranking event. He qualified top of his group having made five centuries before breaking the 1000 points barrier inside just 90 minutes when crushing John Kehoe 1034-51 in the last 16. This performance included a trio of tons, including a 347.

The former world champion continued his ruthless streak in the following rounds; he notched up six centuries in eliminating Gary Norman (976-212) in the quarter-finals and then dispatched Rob Hall (689-305) in the last four.

Awaiting Causier in the final was fellow Englishman Martin Goodwill, who had dethroned defending champion and world number one Peter Gilchrist in the semi-finals with the aid of a 438 break – the highest of the tournament.

Goodwill was more than a match for his opponent in the title decider, but Causier managed to score heavier more frequently, ending with an unfinished effort of 113 to seal a 511-281 victory.

European Open

The main event of the five-day Irish showcase was the longer format, level five ranked European Open that carried a total prize fund of £4,000.

Causier continued on from where he had left off. In further devastating scoring fashion, he breached the 1000 points mark in all four of his round robin matches, chalking up six centuries, six double-centuries and a triple-century.

Opponents were left helpless in the knockout stages again, too. Highlighted by a top run of 191, Causier defeated Alan Shepherd 1357-109 in the last 16 before a showstopping break of 452 – the competition’s biggest – was constructed during a comprehensive 1444-336 win over Ryan Mears. Rob Hall’s hopes were once more dashed in the last four; this time going down 1237-383 whilst on the receiving end of a trio of three-figure contributions, including a 281.

For the second event running the world’s top four ranked players made up the semi-finals; Goodwill secured another final berth after continuing to be a thorn in Gilchrist’s side following a 668-492 win.

Goodwill raised hopes of an upset by starting the three-hour final strongly, registering breaks of 69 and 115 to establish a lead of over 200 points without response. However, a Causier surge soon came as breaks of 87 and 134 helped him take the lead.

A triple-century – that later ended at 320 – gave Causier a more than useful advantage at the break, while runs of 139 and 288 in the second half of the match got him safely home courtesy of a 1217-606 scoreline.

For further information and the full list of results, please visit the World Billiards website.

Photos courtesy of RIBSA.