Victory for Hreidarsson in Iceland

Gunnar Hreidarsson defeated Jón Ingi Ægisson in the final to win the 2021 Icelandic National Snooker Championship. It is the second time that Hreidarsson has claimed the title, 13 years on from his maiden triumph in 2008.

The annual event featured 16 of the top ranked cueists from the domestic circuit playing across two weekends at the Snooker and Pool Club and Billiardbarin venues in the capital city of Reykjavik.

Hreidarsson dropped only five frames on route to the title match, eliminating Jón Björnsson 5-1 in the last 16, Unnar Bragason 5-2 in the quarter-finals and Brynjar Kristjánsson 7-2 in the semi-finals.

His opponent there was Jón Ingi Ægisson who dethroned defending champion Thorri Jensson 7-5 in the other last four tie, gaining some revenge for having lost to him at the same stage last year.

However, Ægisson was unable to go all the way, as 51-year-old Hreidarsson became the oldest ever winner of this championship following a 9-5 success.

At the age of 12 Hreidarsson learnt the game from Geoff Foulds – father of Neal – when they both visited Iceland to coach.

Ægisson has now been runner-up in this competition three times having lost to former Crucible qualifier Kristjan Helgason in the 2017 and 2019 finals. He did defeat Hreidarsson, though, 5-1 in the final of the over 40s championship a few weeks before.

Thank you to Gunnar Gunnarsson for his assistance with this article.

Article by Michael Day.