Carlow Champions Crowned at 2024 Irish Disability Snooker Open
Champions were crowned across six classification groups as the 2024 Irish Disability Snooker Open returned to the SBI HQ in Carlow, Ireland for a second year.
The three-day event saw 38 players compete over six competitions in the last World Disability Billiards & Snooker (WDBS) ranking event of the year.
Read below about how the action unfolded as records were broken and titles were defended during a memorable weekend on the Emerald Isle.
Kelly Retains Irish Crown
Daniel Kelly successfully retained his Irish Open title by defeating Kal Mattu 3-1 in the Group 3 final.
The success in Carlow saw Kelly pick up his third ranking event title of the year and fourth in total since the 44-year-old Irishman made his debut at last year’s Irish Open.
Victories over Peter Hull and Kit Kennedy were enough for Kelly to top a tightly-contested four-man group and set up a final meeting with the group’s world number one player Mattu.
Mattu, who qualified for the final in second place as a result of winning a frame more than third-placed Hull, had defeated Kelly in their group stage encounter but it was the Irish cueist who stormed into a 2-0 lead on the final day.
The Englishman briefly rallied to take the third frame and reduce the deficit, but Kelly was able to secure victory in the fourth and keep the title in Ireland for another year.
Record 17th Title for Blunn
Daniel Blunn defeated Nigel Brasier 3-0 in the Group 4 final to win a record-extending 17th title on the WDBS tour.
It marks the first title for the World Snooker Tour (WST) Hall of Fame inductee since the 2023 UK Championship and sees him climb to third place in the world ranking list.
The 33-year-old from England made the perfect start to the weekend by compiling a break of 73, his highest ever in WDBS competition, en route to overcoming Irish debutant Patrick O’Rourke 2-0.
Further whitewash victories over Nathan Williams and Brasier saw Blunn comfortably top his initial group and he continued his dominant form to book his place in the final with a 3-0 win over Andy Johnson that featured breaks of 37 and 33.
Brasier, one of the fastest improving players on the tour this year, had stunned world number one David Church to reach his third ranking event final in five events.
A meeting with Blunn proved to be a step too far on this occasion, however, as the eventual champion battled to steal the opener on the final black before taking the next two to secure the title without dropping a single frame across the weekend.
Bolton Makes It Ten in a Row
Dave Bolton made it ten consecutive titles on the WDBS tour by defeating Dalton Lawrence 4-2 in the final of Group 5 in Carlow.
Bolton and Lawrence, the top two ranked players in the Group 5 world rankings, met in the final of a sixth successive event and it was the world number one who once again came out on top to extend his streak of success.
The 49-year-old Englishman made a strong start to the weekend by whitewashing both Lawrence and Maureen Rowland to top the group and secure his place in the title match.
Lawrence, the defending champion, raced into a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven frame title contest but Bolton remained unphased and rallied to restore parity before moving one away from victory by taking the fifth.
Breaks of 31 and 32 in the next then saw Bolton move past the winning post and continue his dominance of the Group 5 classification.
Glory for Gibbons on Home Soil
Oscar Ellison Gibbons defeated Mohammed Faisal Butt 3-1 in the Group 6A final to successfully defend the crown he won 12 months ago.
The 14-year-old Irishman was playing in only his third WDBS event since making his debut at last year’s Irish Open and was able to come through the five-player field to once again win the title on home soil.
Gibbons made a strong start to the weekend, securing wins against England’s Alan Archer and fellow countrymen Aidan and Niall Pollitt to book his place in the title match in Carlow for a second consecutive year.
There he faced Butt – an eight-time WDBS event winner who had confirmed his return to the summit of the Group 6A world rankings by reaching the final with a clean sweep of group stage victories.
Butt, who had won the group stage meeting between the two finalists, took the opening frame of the final but the teenage cueist hit back and moved one away from victory by taking frame three on the last black.
A 62-28 winning margin in the fourth then saw Gibbons get over the line to win his second consecutive Irish Open title.
Haslam the Champion in Carlow
Matthew Haslam rounded off a memorable 2024 in style by defeating Ryan Pinnington 3-2 in the Group 6B final.
Haslam has now won five WDBS title in a memorable year that saw him rise to the summit of the world ranking list for the first time in his career.
The 20-year-old struggled in the early stages as he was beaten 2-1 by reigning British Open champion James Hart in his opening match. Victories over Wales’ Rob Diparno and fellow eventual finalist Pinnington were enough to qualify for the semi-finals, however, where Haslam faced world number two Leroy Williams.
The match was toughly-contested and Williams moved one frame from victory with a break of 31 to move 2-1 ahead, but Haslam rallied and dragged himself over the line to reach the title match and defeat his nearest rival for a fifth consecutive time in WDBS competition.
England’s Pinnington had enjoyed a successful week, reaching the third WDBS final of his career and not dropping a single frame en route.
The 26-year-old twice led in the best-of-five frame final, but Haslam stepped up a gear at the vital moment to fire in breaks of 46 and 47 to add yet another title to his roll of honour.
Taylor On Top In Ireland
Gary Taylor defeated Colvin O’Brien 3-1 in the Group 7+8 final to win the fifth WDBS title of his career.
The seven-player competition saw the deaf and visual groups combined into a single competition and it Group 8’s Taylor who overcame Group 7’s O’Brien in the title match.
Taylor also compiled the joint-highest break of the event, a 73 in his semi-final contest, as he moved up to world number two following a successful weekend in Carlow.
The 57-year-old struggled in the initial group phase but victories over Ronnie Allen, Blake Munton and debutant Fran Coyle were enough to reach the semi-finals – where he then overcame group winner Dylan Rees 3-2 having trailed 2-0.
In the final he met Ireland’s O’Brien, who had confirmed his place as the new world number one in Group 7 by coming through a dramatic semi-final against Luke Drennan in a deciding frame.
Taylor moved one away from the title by taking the first two frames of the final, but O’Brien wouldn’t go down without a fight and reduced his deficit with a break of 46.
The Englishman held his nerve, however, to win a tight fourth frame and win the Irish Open crown for the first time.
James Hart defeated fellow Group 6B player Oliver Hanson 2-0 in the final of the Challenge Cup.
The mixed event sees players who do not qualify for the knockout stages competing for glory and 15 competitors took part.
Hart defeated Ireland’s Alex Hennebry in the opening round before overcoming Wales’ Ronnie Allen and Rob Diparno to set up a final meeting with Hanson.
Both frames of the final were close and came down to the colours, but it was Hart who held himself together to secure the Challenge Cup crown in Carlow.
WDBS would like to thank Snooker & Billiards Ireland (SBI), everyone at the SBI HQ in Carlow and all the officials, referees and players that helped to make the 2024 Irish Open a success.
