Morris Crowned Irish Champion for Fourth Time
The Republic of Ireland Billiards and Snooker Association (RIBSA) recently held their end of season ‘Finals Weekend’ at the Ivy Rooms in Carlow where several national champions across various categories were confirmed.
In a meeting of two recent ex-professionals, David Morris defeated Josh Boileau to claim the most prestigious prize on the RIBSA domestic circuit; the Irish National Championship.
The opening rounds of the event culminated in 16 players qualifying for the showdown in Carlow last week. Morris, who reached the last 16 of the UK Championship in 2013 and 2014, eliminated John Farrell, Paul Dunne and then 2000 winner Rodney Goggins, another former top tier competitor, to reach the final.
European Under-21 champion in 2016, youngster Boileau only fell off the main tour at the end of the 2017/18 campaign. Back in the amateur ranks, he acclimatised himself well to make his maiden final in this tournament after dispatching Robert Murphy in the last four.
The final started off as a predictably close affair with the pair locked at 3-3 come the end of the first session. However, 30-year-old Morris broke free on the resumption, stringing together four frames in a row to seal a 7-3 success. This is the fourth time that the Kilkenny cueist has won the accolade having lifted the trophy in three consecutive years between 2004-2006.
Another 14 titles were awarded across the weekend in the Leinster based venue. Michelle Sherwin won her 16th Irish Ladies Championship when she defeated Ronda Sheldreck, 4-0, in the final, while Michael Judge ousted Goggins, 5-4, to secure the Masters Championship.
In the youth competitions, Aaron Hill completed a double with victories in both the Under-21 and Under-18 divisions, although his bid for the Under-19s was stopped by champion Ross Bulman in the final. Leone Crowley, Aaron Smith and Jack O’Brien won the Under-16, 14 and 12 Championships respectively.
Titles in the three-ball discipline were also showcased; Wayne Doyle got the better of Aidan Murray, 4-1, to capture the 150 Up Championship, but the roles were reversed the following day in the Long Format Championship when Murray came through as a 690-553 victor.
2019 Irish National Snooker Championship
Results (from the quarter-finals onwards)
Paul Dunne 1-5 David Morris
Colm Gilcreest 0-5 Rodney Goggins
Robert Murphy 5-0 Aaron Holland
Josh Boileau 5-0 Aaron Hill
Semi-Finals
Morris 6-3 Goggins
Murphy 4-6 Boileau
Final
Morris 7-3 Boileau