Vinnie Calabrese Wins Back-To-Back Q Tour Titles
Vinnie Calabrese defeated Hassan Kerde 4-2 in the final of the second event of the WPBSA Q Tour Asia-Pacific series in Albury, Australia.
The former World Snooker Tour (WST) professional impressively came through a field of 81 competitors in his home country to secure a second consecutive Q Tour title following his victory at the opening event in North Perth, Australia in June.
The event, known as the Fred Osbourne Classic, was held at the Commercial Club in Albury, Australia on 2-4 August and was staged by the Asia-Pacific Snooker and Billiards Federation (APSBF).
Calabrese arrived as the man in form having won the previous Q Tour event and finishing top of the series ranking list in the previous season.
He began his tournament with a 3-0 victory over Paul Balzer before showing stunning form to defeat Robin Beggs 3-0 with back-to-back century breaks of 106 and 102.
The Australian cueist was forced to battle through two deciding frames against Ian Barber and Paul Norris to reach the semi-finals and then overcame Chi Kin Yueng with a whitewash win to book his place in the title match.
There he would face Kerde, who had beaten Justin Sajich, Gary Nunn, Shaun Dalitz, Xavier Daw and finally Steve Mifsud in a deciding frame to set up a meeting with Calabrese.
Breaks of 78 and 56 helped Calabrese storm into a 3-0 lead and move one frame away from the title, but Kerde battled back to take the next two and reduce his deficit to just a single frame.
It was too little too late for Kerde, however, as Calabrese was able to get over the line in the sixth frame and secure more Q Tour glory.
The WPBSA Q Tour Asia-Pacific series continues in September with Event 3 in Auckland, New Zealand.
