O`Donoghue Wins Munster Close

The New Institute Snooker Club, Nenagh, hosted the 2015 Munster Close Snooker Championship on Saturday last. There were a total of twenty entries for Munster`s premier snooker event. There were a total of five entries from Nenagh. These were Brendan O`Donoghue, Tony Seymour, Patsy Farrell, Thomas Forde and Jason Burns.

Report written by Niall Farrell

Play got underway at 11.15am with the four preliminary matches. Limerick`s John Torpey was on top form early on Saturday morning, which resulted in a 74 break in his 3-0 victory over Patsy Farrell. Elsewhere, Con O`Sullivan defeated Declan Monaghan 3-2, while there were also victories for Dean Callinan and Damien Burke over Kevin McMahon and Vincent Meaney respectively.

Preliminary results:

Dean Callinan bt Kevin McMahon

Con O`Sullivan bt Declan Monaghan

Damien Burke bt Vincent Meaney

John Torpey bt Patsy Farrell

The last 16 stage saw the introduction of the four seeds to the competition. These were Brendan O`Donoghue, Tony Seymour, David Cassidy and Greg Casey. There were victories for all of the seeds, with no frames in 3-0 victories for them all. Meanwhile, Limerick`s, Frank Sarsfield defeated Nenagh`s, Thomas Forde and Killarney`s, Derry O`Sullivan beat Jason Burns 3-1, reducing home interest in the competition. Current RIBSA Masters rankings leader, Tom O`Driscoll also enjoyed a fine 3-1 victory over Cork`s, Shane Hourihan.

Last 16 Results:

Greg Casey bt John Torpey

Tony Seymour bt Con O`Sullivan

Tom O`Driscoll bt Shane Hourihan

David Cassidy bt Damien Burke

Brendan O`Donoghue bt Dean Callinan

Derry O`Sullivan bt Jason Burns

Frank Sarsfield bt Thomas Forde

Stephen Walsh bt Dane O`Donoghue

In the opening quarter final Tony Seymour had a fine victory over Derry O`Sullivan, while David Cassidy defeated Green Baize`s, Stephen Walsh. Greg Casey was given an almighty scare by an in form Tom O`Driscoll before coming out victorious on a 3-2 scoreline. The number one seed and tournament favourite, Brendan O`Donoghue was also pushed all the way by Frank Sarsfield in their quarter final. Brendan and Frank shared the opening four frames, resulting in a nail biting final frame. However, despite Frank`s best efforts, it would be Brendan who would triumph on a 3-2 scoreline.

Quarter Final Results;

Tony Seymour bt Derry O`Sullivan

David Cassidy bt Stephen Walsh

Brendan O`Donoghue bt Frank Sarsfield

Greg Casey bt Tom O`Driscoll

The opening semi final was between the Crucible`s, Greg Casey and David Cassidy. This ensured that there would be Cork representation in the final once again. In the end, Greg would run out the winner on a result of three frames to one against his club-mate. In the other semi final, Nenagh`s Brendan O`Donoghue and Tony Seymour faced off on table five. This was a very one-sided encounter with Brendan winning by three frames to nil.

The final between Brendan and Greg failed to live up to its potential, with neither player able to gain any real momentum in the match. The opening four frames were shared, leaving the scores at two frames all. Brendan went on to win the fifth frame and late in the sixth frame it looked as though a deciding frame would be required. Greg failed to capitalize on a glorious opportunity to level the game once again, as he overcut the blue ball, allowing Brendan to return to the table once again. Brendan sunk the blue before playing a cross double on a relatively safe pink, which remarkably found its way into the pocket. This left Brendan with an easy black ball, which he duly potted and claimed Munster`s top honour.

Tournament high break: 131 – Brendan O`Donoghue