Revenge was sweet for Pat McCarron in week 5
of the ANBA summer series at Rileys, Chapel Street. McCarron, defeated
in 2 previous finals in the deciding rack so far this season, got off
the mark this time- and beat both players who previously denied him.
McCarron first ousted Anthony Yau in the last 16,
recovering form 1-4 to win 6-5, and withstood 2 more 6-5 finishes- one
against Brian Craig from being 5-0 up- to reach the final. In this, Jim
O'Hare won the first after McCarron missed a tricky 9; McCarron tactically
controlled the next 2 to lead, and O'Hare levelled by potting 7, 8 and 9
in the 4th. McCarron went back in front after brilliantly playing
position from 6 to 7 to make the finish easy, but from then on, the
match became a comedy of errors as both players form deserted them. Both
had 2 misses each on the 7 in rack 6, before McCarron eventually won for
4-2; in the next, O'Hare failed to make the most of a snookering
opportunity, and McCarron finished, and when an in-off materialised in
the next in potting the 7, O'Hare offered the handshake with just 8 and
9 remaining.
As matters stand, the top 5 all look certain to
make it to Kirkcaldy for the Scottish Championships in October- this
being the prize for the top 8 finishers in the 10-week series. Places
6-8 look up for grabs though, amd Steve Annal done his chances no harm
with a second successive semi-final appearance to go 8th.
Results: Quarter finals: Philip Craig beat Kenny
MacPherson 6-5; Pat McCarron beat Brian Craig 6-5; Jim O'Hare beat Craig
Park 6-2; Steve Annal beat Andy Pirie 6-5 Semi finals: McCarron beat
P.Craig 6-5; O'Hare beat Annal 6-2 Final: McCarron beat O'Hare 6-2
Anthony Yau
won week 4 of the ANBA summer series at Rileys Chapel Street. Anthony is
the 4th different tournament winner in as many weeks, and his 6-5 win
over Pat McCarron in the final is the 3rd final to go to the deciding
rack. For the 4th week running, however, 1 memorable shot in the final
provided the winning chance.
At 5-5, with both players having been sharp
throughout, Yau found himself snookered on the 5-ball; unhesitatingly,
he produced a jump cue, and spectacularly potted the 5, and landed
perfect on the 6 for the finish, which was held together by a brilliant
positional shot from 7 to 8, in which the cue ball travelled twice
across the table from an acute potting angle.
In the race to Kirkcaldy, Yau moves into 3rd place,
and McCarron 2nd in the only 2 moves within the unchanged top 8.
Results:
Quarter finals: Pat McCarron 6-4 Kenny MacPherson; Mark
Oaten 6-3 Mark Gravener; Anthony Yau 6-4 Harry Brebner; Steve Annal 6-1
Terry King Semi finals:
McCarron 6-0 Oaten; Yau 6-2 Annal Final:
Yau 6-5 McCarron
Mark Oaten
became the 3rd different tournament winner in as many weeks of the ANBA Summer
series at Rileys Chapel Street. Oaten beat series leader Pat McCarron in
what was the pick of the first round ties, and reached the final after
coming from behind against Sean Croll in the semis.
In the final, Kenny MacPherson awaited, and it was
he who dominated the table time in the early exchanges; however, Oaten
took a 3-1 lead despite finding himself snookered on several occasions,
as MacPherson failed to convert chances. Oaten then pushed on to 5-2,
before MacPherson stayed alive with a fine clearance in the next. At 3-5
down in the race to 6, MacPherson overhit position on the 3 ball, and
laid a good snooker on it. That was his last shot though, as Oatens
escape cannoned the 9 on a journey round the table, eventually trickling
into the middle via the 6 ball.
Oaten now goes top, and MacPherson goes 3rd,
splitting last weeks top 2 Pat McCarron & Jim O'Hare. The top 8 after 10
weeks receive entry fee and overnight accomodation for October's
Scottish championship in Kirkcaldy.
Results:
Quarter finals: Mark Oaten beat Stuart Garden 6-1; Sean
Croll beat Martin McIntosh 6-4; Kenny MacPherson beat Moray Milligan
6-5; Anthony Yau beat Jim O'Hare 6-3 Semi
finals: Oaten beat Croll 6-4; MacPherson beat Yau 6-4
Final: Oaten beat MacPherson 6-3
Jim O'Hare
survived a deciding rack final to clinch the week 2 event of the ANBA summer
series at Rileys Chapel Street. The top 8 players at the end of the 10 weeks
qualify for the Scottish 9-ball championships at Kirkcaldy in October, and
O'Hare, as well as week 2 finalist Pat McCarron, are setting the pace.
Both players were impressive in reaching the final,
dropping only 6 racks each on the way. In the match itself, O'Hare made the
first error, missing the 3 in the first rack, and McCarron cleared the balls for
1-0; a minute later, it was 3-0, as firstly O'Hare's foul on the 1 left a 1-9
combination, and then McCarron took a "golden break" in the third rack. McCarron
then missed a 5 unexpectedly, and O'Hare had a lifeline, clearing to get on the
scoresheet. 1-3 became 4-3 O'Hare as McCarron started to make errors. However,
McCarron played a delightful shot in the next, firing home a long 5-ball, and
screwing to the back cushion with reverse side to nudge the awkward 6 into
an easy potting position; this made the finish to 4-4 elementary, and the
players shared the next 2 racks to go "hill-hill". McCarron had a dry break in
the decider, but O'Hare missed the 1, leaving it safe; 2 safety shots later,
O'Hare was left the 1 into the middle and cleared to the 8, but fell short of
ideal position on the 9 by some 3 feet. Faced with a thin safety, or an
audacious table-length bank shot, O'Hare opted for the latter, and was relieved
to see the 9 drop.
McCarron tops the series
after 2 weeks, with O'Hare 2nd; last weeks winner Andy Morris is 3rd, but
unlikely to play in any more events. Darren Matthew(4th) is marginally ahead of
double quarter finalists Moray Milligan and Mark Oaten. Kenny MacPherson(7th) &
Ross Adams(8th) make up the 8 front runners in the race to Kirkcaldy.
Results: Quarter finals: Pat McCarron beat
Mark Oaten 6-1; Ross Adams beat Bruce McGill 6-0; Anthony Yau beat Kenny
MacPherson 6-2; Jim O'Hare beat Moray Milligan 6-2 Semi finals:
McCarron beat Adams 6-2; O'Hare beat Yau 6-0 Final:
O'Hare beat McCarron 6-5
Monday July 3rd: ANBA
Summer League week 1
The ANBA Summer Series
kicked off at Rileys Chapel Street on Monday evening. For the first time, the
top 8 players at the end of the 10-week season will be rewarded with a place in
the Scottish 9-ball championships in October, with entry fee and overnight
accomodation for the Kirkcaldy event included in the prize. There is also a £100
prize to the overall series winner, with £75 to the runner-up and £50 to the
3rd. As usual there will be a £50 payout to the winner of each of the 10
counting events.
First week honours went to
Andy Morris, the Scottish ranked number 9
from Stirling, who was visiting Aberdeen. Morris survived 3 final rack deciders
on the way to victory; in the quarter finals, a 2-5 deficit to Moray Milligan
was converted to a 6-5 win. In the semis, Morris halted Marc Davis, who led 3-0
but lost 6-5. And in the final, Darren Matthew looked to have got the better of
a tough encounter, and was clearing up for a 6-4 win, but unbelievably missed
the final 9 to take the match to a decider. In this, Morris held his nerve to
complete a successful evenings work.
Results:Quarter finals:
Darren Matthew beat Mark Oaten 6-3; Pat McCarron beat Sean Croll 6-1; Marc Davis
beat Brian Craig 6-5; Andy Morris beat Moray Milligan 6-5
Semi finals: Matthew beat McCarron 6-2;
Morris beat Davis 6-5 Final: Morris
beat Matthew 6-5
Marc Davis emerged from 3
tough matches to land the ANBA Spring League Cup at Rileys Chapel
Street. In the quarter final, Davis recovered from a 1-6 deficit to oust
Kenny MacPherson to win 10-9, and from 3-8 behind, beat Jim O'Hare in
the semi finals to line up against Mark Oaten in the final.
This time it was Davis who made the running; at 7-4
Davis, a risky combination failed, and Oaten cleared to trail by just 2.
However, Davis won 2 of the next 3 to go "on the hill" at 9-6. Oaten
then launched his own comeback, 2 fine clearances reducing the gap to
8-9, but Oatens break in the next left a 2-9 combination which Davis
sunk to land the title.
Results:
Quarter finals: Jim O'Hare beat Stuart Garden 10-3; Marc
Davis beat Kenny MacPherson 10-9; Ivan Tulloch beat Pat McCarron 10-6;
Mark Oaten beat Mark Gravener 10-5 Semi
finals: Davis beat O'Hare 10-9; Oaten beat Tulloch 10-6
Final: Davis beat Oaten 10-8
The new summer series starts this Monday (July 3rd)
at Rileys Chapel Street. As usual, 10 consecutive weekly knock out
events will be held at the venue (£7.50 entry per week). The top 8
players in the series after the 10 weeks will automatically qualify
for the Scottish 9-ball Championships
in Kirkcaldy on 21-22 October, with entry fee and overnight accomodation
paid. In addition, the series winner will recieve £100, 2nd place will
get £75, and 3rd place gets £50. Entries each Monday by 6:30pm,
newcomers welcome.
Monday June 19th: ANBA
Spring League Cup, week 1
The ANBA Spring League Cup kicked off at Rileys,
Chapel Street on Monday night, as the field was whittled down to 8
players. Only 4 seeds made it through to the quarter finals, as Darren
Matthew[2], Martin McIntosh[3], Moray Milligan[8] and Andy Pirie[6] all
fell by the wayside, but there remains a strong field to contest the
remainder of the event. This will be played at Rileys, Chapel Street on
Monday (26th), as follows:
6:30pm...Jim
O'Hare[1] v. Stuart Garden
& Marc Davis v.
Kenny MacPherson[7]
7:45pm...Ivan Tulloch
v. Pat McCarron[5] &
Mark Oaten v. Mark Gravener[3]
9:00pm...semi-finals
10:15pm... final
All
matches race to 10.
There will also be a Summer League flyer event on the
remaining tables. Usual entry fee/start times apply.
Send mail to
jimnohare@btinternet.com with questions or comments about this web site.
Last modified: 04/11/06
