THIS Coming Saturday will be a huge one for Cork Snooker with the last event on the Cork Billiards and Snooker Association (CBSA) calendar the 'Shooters Snooker Club' sponsored 'Cork Open Snooker Championship' which will be held at the magnificent new Shooters snooker club in the Blackpool industrial estate.
The club is truly a magnificent venue with 10 championship Riley tables, with cloth of the highest quality and a venue that cries out for championship snooker.
With the World championships currently in play in Sheffield at the moment, millions of people from all over the World are glued to snooker and now that the Cork open is back on the snooker calendar on Leeside for the first time since the 1980's this couldn't be a better time to host such an event as this.
56 players have entered the championship including the current Irish number one amateur player Rodney Goggins from Wexford who will play Tim Murphy from the AOH.
The Cork open will start with some local matches on Thursday and Friday night and great consideration has been given to those players travelling long distances so that they have a slightly later match time on Saturday. There was a little criticism that the best of three format was too short, but it would be impossible to run off the amount of matches to be played in one day to finish the event. If in the future the competition gets an even bigger entry, which I am certain it will, then a two day event might be a real possibility.
Proud owner of Shooters snooker club John Paul Crowley told Rebel Snooker“I can't wait for this event to start, we have been counting the days and now with the first games starting on Thursday night we can believe that it is here at last and the Shooters is firmly back on the Cork snooker map. It is great to see Rodney Goggins coming up to us from Wexford and other players like the current 'Masters National champion' Mark Tuite from Killarney, Keith Sheldrick from Dublin and Ray Power and Darren Mirza from Waterford, it gives the Cork lads some really good tough opposition and with players like Anthony O'Connor, Greg Casey, Aaron Tobin, Ryan Cronin and Karl Busteed fighting the Rebel cause it should be an exciting days snooker”.
There are some great match ups on the day with some eye catching games, like Aaron Tobin from Youghal CYMS and Tom Greaney from the host club, Rodney Goggins versus Tim Murphy from the AOH and Darren Mirza from Waterford and Douglas player Tony Moore.
Jimmy White will officially open 'Shooters Snooker Club' on Sunday the 20th of May and there will be eight local Cork players up against the legendary 'Whirlwind' on the night. The evening begins at 8pm with all kinds of options available, check out Shooters snooker club on Facebook.
Draw & Schedule for 2012 Cork Open Snooker Championship sponsored by Shooters Snooker Club Blackpool Cork City.
8pm Thursday 26th
Christopher Crowley v Derek O’Neill
Friday 27th @ 7pm
Sonny Stack v J.P. Crowley
Ryan Cronin v Daniel Kirby
Martin O’Mahony v Garry O’Sullivan
David Cassidy v Dean Callanan
Friday 27th @ 8.30pm
Karl Busteed v Michael Crowley
Donncha Breathnach v Edward Finn
Ciaran Cronin v Damien O’Driscoll
Friday 27th @ 9pm
David Forde v Cian Corcoran
Saturday 28th @ 10.30am
Kenny Wight v Declan O’Callaghan
Gerry O’Sullivan v Derek Kiely
Kevin O’Leary v John Harrison
Ger Kelly v David Joyce
Aaron Tobin v Tom Greaney
Derek Murphy v Edward Evans
Daniel O’Regan v Sean Burns
Greg Casey v Mark Walsh
Shane O’Mahony v Alan Cleary
Saturday 28th @ 11.30am
Martin O’Sullivan v Ray Power
Shane O’Flynn v Shahzad Hussein
Lloyd Myers v Keith Sheldrick
Anthony O’Connor v Daniel Spillane
Darren Mirza v Tony Moore
David Cremin v Winner ( S. Stack & J.P. Crowley)
Tom Aherne v Winner ( M. O’Mahony & G. O’Sullivan)
Tim Murphy v Rodney Goggins
Saturday 28th @ 12.30
Eric Hassan v Winner ( D. Cassidy & D Callanan)
Mark Tuite v Winner ( D. Breathnach & E. Finn)
Robert Kelly v Winner ( G. Casey & M. Walsh)
James Scannell v Winner ( S. O’Flynn & S. Hussein)
John Dorgan v Winner ( D. Mirza & Tony More)
Youghal CYMS star Brendan Cooney went all the way to the final again last Sunday at the Ivy Rooms in Carlow at the 'Masters' event. Cooney has twice made finals this year and is clear number four in the National rankings and has booked his place on the Republic of Ireland Billiards and Snooker Association (RIBSA) Republic of Ireland team that will play in Prestatyn in Wales in the 'Home Internationals' at the end of the year. Cooney unfortunately lost out to Mark Tuite in the final by three frames to one, but is one of the short listed players for the 'Masters National Finals' in May.
Brendan will join his son Christopher at the home internationals as Christopher is on the RIBSA under 21 team.
This Weekend
This weekend in Carlow at the Ivy Rooms, the National under 14 and 16 RIBSA championships will be held and Youghal CYMS are bringing up some real contenders for these events. At under 14 level the current Cork under 14 champion Noel Landers will be joined by Conor Kennedy, Keane McCarthy and Ross and Adam Bulman.
At under 16 level Youghal CYMS will have two very good players, Adam Fitzgerald and Killian McCarthy and Douglas will send up Evan O'Leary, best of luck to all the Cork based players who are travelling to the Ivy Rooms this weekend.
