Biggest ever Nenagh Snooker Open goes down a treat

The 13th Nenagh Snooker Open held recently proved to be another great success as the tournament goes from strength to strength.

New Institute club-man Brendan O’Donoghue captured his third Nenagh Open title, when he defeated Northern Ireland international Sean Gray in the final. It was the local man’s second consecutive title in his home club.

This year saw the tournament grow to a five-day event with 45 participants from the Republic of Ireland (11 from New Institute), Northern Ireland, Scotland, the United States and Bulgaria, split up into fifteen groups of three players, with two players qualifying through the groups after the end of the first two days. The final three days were the knockout matches and a second chance tournament for the players that failed to qualify out through the group.

Seven-times Irish amateur champion, Brendan O’Donoghue, hailing from St Patrick’s Terrace, was on form throughout the tournament, recording the highest break of 129 in closing out his semi-final win over Daniel Merrigan in the fifth frame. He also added two other centuries, 127 and 119. Eight centuries were made throughout the event.

O’Donoghue opened up the defence of this title with group stage wins over Dublin duo Clayton Cregan and James Flaherty. He followed up with victories in the knockout stages, Sean King (Dublin) 4-0 – Last 32, Mark Gleeson (New Institute) 4-2 – Last 16, Michael Judge (Dublin) 4-0 – quarter final, Daniel Merrigan (Dublin) 4-1 – semi-final, and Antrim’s Sean Gray 5-1 in the final to retain the Nenagh Open title and the beautifully designed glass trophy, sponsored by Carey Glass.

After thirteen iterations of the Nenagh Open, it has just four winners but they are the cream of the Irish snooker scene in Brendan O’Donoghue, David Hogan, Davy Morris, and Aaron Hill.

In the second chance tournament, it was an all Nenagh clash in the final with Paudie Kelly defeating Dave Garrett 4-1, making a break of 88 in the contest.

New Institute Snooker Club should be commended, with players approvingly applauding about the over all standard of the club, especially with the tournament getting played on new Lieberwin cloths.

AMC Cue Sports promoted the Nenagh Open in what as their fourth tournament in two years, and second in the Nenagh club, with the other two events being in Sacramento (2015) and Seattle (2026).

Without their professional team, they would have all these ideas but nowhere to go, led by Andy McCloskey and Brendan O’Donoghue. They team also consists of Christian Younger, OX Billiards Channel owner. They provided great morning to night coverage of the event with leading amateur player Rodney Goggins was on hand doing commentary, with several players also chipping in to lend a hand.

World level referee Desislava Bozhilova from Bulgaria, gave the tournament an added spice, along with fellow referee Steven Foster.

A new Cue Action scoreboard app was created by Christian Younger and Andrei Izrantcev, which was a great help for viewers watching through the Ox Billiards YouTube stream.

AMC Cue Sports and the players would like to thank the committee and all that are involved with the New Institute Snooker Club for the continuous support. There were always volunteers on hand for everything. Snooker Billiards Ireland (SBI) co-sanctioned event with the governing body generously covering the entry free for junior players.

AMC Cue Sports would also like to thank the following sponsors: Andy Flynns Gastropub; Kirby Group; Talbot’s Menswear; Mr. Binman; The Abbey Court Hotel; Up Eats; The Peppermill Restaurant; AMC Office Services; Cue Action Store; Costello's Oil and Romanos Takeaway

Nenagh Open Results (New Institute unless stated)

Last 32: Tony Seymour 4-1 Joe Delaney (Dublin); Daniel Merrigan (Dublin) 4-1 Gary Power; Mark Tuite (Kerry) 4-1 Andy McCloskey; Michael Judge (Dublin) 4-0 Colin Walsh (Mayo); Davy Morris (Kilkenny) 4-1 Tom Gleeson; Mark Gleeson 4-2 Rodney Goggins (Wexford); Brendan O’Donoghue 4-0 Sean King (Dublin); Ryan Cronin (Cork) 4-0 Bobby Hemnani (US); Benny O’Brien (Kilkenny) 4-2 Andrew Doherty (Dublin); Sean Gray (Antrim) 4-0 Aaron Donnelly (Kildare); Philly Browne (Dublin) 4-0 Clayton Cregan (Dublin); Ivor Fitzpatrick (Dublin) 4-1 John Farrell (Dublin); Mark Walsh 4-2 Leslie Carroll (Laois); Darragh Gallagher (Donegal) 4-0 Michael Philbin (Scotland)

There were byes for top two seeds: Dylan Rees (Waterford) and Noel Gleeson

Last 16: Tony Seymour 4-1 Dylan Rees; Daniel Merrigan 4-0 Mark Tuite; Michael Judge 4-3 Davy Morris; Brendan O’Donoghue 4-2 Mark Gleeson; Ryan Cronin 4-0 Benny O’Brien; Sean Gray 4-3 Philly Browne; Mark Walsh 4-2 Ivor Fitzpatrick; Darragh Gallagher 4-1 Noel Gleeson

Quarter-Finals: Daniel Merrigan 4-2 Tony Seymour; Brendan O’Donoghue 4-0 Michael Judge; Sean Gray 4-1 Ryan Cronin; Darragh Gallagher 4-0 Mark Walsh

Semi-Finals: Brendan O’Donoghue 4-1 Daniel Merrigan; Sean Gray 4-1 Darragh Gallagher

Final: Brendan O’Donoghue 5-1 Sean Gray. Frame Scores 65-50, 53-61 (30), 83 (83)-5, 57 (31)-20, 123 (119)-0, 74-48

Century Breaks Made

Brendan O’Donoghue 129, 127, 119; Darrah Gallagher 128; Michael Judge 122, 100; Ryan Cronin 120, 100