Darren Morgan came from behind to beat Steve Davis 2-1 in the final of the World Seniors Championship in Peterborough.
The Welshman came through the qualifying event last month and is a deserving champion having dropped only frame in the entire tournament.
Indeed, the 45 year-old had to dislodge a trio of the sport’s greats, knocking out Canadian Cliff Thorburn and defending champion Jimmy White before edging six-time world champion Davis in the final.
54 year-old Davis went into the encounter as the favourite after beating friend John Parrott in the last four under some controversial circumstances – with some of the alternative rules for the event coming into question.
Upon taking the opening frame, it looked like Davis, still a professional on the Main Tour, was going to avenge his defeat to the ‘Whirlwind’ at this stage last year.
However, an excellent 86 from his opponent – the highest break of the championship – in the second frame levelled it up and he held his nerve in the decider to emerge triumphant.
Morgan retired from the professional circuit in 2007 but quite clearly still has the game to compete at a high level.
The 1996 Irish Masters champion, where he also beat Davis in the final in a deciding frame thriller, is still heavily active on the amateur scene and cleans up in many of the over 40s classified events at home and abroad.
Yet, Morgan has no aspirations of returning the higher echelons of the game and admitted that there was no chance of his success in the Seniors reinvigorating his professional career.
All in all, the tournament went by successfully and is increasingly becoming a welcomed addition to the calendar.
It is fun, relaxed at times but serious at the right moments and the event was well attended over the course of the weekend.
But it is without question that the general consensus of everyone involved in the sport that the format is far too short and that some of the added rules – the inclusion of a shot clock in particular – should be removed.
Nevertheless, it is great to see some of the old faces battle it out again on the baize and Darren Morgan is a deserving champion.
