Josh Boileau beat Robert Murphy 4-1 to capture the Douglas Jewellers Irish Masters title in Newbridge on Sunday.
The triumph marks Boileau’s first on the Irish amateur scene since he dropped off the Main Tour in 2018.
Boileau, the 2016 European under-21 champion, suffered a disappointing opening stint as a professional but will look to rebuild his confidence on the domestic front.
The 23 year-old certainly put in enough effort to reach the final of the fifth ranking event of the campaign, which was staged in his local club.
A hat-trick of 3-2 victories over tough opponents in John Farrell, Ross Bulman, and Ryan Cronin helped the Kildare cueist into the last four.
Brendan O’Donoghue was bidding to claim a third title in succession but he couldn’t stop Boileau as the latter duly ended the top seed’s winning run with a 4-1 success.
Boileau subsequently matched that scoreline in the Irish Masters final against Murphy, who missed out on silverware at the last hurdle for the second tournament in a row.
Murphy was in superb form at the weekend as he saw off the challenges of Alan Cusack, Philip Browne, Stephen Bateman, and Aaron Holland without losing a single frame.
But the final proved to be one step too far as Boileau made a welcome return to the winner’s circle.
There will be one more ranking event at Potters Snooker Club in Drogheda next month before the blue riband Irish Championship is contested in April and May.
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