Live snooker has been sparse since the climax of the Northern Ireland Open but there’s other snooker action to report on in this weekly review.
Trump’s Northern Delights
Judd Trump beat Ronnie O’Sullivan in the final of the Northern Ireland Open for the second successive season on Sunday in Belfast.
The world champion repeated the 9-7 scoreline from twelve months ago and victory represented the third in a row over the “Rocket” at the final stage of a tournament.
It was a close battle but Trump always held his esteemed rival at bay after establishing an early 2-0 lead.
The pair traded blow for blow and the entertainment that they conjured for the packed audience was fitting given the fact that they were playing for the Alex Higgins Trophy.
Trump has become the sport’s maverick and this year he has accumulated the titles and demonstrated the kind of consistency that fully merits his label of being the best player in the world at present.
WDBS Champions at Hull Open
The latest World Disability Billiards and Snooker tournament was staged last weekend with 26 players taking part in competitions for the deaf and partially sighted.
There was a debut win for Ireland’s Dylan Rees in the Group 7 competition for people with visual disabilities as he defeated former champion Paul Smith 4-0 to make it a weekend to remember in East Yorkshire.
Making his debut appearance in a WDBS event, Rees supported his perfect record in the round robin phase with victories over the likes of 2017 runner-up Mike Gillespie in the knockout rounds.
In Group 8 there was a landmark victory for Blackburn’s Shabir Ahmed, who edged out first-time finalist Gary Taylor 4-3 to claim a record-equalling tenth WDBS victory on Sunday.
The Challenge Cup tournament for players who did not qualify for the knockout rounds was won by David Baker, who repeated his 2016 success at the same venue with a 2-1 victory against Ronnie Allen in the final.
The next WDBS event will be the Stockport Open, which will run from 10-12 January 2020 at the Hazel Grove Snooker Club.
View full tournament results and information here.
View the updated WDBS Roll of Honour here.
Brown Wins Challenge Tour Event 6
Oliver Brown triumphed in the sixth event on the Challenge Tour series last weekend in Hungary.
The Challenge Tour hit a snag a few weeks ago when Challenge Tour 5 was postponed due to a leaky roof at the Castle Snooker and Sports Bar in Brighton.
But the snooker action resumed in Budapest with Brown beating the likes of Paul Davison and Sanderson Lam to reach the final, where he overcame another former professional in Ashley Hugill.
The £2,000 champion’s cheque sees Brown rise to third on the Challenge Tour rankings, behind Hugill in second and Andrew Pagett in first.
The top ranked competitor after ten tournaments will gain an automatic Main Tour card.
Players ranked from second to ninth will subsequently enter a play-off event, with one more ticket to the pro circuit up for grabs.
What’s Coming?
The Eden Women’s Masters takes place this weekend at Frames Sports Bar in Coulsdon.
Reanne Evans is the reigning champion and will attempt to defend her crown from the likes of Ng On Yee, Nutcharut Wongharuthai, and Maria Catalano.
On Tuesday, snooker action on the Main Tour returns with the eagerly anticipated UK Championship getting under way at the Barbican Centre in York.
