There was a surprise winner of the final snooker ranking event of the season. After a long day, the field had been reduced to a semi final line of Darryl Hill vs Tom Miller and Paul Smyth vs Tony Cubbon. Hill had won all four previous events but Miller chose this moment to produce his best snooker of the day, progressing to the final 2-0 with breaks of 41 and 94 which was the best of the day. Smyth won with a similar scoreline but the frames were much closer, Cubbon going down 49-45 and 59-32. Cubbon had a very good day though, scoring heavily to have now reached the last two ranking semi finals. The best of 3 final was something of a marathon, lasting over 2 hours to finish at 11.45pm, 13 hours after the group stages started. A deciding frame was required, Smyth, runner-up in event 4, needed the last 3 colours to win, he potted a half ball blue situated on the pink spot, intentionally stunning into the pink which was tight on the side cushion. Luckily it landed right over the middle and with the black hanging over a corner the job was done. Frame scores 59-22, 48-75 and 67-53. Congratulations to Smyth who had never beaten Miller in a scratch competition before but achieved it twice in one day having also won 2-1 in the group stage.

Hill still holds an unassailable lead at the top of the rankings list on 380 points, Smyth leaps into 2nd with 182 and guarantees himself a spot at the Home Internationals in the summer. Miller also has 182 points, followed by Chris Dagnall 143, Calum Gardner 115, Dollin Mercer and Tony Cubbon 101, Jamie Wilson 81, Marek Kenny 68 and Peter Crellin 57 completing the top ten. The only further points to be awarded will come from those achieved via the Island Championships. Thanks to host venue, The Cue Zone.

57 Views - Last updated: 20/03/23