Malta round up


All of our Northern Ireland teams in Malta performed well against very tough opposition and we returned home on Tuesday night with some silverware to show for our efforts on the green baize. The Masters team are Nations Champions after coming back from 1-6 down in the final against England to win 13-11. They also trailed 4-8 in their Semi Final but again dug deep to make the final pairing. Our Mens 'A' Team made the Semi Finals only losing out to eventual Champions England. Our Mens B1s also qualified from a difficult group and made the Final after a fantastic 17-14 Semi Final win over England. Unfortunately they fell 17-9 to Scotland in the Final but can be more than proud of their achievement, the classy Scots won all 10 of their matches on the way to the title. Our Mens Specials were also Finalists this time losing out to Wales, but they gained some consolation by winning the Specials Speed Pool competition. The Under 18s just missed getting out of their group on frame difference and our Mens B2s although not registering a win, lost three games by 16-17 and two by 15-18. Our Seniors Team got off to a bad start and couldn't recover finishing 6th in their group, but they did win the Seniors Speed Pool event. Our Ladies team also made the Semi Finals where they lost to eventual winners Scotland. The high point for the girls was a 13-12 win over the Scots in the group stage.

We have a new European Nations Individual Champion as Larne's Robert Hawkins took the crown after a 6-3 win over team mate Dessie Cooper from Ballymena. The duo are also team mates in the Larne and Carrickfergus Pool Leagues. Moyle's Paddy Reid was Runner Up in the Specials Final. Also well done to Belfast's Rab McCullough who reached the Semi Finals in a very strong field in the Mens event and Newcastle's Roisin Smith also excelled, also reaching the Semi Final.

Top of the Pots
Mens 'A' - 72% Ronan McCarthy (Ards)
Mens 'B1' - 72% Shaun McAlister (Larne)
Mens 'B2' - 54% Wayne Lewis (Newtownabbey), Aaron Mearns (Ards)
Seniors - TBC
Masters - 70% Robert Hawkins (Larne)
Ladies - 55% Roisin Smith (Down)
Specials - 74% Paddy Reid (Moyle)
Under 18s - 57% Carl Martin (Omagh), Steven McGurn (Omagh)

In the photo - The successful Masters Team
Standing - Alan Corrigan, Eric Sterrett, Hugh Regan, Joe Patton
Front - Robert Hawkins, Dessie Cooper