RAYMOND Fry won his first ranking event of the season, the Daly’s Bar & Bistro Classic in Derry, beating Patrick Wallace 5-3 in the final after trailing 3-0.
New NIBSA number one Wallace had nicked the first frame on the colours after replying to Fry’s run of 47 with a break of 42, and after a break of 34 was enough to make it 2-0, a 71 put him within two of victory and seemingly on course for his fourth ranking event win of the season.
However, Fry found his stride and after reducing the deficit to 3-2 with breaks of 52 and 58, a run of 73 pulled him level.
His fine scoring continued when a 64 put him ahead for the first time in the match and he went on to wrap up victory in a scrappy eighth frame.
Earlier, Fry had beaten Conell Doherty 4-0 in his semi-final, with Wallace a 4-1 winner against Declan Hughes.
The victory sees the Antrim man move to second in the rankings behind Wallace with one event remaining this season – the Northern Ireland Championships at the Antrim Sports Club. The action begins tomorrow, with the final taking place on May 18.
Ryan Dornan from Drumaness is the Northern Ireland U16 champion after a 3-1 final win over Shea McConville at St Patrick’s, Magherafelt on Wednesday evening.
The 14-year-old, who only started playing two years ago, had also beaten the Co Tyrone lad, this time 3-0, in the semi-final of the U18 championship last weekend, with a 57 break in the opener the highlight.
He will now face Joel Connolly in next Wednesday’s decider at the QE2 in Carrickfergus.
Connolly was in fine form in his 3-0 semi-final win against Jude Dalrymple from the host club, breaks of 105 and 67 helping him to victory.
NIBSA wishes to thank its main sponsors for their continued support, That Prize Guy and McKinney Competitions.
