[G]arry Carruthers is the new Cumbria County Snooker Singles Champion. Defying the odds the Carlisle cueist produced two fantastic performances on the semis and final day culminating in a 5-1 final victory over Workington’s Peter O’Hagan.
Carlisle’s Portland Club again hosted Cumbria Snooker’s blue ribbon event but with the pressure of being the outsider coupled with the prestige of the 60 year old title at stake Carruthers handled him admirably to put a new name on the trophy.
Early match nerves saw both players miss a couple of opportunities but it was Carruthers who eventually settled first. After a couple of smaller contributions the Carlisle player eventually put himself into a commanding position and even though O’Hagan chipped away it was Carruthers who went on to win the frame 61-10.
The second frame saw O’Hagan craft an opening and with a break of 40 he gained a useful lead. Carruthers hit back with a break of 32 however with O’Hagan using his tactical knowhow to his advantage he closed out the frame, 80-44.
Deadlock was broken in frame three as Carruthers got in amongst the reds. With the break at 16 the Carlisle cueist missed a black off the spot only to see it roll into the opposite corner pocket. The resultant break of 37 proved to be the difference in the end and Carruthers moved into a 2-1 lead with a 71-13 victory.
A safety battle at the start of frame four saw Carruthers come out on top and with an interval lead in his sights the tournament rookie constructed a break of 36. O’Hagan tried hard to get back into the frame but with balls running out it was Carruthers who took the match score to 3-1 with a 60-20 win.
The fifth frame was now huge for both players as the two finalist scrapped it out, O’Hagan to get back into the match and Carruthers looking to put himself on the cusp of victory. As the game developed O’Hagan looked like pulling it back to 3-2, however with a fine pot on the green followed by brown and blue Carruthers won the frame 50-35 for a 4-1 match lead.
At this point O’Hagan had it all to do but just as the previous frame the Workington player forged an advantage. Moving towards the end of the frame, and with just a few reds left on the table, O’Hagan stood nearly 20 points to the good. Nevertheless a cracking red from Carruthers followed by what looked to be a winning clearance ended with a relatively straightforward miss on frame ball blue. As the blue ran safe it seemed to be a sign that the title was only going one way. Just a couple of shots later it was Carlisle’s Carruthers who, with blue and pink, took the frame 65-44 to deliver a maiden title and add a new name to the 60 year old trophy.
In the first of the semi finals Barrow’s Kyle Brown failed to live up to his qualifying form as he went down 4-3 to Carlisle’s Carruthers. A break of 44 had been enough for Brown to take the first frame to nil but with some solid play it was the Carruthers who moved 3-1 ahead. Brown made a fine contribution of 63 to make it 2-3 and with a pressure induced victory in the sixth the scores were level at 3-3. Unfamiliar territory and the heat of a decider, especially after Brown had comeback from 3-1 down, Carruthers could have been forgiven for capitulating. Nevertheless it was quite the opposite and in handling the situation with aplomb it was Carruthers who moved into the final with a final frame win.
In the other semi O’Hagan over came the qualifying day’s only century break maker in Carlisle’s Mike Griffiths, 4-2. A first frame break of 32 took O’Hagan into a 1-0 lead but with Griffiths hitting quickly back the score was soon 1-1. Some missed chances from Griffiths allowed O’Hagan to go 2-1 up and with a break of 54 the Workington cueist was soon 3-1 to the good. A one sided fifth frame win allowed Griffiths to pull it back to 2-3 but in holding his nerve in the sixth it was O’Hagan who moved into his third final.
