Moray Snooker Handicap Trophy attracts 25 players from across north of Scotland with Adam MacLeod claiming the silverware
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Adam MacLeod has been crowned champion of the Moray Snooker Handicap Trophy.
The Inchberry-based player overcame Nairn rival Shaun Hendry in the final of a tourney contested by 25 players from across the north of Scotland.
In its second year, the competition has increased in popularity and produced some interesting first round matches.
The pick of these was a win for Sam Harrison (Elgin) over Roy Muckart (Ardersier) with Harrison using his 14-point advantage well in each frame to win 4-1.
Defending champion Gary Pope (Mosstodloch) overcame a 21-point deficit in each frame to pip Doug Lawrence (Orbliston) on a deciding frame.
The last 16 saw more cracking games as Hendry, a relative newcomer to Moray events, beating Hugh Ross (Dingwall) en route to a 4-2 win utilising a 14-point head start.
An all-Inverness battle was the other standout game in the round with John McAleaney recovering from 3-1 down to pip Alex Cooper 4-3 with a seven-point advantage in each frame. McAleaney had won his previous match in a deciding frame against Stephen Hepburn (Nairn) with the same handicap in play.
Into the quarters and MacLeod overturned a 28-point deficit to beat McAleaney on a decider, as the latter’s luck in deciding frames finally ran out.
MacLeod was joined in the semi-finals by Simon Bremner (Forres) who overcame Richard Stuart (Elgin) whilst Neil Owen (Burghead) would play Hendry after a solid run that included a nice win over Neil Stirling (Huntly) giving up a seven-point head start in that match.
The semis were relatively one-sided affairs as Hendry dispatched Owen and MacLeod took down Bremner both by 4-1 score lines.
In the final, MacLeod found his flow and used a combination of good scoring and safety to overturn a 42-point head start to his opponent. Hendry, could not find the form that saw him knock in the highest break of tournament in a previous round (a nice 63) and succumbed 4-1 in the end.
The Moray snooker season has now closed and will resume in September.
There will be an AGM in August for any new teams that wish to play. Email uu1am@yahoo.co.uk for more details.
