McNally wins Carlow Pool's inaugural County Championship
Carlow Cup winner Dave McNally (left) and Shield winner Dave Earle (far right) receiving his trophy from Carlow Pool secretary Billy Cummins. Photos: Carlow Pool.
Carlow Pool Association hosted their first County Championship this past weekend, held in Corcoran's Bar, with Dave McNally crowned the inaugural champion having beaten Paul Culleton in the final.
The event saw four full sessions of pool played as a field of 32 players, including a blend of wily veterans and fresh new faces, was whittled down to the final eight for an impressive quarter-final lineup.
McNally battled past Dave Earle and Dave Ryan in the early rounds to set up a quarter final with Joe Walton, while Culleton overcame Rory Foran and Declan Byrne en route to his quarter-final against Billy Cummins.
Safely through to the semi-finals, McNally beat John Nolan in the final four as Culleton got the better of JB Fownes.
But McNally proved far too strong in the decider, beating Culleton 8-4 in a classy performance, showing why he is a top-16 player in the IPA rankings and such a highly regarded individual among pool players from across Carlow and all around Ireland.
Some big names had to make do with a place in the Shield competition, including Carlow Men's A team captain Dave Earle after his battle with McNally, which saw two of the tournament favourites meet in round 1.
Earle dug in and made his way to the Shield final, beating Glenn Hurney, Lee Salter and James Dwyer; while his opponent in the final - Jack Murphy - took out Paul Nolan, Ber Hennessy and Frankie Sinclair.
Earle ultimately showed his class, racing into a 3-0 lead before clinching the title on a 4-1 scoreline.
