The final Rocks Jewellers Singles event of the season saw 32 bowlers take on the 44-foot Kegel High Street pattern, and right from the off scoring proved to be more favourable than the previous event.
Chris Sloan made the early running with a spectacular 847 for his opening three games, including a perfect 300 game two. In fact, Chris would go on to lead qualifying with a massive five-game set of 1302 (260 Avg). Chasing him down to take the other qualifying spots in the Scratch Division were Barry Foley with 1262 (252 Avg), Joe Clancy with 1214 (243 Avg) and Paul Stott Jnr with 1203 (241 Avg).
In the Handicap Division, the leading qualifying spot for the finals was taken by Arturas Baltonis, who would be joined in the finals by Thomas Galvin, Paddy Gibbons, and junior bowler Sean O’Connor.
Scratch Semi Finals & Final
Both semi-finals produced some top-class bowling, but in the end neither match brought any real drama or nail-biting finishes. Chris Sloan continued his imperious form on the day with a 259 to 222 victory over Paul Stott Jnr, while in the other semi-final Joe Clancy put together a fine victory over Barry Foley, taking it by 266 to 236.
Chris Sloan undoubtedly went into the Final as the favourite after his classy performance all day, but Joe Clancy had no intentions of rolling over for the number 1 seed and in the end managed a classy performance of his own to take the victory, 238 to 217.
Handicap Semi Finals & Final
Sean O’Connor comfortably saw off Arturas Baltonis in their semi-final match, claiming a 234 to 183 victory. But it was a much more tense affair in the other semi-final, where Thomas Galvin looked to be heading to victory over Paddy Gibbons before an open tenth frame allowed Paddy in for a one-pin victory, 213 to 212.
However, Paddy Gibbons could not take full advantage of his slice of luck in the Final, as the junior bowler Sean O’Connor held his nerve and bowled a solid game to take the victory by 201 to 187.
Congratulations to Joe Clancy & Sean O’Connor on their second wins of the season and to Paul Chandler who won the Rocks Jewellers sponsored set of earrings.
Full details from Event 9 are available on the Rocks Jewellers Tab/Results
End of Season Finals
Attention now turns to the Grand Finals, which take place on Sunday May 13th, with the top 16 ranked bowlers in both the Scratch and Handicap Divisions facing off to determine the 2017/18 Rocks Jewellers Grand Final Champions.
List of Qualifiers for the end of season finals are highlighted on the Standings sheets (Scratch & Handicap) now available on the Rocks Jewellers Tab/Results
Full details for the Final including format and check-in times are available on the web on the Rocks Jewellers Tab/Forms & Documents and will be communicated to all finalists.
The Pattern for the Finals is the 41ft – Kegel Main Street
If you have qualified for the Finals you need to immediately confirm your availability to participate to Barry Brown.