Injured Wallace exceeds expectations by reaching final

HAD the third Northern Ireland Billiards and Snooker Association ranking tournament of the season been held anywhere other than Cookstown’s Pot Black Club, it’s likely Patrick Wallace would have given it a miss.

But because it was being hosted by his home club on the newly recovered tables, he decided, at the last minute to enter the competition with the hope of winning one match.

It may seem odd that a former World Championship quarter-finalist would have such lowly expectations but considering he fractured his knee cap after a fall just two weeks prior, you can understand his limited ambitions on this occasion.

Despite hobbling around the tables throughout the weekend, the Dungannon man managed to not only win one match but four, including a semi-final victory over Anto Heaney, en route to the final against CJ Anderson where he ‘ran out of steam’ before falling to a 5-3 defeat.

And while he freely admits to have not played at his best last weekend, Wallace was pleasantly surprised to have gone so deep in to the Players Championship Trophy on this occasion.

“It wildly exceeded my expectations!,” he beamed. “I was going there to try to win one match to get a few ranking points to keep my position on the list but I was quite fortunate because while I didn’t play great I battled well and I was quite fortunate that none of my opponents played their ‘A’ game against me.

“It wasn’t easy for them with me limping around the table and taking a while to get round it. It probably knocked them out of their rhythm but I’m really happy to have made the final but I’m just disappointed that I ran out of steam so badly in the final.

“But if you’d offered me the final before I went there on Saturday I’d have bit your hand off for it.”

It’s not surprising that Wallace ‘ran out of steam’ in the decider, having put in a bigger than usual effort in each game just to get around the table, let alone the added concentration needed to make sure he protected his injured right leg.

“I wasn’t in a lot of pain, I just needed to be very careful that I didn’t forget for a second and put my leg up on the table or something stupid,” he explained.

“That would have caused me a lot of problems so it was just a case of taking everything very slowly and there were some shots it was very difficult to get down on so I had to use the rest or the extension where I wouldn’t normally.”

Patrick will now take his time before making a decision about whether or not he will compete in the forthcoming Drumaness Masters in early December.

“It’s a fantastic tournament and I’d be very sorry not to be going to it but it’s a question if it’s going to be worth it because I’d have to get drivers sorted and a lot of other things.” he said.