Jamie and Fergal set to take on the ‘World’ in Sheffield

DUNAMANAGH’S Jamie Gardiner and Brocagh’s Fergal Quinn will travel to Sheffield this weekend for the World Snooker Federation Championships during which he will take on the best amateur snooker players from across the globe.

Gardiner, who just missed out on a place in the World Junior Championships because of his age, having turned 18 in June, is looking forward to competing solely in the adult ranks.

The talented teenager competed in the underage European Championships in Portugal last Autumn and he’s hoping to use the experience gained from that tournament to help him get through his group in Sheffield.

However, he knows that won’t be easy as he is in Group AD with Welshman Neal Jones and English duo, ex-professional Billy Castle and Lewis Knowles.

“I can’t wait but it’s not going to be easy because Billy Castle is an ex-pro and a good player, but I’m not too sure about the other two,” Jamie explained.

“I’ll give it a go anyway but the target is to get out of the group and hopefully if I do that and play well I have a chance of winning a couple of games. I just want to do myself justice.”

Jamie’s form on the green baize so far this year has been solid without being spectacular, but he believes he’s starting to click into gear.

And he hopes that happens at the Ding Junhui Snooker Academy where the tournament is being held.

“I’ve been solid this year but I don’t feel I’ve actually played well,” he observed.

“I haven’t played badly either but if I start to play well then things will get better again.

“I just hope I can play a bit better because I know I can do it. But it’s doing it more consistently is the challenge.”

Jamie will get his WSF Championship campaign underway at the Ding Junhui Snooker Academy in Sheffield when he takes on Knowles today. He will then play Castle a day later before concluding his group matches against Jones at 5pm on the 22nd.

Quinn, meanwhile, warmed up for his trip to England by reaching the final of the latest NI ranking tournament, the Blackstaff Trophy in Belfast.

The 21-year-old Brocagh man was in the decider against former Northern Ireland champion, Declan Lavery, who used all of his experience to grind out a 5-4 victory on the final black of the final frame.

Quinn had looked in control of the final when he raced into a 4-2 lead, but the Antrim man fought back with a 93 break in the seventh to put the pressure on his younger opponent.

Lavery won the next to force a decider, which proved a nip and tuck frame. Quinn seemed to have lost his chance when his opponent got in to build a nice break only to miss his chance with one red remaining.

That let the Tyrone man back in and he knocked in the red with a green before knocking in the yellow. He was slightly out of position for the green but potted it only to end up with an awkward brown, which he missed.

That let Lavery in again and he knocked in brown to pink before missing the black to leave Quinn with a long final pot to the bottom right corner. However, the black was close to the side cushion, making the shot difficult and it rattled the pocket before rolling into the middle of the table and Lavery dispatched it to the left centre pocked for a six point victory.

Last Sunday’s appearance was the second final this season Quinn has fallen to defeat in, having lost 5-2 to Colin Anderson in the Antrim Open final in November, but after the weekend, it would appear only a matter of time before he seals his maiden NI ranking event title.

To reach the decider, he enjoyed a terrific run of form, beating Conor McCormach 3-0 in the last-64, Joe Meara in the last-32, Hugh Murdock 3-2 in the last-16, Sean Gray 4-1 in the quarter-finals and Brian Milne 4-1 in the last four.

Meanwhile, other Tyrone men in action included Dungannon’s Dermot Loughran who beat Jack Doherty 3-0 in the last-128 before losing 3-0 to Ryan McQuillan in the next round.

Castlederg’s Darragh Arkinson fell 3-0 to Darren Dorman in the last-128, while his dad, Gary Arkinson was defeated 3-1 in the last-64 by Danny Boyle.

Dunamanagh’s Jamie Gardiner earned a 3-0 walkover past Paul Currie in the last-64 but lost by the same scoreline to Maurice McCusker in the next round.

And Dungannon’s Patrick Wallace entered the tournament at the last-64 stage where he beat Conor Morgan 3-0 before he defeated Joel Connolly 3-1in the last-16. Surprisingly, Wallace, who won the last event, the European Qualifier in Limavady, then fell to Dorman 3-0 in the last-16.

Quinn and Gardiner will now move on to Sheffield where they will play in the WSF Championships. Quinn has been drawn in group BA alongside English duo Josh Symes and Adam Stacey, and Israel’s Eden Sharav.