The annual Champion of Champions snooker tournament came to an exciting conclusion at Finch Hill on Sunday.

The best-of-15-frames final was fought out between first-time finalist 2016 island champion Sean Corkish and three-time island champion Darryl Hill who was looking for his third successive Champion of Champions title.

The final was held over two sessions with six frames played in the afternoon and Hill started exactly as he would have hoped to, racing into a 3-0 lead with breaks of 53, 40, 37, 37 and 33.

Corkish then put his first frame on the board with a 75 clearance as they went into the first interval at 3-1 to Hill.

With two frames left in the afternoon, Corkish had his sights on making things all square for the evening session as, despite Hill scoring another 43 break, he took the fifth frame with his own breaks of 47 and 26.

In the final frame of the session, he then had the chance of making a plant next to the pack of reds. The cue ball was in baulk and with no safety shot, Corkish went all out for the plant.

He made the plant and as the white careered through the reds, it made contact with the black which disappeared into the corner pocket. With the reds everywhere, Hill was able to capitalise to open up a 4-2 lead in a session which saw 12 breaks in total above 30 in only six frames.

With the scene set for the finale, play resumed at 7.30pm with a good crowd spectating, amongst them members of the media and Isle of Man Billiards and Snooker Association president Roy Gelling.

A good start was crucial for Corkish and he did indeed have one as he came from behind to take the opening frame of the evening to close the deficit to one frame.

He was then in with 21 but with a top run of 26, Hill once again regained his two-frame lead, only for Corkish to record the highest break of the evening - a 55 - in the next frame to halve the deficit again.

Frame 10 was the last frame before the final interval and an important one for both players. Darryl hit another break of 30 and looked set to edge closer to victory, but Sean had a slim chance with two reds on and managed to clear to make the match level at 5-5.

When play continued 15 minutes later Hill looked certain to stay in front, leading the frame 58-0, but Corkish clawed his way back and after a few errors from Hill, the latter only had a 17-point lead on the brown.

Hill found himself snookered behind the black with the brown in baulk and decided to play the swerve shot, intending to hit the brown half ball and leave distance between the brown and the cue ball.

He executed the shot as intended but then saw the cue ball come off the baulk cushion, side cushion and on its way towards the top of the table, go in-off in the corner pocket. Corkish then cleared to pinch the frame and lead the match for the first time which proved to be a turning point.

Frame 12 looked at one stage like it was going Corkish’s way but with a 43-21 lead, Hill made another clearance with 47 to level things up at 6-6.

However, Hill was never in frame 13 and with some tremendous long potting from Corkish - including playing a red down the side cushion from the baulk end, potting it in the black corner pocket and screwing back into baulk - he comfortably put himself one frame away from a major victory.

Frame 14 saw the balls go very scrappy and it was Hill that had a chance and made an opening for himself, using the pink with the reds as the black was out of play.

He then missed a surprising pink to the middle on 22 and with that, Corkish stepped up, held himself together and cleared the table with a very impressive 41 break to give him only his second major Isle of Man title.

There was some superb snooker throughout this tournament with plenty of talking points, notably Tom Miller making his first appearance in the event’s semi-finals as well as hitting breaks of 76 and 60, Calum Gardner also making the semi-finals on his debut to this tournament and the sheer scoring of Corkish and Hill throughout the event.

The final and particularly the first session contained the highest standard of scoring and break building that Manx snooker has seen for many a year and it was a delight to see that standard being played by both players.

To put it into context, here is the final breaks list for both Hill and Corkish: Darryl - 82, 75, 68, 53, 47, 43, 43, 42, 40, 40, 37, 37, 36, 35, 33, 33, 31, 30. Corkish - 75, 74, 64, 62, 55, 50, 47, 41, 31, 30, 30.

A light buffet was provided following the conclusion supplied and presented by Jane Hill before the presentation then took place.

Association president Roy Gelling awarded the £50 high break sponsored by the IoMBSA to Hill for his 82 in the group final, then £35 and medals to the semi-finalists Tom Miller and Calum Gardner, £80 and a trophy to runner-up Hill and finally and most importantly £150, the trophy and the title of 2017 Fowler and Co. Champion of Champions to Corkish.

Thanks from the association for this event go to sponsor Fowler and Co, without whose support this event could not be held, plus Brian Ellis for providing the magnificent trophies and medals.

Thanks to tournament director Jane Hill who as well as this, refereed the longest session in the group stages and marked the final all day as well as cooking the food for the final’s buffet in between the sessions and then serving it later that evening.

Also to Darryl Hill who was the assistant tournament director and officiated at every session throughout the event, all of the referees and particularly to Simon Gardner who took charge of both sessions in the final and did a great job.

Thanks to Finch Hill Bowling and Snooker Club for hosting the whole event and to Ken Kinrade for preparing the tables for the majority of the event and to Paddy Delaney who prepared the table for both sessions of the final.

Final thanks to Manx Radio’s Dollin Mercer who stepped in to the role of master of ceremonies in the absence of the Association chairman.

Lastly, thanks to all 16 players that originally took part and made this tournament such a success.