Chris Dagnall and Marek Kenny came through a field of 18 to contest this season’s Isle of Man Snooker and Billiards Association’s Championship Challenge best-of-seven final.

This is a scratch event open to those that didn’t enter or were knocked out of the first round of the island championship.

It was a fine effort from 35-handicapper Kenny just to make the final, having defeated three much higher-ranked players to get there.

The more experienced Dagnall, on the other hand, was the highest ranked player at -7 that entered and was looking for his first individual title since the Doug Kinrade nearly 20 years ago, when Kenny was probably not even at school.

It would be fair to say both struggled with the unforgivingness of the STAR table at the Cue Zone as Dagnall had a couple of 24 and 25 breaks and Kenny numerous high teens.

Dagnall fired in a great long blue to take the first frame and Kenny conceded on the yellow in the second.

Dagnall certainly had the better run of the balls throughout and, had he not fluked the black off two cushions to force a re-spot in the third frame which he then won with a double, the scoreline would have been much closer.

Kenny got on the scoreboard with frame four to keep the match alive, clearing the last three colours none of which were easy.

Kenny needed two snookers on the colours in frame five and, although he managed one of them, Dagnall soon took green to blue and the handshake came.

Frame scores (Dagnall first): 61-37, 62-29, 55-48, 51-53 and 70-32.

Congratulations go to Dagnall who claims a place in the end of year Champion of Champions tournament and Kenny too should be very proud of his own achievement. Thanks go to hosts Cue Zone and referee Jane Hill.

Veterans final

After grabbing defeat from the jaws of victory last year, Paul Tangeman was back in the Veterans snooker handicap final this season against Vic Rigby.

The first frame of the best-of-five final was a good one. Rigby took several reds with colours to build on his seven start, moving more than 30 points clear only to see Tangeman fight back and even take a lead of 14 with the last three colours on.

Rigby took the blue and pink in one go and then followed a long safety battle before he also took the black.

Tangeman came back strongly in frame two when, despite being unlucky positionally on the colours, he left Rigby needing snookers on the yellow to comfortably level matters.

Frame three was an open one as both enjoyed good runs in the balls but Rigby outscored his opponent and was 30 up on the final red. Tangeman unluckily cannoned the black in whilst playing safe and it was soon 2-1 to Rigby after another snooker earned him more points.

The nerves started to show in Rigby’s game as he spurned some golden chances to take a decisive lead in the fourth to put the win within sight.

With only a couple of points in it a great safety battle ensued on the final green: the brown was tucked in the jaws of the green pocket and the green was nearly touching it.

Both players showed some fantastic touch shots, snookers and escapes over the course of about a dozen consecutive visits. Somehow the green escaped from the brown and, after Tangeman went in off, Rigby cleared green and brown to go nine ahead.

He then went for a match ball double to the middle on the blue, this narrowly missed but Rigby got second prize of a snooker. Tangeman escaped well but was soon tempted into a double to a corner and sadly for him it rattled and stayed over the bag for Rigby to roll in.

A couple of visits later, a failed snooker attempt left Rigby an easy pink and it was all over.

Congratulations go to Rigby for clinching his first individual title - he will now be able to try for another in the Champion of Champions event later in the year.

Perhaps it will be a case of third-time lucky next year for the unlucky Tangeman - he had a great league season but didn’t quite bring his A game to the table on this occasion.

Both can be proud of their efforts in a good-quality final played in an equally good spirit.

Thanks go to referee Ken Kinrade and to the Finch Hill club for the use of their facilities.