The Fowler and Co-sponsored Champion of Champions competition reached its conclusion at Finch Hill Bowling and Snooker Club in Douglas on Saturday.

The initial 16 players had earlier been whittled down to four, all of whom were previous island champions.

On Saturday the semi-final line-up was Sean Corkish v Tom Miller and John Kennish v Dave Addinall, with matches played over the best of nine frames.

On table one both players were slow to start, with Corkish establishing a 2-0 lead before extending this with a re-spot black win. But Miller then got his first frame on the board with a bang as he knocked in a winning 84 break, missing the final green for what could have been the tournament’s highest break.

Miller’s excellent form continued in the next two frames, taking them with breaks of 54 and 70 to level the match. A run of 49 then put Corkish one frame from victory which he duly claimed following a tight eighth frame 62-40.

On table two neither player was at their potting best but Kennish went into a 2-0 lead over Addinall, winning frames 90-4 and 80-7 which included a break of 45.

But with good tactical play, Addinall cleared the colours to steal the third frame and then cleared with two reds left in the fourth to force a re-spot which he took to level the match at 2-2.

Kennish went back ahead by taking the next frame on the pink 59-47 following numerous attempts at it from both players. Addinall then levelled in a bizarre sixth frame 59-0 where most of the points scored were via Kennish fouls from being repeatedly snookered on reds behind the baulk line colours.

Despite that, Kennish eventually won through to the final by taking the next two frames 69-42 and 69-18.

The final, between the reigning title holder Kennish and 2017 champion Corkish, was played over two sessions on Sunday, best of 15 frames. It was a topsy-turvy afternoon session with several important frames and both players winning frames with counter-attacks from being well behind.

There was another re-spot black which went the way of Corkish and also a black ball frame in the seventh which, after both players attempted shots, it was Kennish who potted it to grab a 4-3 lead going into the evening session.

Kennish was back in good break-building form during the afternoon with runs of 31, 42, 63 clearance, 46 and 57, while Corkish also had a 42 and 25 clearance.

The evening session saw the first two frames shared 64-15 to Kennish and 68-23 to Corkish with 32 and 29 breaks. Kennish took the next two frames aided by runs of 41, 25 and 22 to be 7-4 ahead and only one frame from the title.

Typically Corkish fought back to 7-6 with breaks of 24, 31 and 31 but Kennish was not to be denied and a 33 break helped him take the 14th frame and retain his title 8-6.

Congratulations go to Kennish who adds another tournament victory to his growing list and commiserations to Corkish who nevertheless had a good tournament. Even though neither player reached their full scoring flow, there was still 17 breaks over 20 throughout a quality final.

Kevin Fowler from the title sponsor Fowler and Co was on hand to present the trophies, while guests also included association president Roy Gelling.

Kennish received £160 and the winner’s trophy, Corkish £70 as the runner-up and his trophy, while Addinall and Miller took £35 each and medals for reaching the semi-finals. Professional 8-ball pool player Addinall also claimed the £50 high break prize with his terrific 106 break from the group stages which was applauded in the room.

Thanks were also made to Brian Ellis for his continued sponsorship of the trophies. Also, further thanks to tournament director Darryl Hill for conducting another smooth-running event, to all the IoMBSA referees who worked very hard throughout the event and special mention to Paul Smyth who officiated his first major event final and had a very long day but did a great job, and to new referee Dave Kelly who refereed superbly during both weekends and assisted with marking the final session.

Thanks also go to Jane Hill for preparing the buffet and conducting the presentation and to Paddy Delaney for preparing the tables throughout the weekend.

Finally a big thank you to Finch Hill for allowing the association the use of the venue for the two weekends and a big well done to all 16 invited players that took part in the tournament.