Darryl Hill, Michael Curphey and Conor Mahon recently represented the Isle of Man in the European Snooker Championships amongst a massive entry of 173 players in Gandia, eastern Spain.

This was something of a historic event, the first time a snooker competition of this level had been held in the country.

Hill won his first two matches, 3-1 over Jirka Maaranen of Finland and 3-0 against Javier Tinaut of Spain where Hill produced an 81 clearance in frame two.

Already through to the knockout phase, he was a bit below par in his final group match against Michal Kotiuk of Poland, losing 3-1.

Curphey was a touch unlucky not to make into the knockouts. He opened with a 3-2 loss against David O’Neill of Ireland before easily defeating Alex Persson of Denmark 3-0, including breaks of 56, 62, 37 and 44.

He needed a win in his final group match against Jack Borwick of Scotland but just lost out in a decider 3-2, coming from 2-0 down against a player destined for the professional ranks.

Unfortunately, Mahon was unable to pick up a frame, although did come close in 3-0 defeats against Pawel Rogoza of Poland, Risto Vayrynen of Switzerland and Olivier Pechenart from Belgium.

Hill’s tournament came to an end in his first knockout match at the hands of Jonny Fulcher from Switzerland, losing 3-1, the Manxman taking frame three with a 55 break.

Hill, as chairman of Isle of Man Billiards and Snooker Association, congratulated Curphey and Mahon for representing the island so well, giving 100 percent in their matches.

The final was won by Anton Kazakov (Ukraine) who beat Oliver Sykes (England) 5-4. As Kazakov had also won the under-21s event to obtain a two-year World Snooker Tour card, Sykes received one also.

MIKE CROOK