The 'Master' Wins Again

Glen (The Master) Wilkinson has claimed his eighth NSW State Snooker title by defeating the rejuvenated Ian Barber in a convincing 4-1 final.

Glen who is currently ranked number 2 in NSW and number 3 in Australia showed signs all weekend of why he is called The Master with his strategic play and precision. The journey towards winning the title included wins over George Chammas, David Waller, Roger Farebrother, Shaun Dalitz and Ian Barber.

The runner-up Ian Barber was one of the favourites coming into the tournament with impressive results in National Ranking events for 2011 such as runner-up in the Matchroom Snooker tournament in Adelaide. With these results, Ian has rocketed into the top 16 in Australia and climbing.

Spectators enjoyed some very exciting matches throughout the Championship, particularly in the Quarter-Finals match between Vinnie Calabrese and Shaun Dalitz. Shaun made a nice 108 break in the opening frame which remained the highest for the tournament. From then on it was neck and neck with Shaun coming out the winner in the final frame. This was Shaun’s first semi-final result in a National Ranking event and the timing could not have been better with him preparing to fly out today to Canada to represent Australia in the World U21 Championship. Good luck Shaun!

I would like to thank Bill Hart for his commitment at these events, David Waller and Michael Sharp who assisted greatly on Saturday and to all the official referees who helped run this successful event.

The NSW State Snooker Championship was played from 9th -10th July in Sydney at Club Marconi. The Club has been an integral part of NSW Snooker for many years and I would like to acknowledge their ongoing support. A special thanks to Jim and Angelo Ruisi for their hard work and also to Charlie Degura for managing to relocate 7 tables into the new and improved snooker room.

Alex Render
BSA NSW Vice President
& Tournament Direct