The Adventure is over

Like all good things, it has to come to an end and my tournament finishes with last 16 place. Had an epic match with Guy Heys from Jersey, I fought back from 3-1 down only to lose the final frame when Guy potted a lovely long pink into the bottom left pocket, but not too disappointed given that this was only my second European event, again reaching the last 16, even more so that I finished as 4th seed and topped my group. I was right with my prediction anyway, Darren Morgan again delivering the goods defeating Joe Delaney 6-0 which in reality was not a true reflection of the match, my friend Joe is a much better player than that score line suggests.

Life in the ol' dog yet eh Brendan? At least I have a target for next year, one year older but one year wiser might be in question lol. Bring on the Whirlwind Saturday night, should be a great end to what has been a good event.

A quick word about my compatriot Alister Wilson from Northern Ireland who defeated Kuldesh Johal in the last 32, who was one of the tournament favourites and current joint highest break holder with David Hogan. Imagine 141 break on the board but out of the tournament. Such is the life of an amateur snooker player. Good work Alister, the only Northern Ireland player left in the event.

With regards to my missing laundry bag I blogged yesterday, how efficient is the Rin Grande Hotel, Bucharest?  It has only shown up again in my hotel room, empty and 6 hangers of freshly cleaned shirts, boxers and tshirts hanging in the wardrobe...with a nice bill for 173 Lei

Not much left on the snooker front then for me, maybe still help out with some coaching as Poland, Germany and Russia are still in the tournament. Having said that Irish coach PJ Nolan suggests I concentrate on my own game and leave the coaching to the professionals, which is probably good advice, but you know I am always available to lend a hand, thanks again PJ!

Have to say that I am at a lose end now, snooker season is over for me until September 2010 when I should be back in Cookstown playing for Mitchells Snooker Club, what a strong team we should have. I have a few spare days until the closing ceremony on Saturday night, and would like to see some more of the old town with my new buddy Greg White who is the smoothest, coolest customer on the planet, and then its back to the airport and ariva derchi Bucharest.... gonna miss u girl.
- - -

2010 European Snooker Championships
Northern Ireland Players (Gary Crawford, Allister Wilson, Michael McDonald

Had an early start yesterday (Sunday) with a match against a tough Romanian snooker player, the fourth match of my tournament group. Although I won the match 3-0 it could have been so much worse, I just cannot seem to find any control and it feels like my cue arm has a life of its own, so delighted with the win, as my game cannot get much worse the only way is up I suppose. We are all paying close attention to the group results as group winners are seeded into the next round, second place in group will play off against third place players.

Received our tournament programme this evening, looks good. Janie Watkins from Global Snooker has added some great photographs of the venue and the team players and it is well worth a look, the venue is massive and conditions are just perfect.

After the Snooker it was off to the Casino with my 'brother' Brendan Thomas and what a nights craic that was, especially when Doron Levi from Israel turned up, what a character he is. Enough to say Doron enjoyed his food and fries which were ordered without telling us, and then had the cheek to nick our sandwiches once we ordered ours, nice one Doron. Before I forget, well done Brendan - a fantastic 111 Break in a major European Tournament, not bad for a ol' fella!

The Palace Casino is some spot. A courtesy cab took us direct from the hotel, and once there we could have whatever we wanted from a well stocked bar and extensive hot food buffet area, pure quality.

Where are we going?

So my little girl Jo Jo asks "where is Romania" and to be honest, I had to think about it, and think hard. "Near Ukraine I think" was my lazy answer. Anyway time to do a bit of research for Joanne and for me.

So what did I find out? "Romania offers a rich tapestry of tourist attractions and vacation experiences unique in Central-Eastern Europe: medieval towns in Transylvania, the world-famous Painted Monasteries in Bucovina, traditional villages in Maramures, the magnificent architecture of Bucharest, the romantic Danube Delta, fairy-tale castles, the Black Sea resorts, the majestic Carpathian Mountains, spas and much more."

Sounds great.  The reason for this sudden interest in a far away Eastern European country is because I will be travelling there in May for the 2010 European Snooker Championships, held in Bucharest. Can't wait. Must be time for some practice and brush away the cobwebs, although have played a fair bit this year already, getting into 3 finals at the local St Patricks Snooker Hall and winning the inaugural McCaughey Family trophy, which was nice. Have also started to work on my game a little, trying to compact things and remove the long flowing cue action which experience tells me can be very inconsistent if your not playing or practicing enough.