Ireland was well represented at the European Masters Tournament held in Porto, Portugal with players in various sections of the competition including Over 35, 40, 45, 50 & 70s Sections. In the over 35’s, Ciaran McCoy lost at the quarter final stage in a hard fought game against the eventual finalist Stefan Leifels from Germany. Ciaran finished in the 5/8 section of the tournament 8 places above his original seeding.
Eoin Ryan (over 40) performed well and was unlucky to lose 3-2 at the quarter final stage. This epic match took place on the show court and delighted the packed crowd. James Flynn, Jonathan Simpson, Nick Staunton and Damien O’Reilly all went out of the main draws early but did well in the plate sections of their age categories with Neil Stone-Wigg also reaching the quarter finals of the over 50’s section, before withdrawing from the tournament due to an old reoccurring injury.
Barbara Sanderson followed up her world master win from last year, by coming from 1 set down to win 3-1 and adding the European title to her wins, with a very impressive and professional performance.
In the 70+ semifinal Myron Evans had a very long match in hot conditions with John Preston before winning 3-2. In the final with John Woodliffe, Evans levelled the match at one all, however Woodliffe had a comfortable 3-1 win.
