Hogan is Hero in Europe
Ireland's David Hogan was crowned 2009 European Snooker Champion in Belgium after a superb 7-4 win over his countryman Mario Fernandez.
Ireland's David Hogan was crowned 2009 European Snooker Champion in Belgium after a superb 7-4 win over his countryman Mario Fernandez.Having gained a narrow 3-2 lead at the half way stage, Hogan stepped on the gas with breaks of 78 and 104 to take a 6-2 lead.
Fernandez, who contributed runs of 67 and 66 in the early frames, battled back with a gutsy run of 90, and he won the tenth to keep a toe hold in the match.
A run of 50 by Hogan brought him to within a whisker of victory. He left Fernandez needing three snookers, but Super Mario wasn't done yet.
He laid a quite brilliant snooker behind the blue, tight under the cushion. That shot yielded 6 points and a free ball and he was able to win again.
Hogan again put Fernandez in the snookers required stage and again he laid a pin point perfect snooker, which Hogan missed. But Fernandez couldn't get the second snooker and Hogan was relieved to secure his victory.
"That was getting really hard", gasped a tired but happy Hogan.
"I thought I'd blown my chance of going to the Main Tour when I didn't finished number one in Ireland this year."I missed a couple of PIOS events so wasn't in the running on that and I was ready to put my entry in for next season.
"I'll have a few days off and then my coach P.J. Nolan will have me hard at work again, preparing for the Main Tour.
Martin Goodwill won the EBOS European Open Billiards Championship, beating India's Dhruv Sitwala.
