Joy in Jersey for Rodney Goggins
Rodney Goggins secured his place at the Crucible Theatre in May by defeating Nigel Howe 4-0 in the final of the fourth LLP Solicitors World Seniors Championship qualifier at the Jersey Mechanics Institute.
Goggins, a World Snooker Tour professional between 2004 and 2009, came through a field of 33 hopefuls which included 2018 World Seniors champion Aaron Canavan to book his place at snooker’s most iconic venue.
The 45-year-old got his weekend off to a strong start with back-to-back whitewash victories over Kieran O’Donovan and fellow Irishman Tony Corrigan.
In the quarter-finals he met Gary Filtness, who lifted the Super Seniors title in Jersey, and the Englishman twice moved ahead in the best-of-seven frame contest – including firing in an impressive 112 break in the third. Goggins ultimately proved too strong, however, and took the contest 4-2 to set up a last four meeting with Gary Britton.
Britton had already eliminated former champion Canavan at the last sixteen stage, and was looking to claim another scalp as he fought back from 2-0 down to level the contest after four frames.
Goggins was in fine form, however, having opened up the match with a stunning 128 break and eventually battled through a 4-2 victor to reach the title match.
There he met Howe, who had beaten John Leahy, David Brock, Simon Dent and Wayne Townsend to reach the final, but proved no match for Goggins as the experienced Irishman took the title with a comfortable 4-0 victory.
Back-To-Back Super Seniors Glory For Gary Filtness
Gary Filtness followed up his recent Super Seniors victory in Ireland with further success in Jersey, as he defeated Simon Dent 2-0 in the final to claim the title.
Filtness, who lost out to eventual champion Rodney Goggins in the qualifying event, defeated former professional Andrew Norman 2-0 in his opening match of the Super Seniors and dropped just a single frame en route to the final as he later overcame Raymond Grall and Tony Corrigan.
His opponent in the title match was Dent, who had beaten John Leahy, John Hunter and Karl Townsend to reach the final.
Filtness proved too strong, however, as breaks of 58 and 72 secured the title for the 60-year-old.
