Garry Dodd clinched the first Open event of the 2017/18 season on Monday evening with victory in the Senior Group tournament.  He was pushed hard in the final before beating Josh Stacey 13-11, 5-11, 11-9, 11-2. 

Both players came through their respective groups unscathed, though Dodd was given a scare by Martin Sarre in the next round, winning 3-2.  Subsequent wins over Ryan Gilson and Ben Foss set up a final against Josh Stacey as he aimed to win the title for the eighth time. 

In Stacey's half of the draw, Dan Collenette made a spirited comeback against fellow junior Matthew Casey, saving numerous match points before winning at deuce in a thrilling 5th game.  Collenette then went straight back on the table to play Stacey in the quarter final and nearly picked up one of the the most impressive wins of his career, eventually going down 11-9 in the deciding end against his more experienced opponent.  Still fresh from that match, Josh Stacey brushed aside his twin Lawrence in the semi-final 3-0.

In the final, Dodd made an unusually sluggish start and lost the first 9 points of the first game before a reeling off a remarkable 10 consecutive points himself and eventually sealing the game 13-11.  This did not deter Stacey however, and the Island Games player had another good start in the second game, winning it comfortabley 11-5.  Dodd upped his game from then and started to attack more consistently, pinning Stacey away from the table and forcing more errors to seal the last 2 games.