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. Garry Dodd in action in the group stage. Picture courtesy of Martin Sarre |
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