ROBBIE McGuigan is the Northern Ireland U21 champion after a 5-1 final victory over Joel Connolly in Drumaness on Wednesday evening.
The Antrim ace was exacting a measure of revenge on his closest rival on the junior circuit, having lost 5-2 to the 16-year-old in last year’s final.
McGuigan (19) will be plying his trade on World Snooker’s Main Tour next season after winning the European Men’s Championship in March and securing a two-year pro card and this was his penultimate tournament on the local circuit.
He will now bid to bow out in style by winning a fourth consecutive Northern Ireland title. He joins the action at the Antrim Sports Club this weekend.
Sixteen-year-old Connolly from Belfast, who was recently crowned U18 champion, will be aiming to emulate McGuigan’s achievements over the next few years, and he sounded out an early warning that he was in the mood to retain his crown by taking the opening frame with a break of 88.
However, McGuigan pinched the second on the black and took over from there wrapping up a comfortable win with a 79 clearance.
