Acorn Blinds NI Ltd. KP Cup Prelims

One of our biggest and most prestigious cup competitions began on Wednesday 1st October. The Acorn Blinds NI Ltd. had some fabulous preliminary matches.

The reigning champions, Railway Blues were up against Whiteabbey Legion.

Blues captain, Ryan Stewart won the first frame after Andy Arbuthnot left his last ball in the jaws. Rab Butler and Darren O'Neil won the next two for the legion. Robert Craig and Ryan Stewart took the next two for the Blues giving them a slender lead at half time. Second half was also close with the legion winning it 4/3 to the legion to take it to a decider.  Captain, Mark Porter eventually won it for the legion to secure safe passage for his team into the next round. This was a great advertisement for the fun and competitive league that we have.

Legion will play Grange Bar, who defeated Greenisland Colts 8-4.

Scorpions hosted Stadium in the prelims of the Acorn Blinds Knock Out Cup. Brian Elwood potted a great doubled black to give Stadium the lead. The Times Bar Scorpions reeled of five frames on the trot before Lewis Neill had a great reverse dish to keep the Stadium in the match. 5-2 at the interval. Scorpions came out with all guns blazing as Stephen Johnston secured made it 6 and Darren Whiteside had a well taken break and dish to put the Times Bar Scorpions on the hill. Stephen Johnston secured safe passage to the next round with his second hat trick in two days. Final score Times Bar Scorpions 8 Stadium 2.

Scorpions will play Bay City Bowlers next week after an 8-2 victory over Pink Ladies.

Q Club Larne won 8-3 at Trojans and will face Greenisland Galacticos who defeated Times Tigers 8-2.

League week 4 sees no change at the top

In week 4 of the Carrick & District Pool League, Sponsored by SKC Gaming NI, The Reigning champions, Galacticos were wanting to avenge last week's defeat against the Trojans. They got off to a great start with a swift reverse dish from Aaron Rolston. Jack Carson put the hosts 2-0 ahead with a pinpoint clearance after a short tactical exchange before Rolston capitalised on two visits to make it 3-0.
Derek Whiteside and Gee Crawley took the next two to give the hosts a healthy 5-0 lead.
Stevie Hamilton and Jared McFadden pulled two back before half time to give the visitors hope at 5-2.
But the Galacticos were in no mood for another gripping finish and ran out the second session 7-0 with Crawley, Jack and Chris Carson scoring doubles and Whiteside scoring one. Final score Galacticos 12 - 2 Trojans

Bay City Bowlers hosted Grange Bar
Kyle Robertson took the bad look off the scoreline with a well taken finish before Darren Whiteside wrapped up a 3-11 win for the Times bar Scorpions. MVP’s Scorpions’ Paul Kerr with 3/3 (including a fine dish) Stephen Johnston with a hat trick and Aaron Leslie 2/2.Match Report: The Grange 10 – 4 Bowlers

A tightly contested opening frame saw captain Ricky lead the Bowlers into battle, but it was Johnny Mackay who held his nerve with a classy cut on the black to give The Grange the early lead. Frame 2 was more straightforward as Gary Neeson capitalised on a dry break to produce a slick reverse dish, doubling the advantage.

Ryan Ward stopped the early slide for the Bowlers in Frame 3 with solid potting and a superb doubled black. However, Richard Kitson edged a scrappy fourth to restore The Grange’s cushion, before an unfortunate in-off on the black from Stephen Herron in Frame 5 handed the Bowlers another lifeline.

A tactical masterclass in Frame 6 saw Jackie Murdock outlast Robert Loughlin, and Mackay returned in Frame 7 to claim a vital black-ball decider, giving The Grange a strong 5–2 lead at the break.

The second half began with David Craig missing a crucial black, gifting Neeson his second win. Lightning struck twice in Frame 9 as Herron suffered another in-off on the black, allowing the Bowlers to claw one back. But The Grange weren’t to be denied – Kitson and Herron (finally getting his reward) closed out Frames 10 and 11 to all but seal the result.

Aaron Reid’s long-potting brilliance gave the Bowlers a consolation in Frame 12, but The Grange finished strong: Mackay completed a superb 3-from-3 night and Murdock edged the final frame to round off a dominant 10–4 away win moving the Ballyclare men up to 5th

The current league leaders, Times Bar Scorpions travelled to Stadium Bar. Darren Haddock got the visitors in front with a pin point finish. Paul Kerr doubled the lead and Stephen Johnston made it 0-3. William McCullough stopped the rot with a great finish before Aaron Leslie played the positional shot of the evening landing plumb on the black through 7 yellows. Stand in captain, John English held his nerve to take a great long black and Paul Kerr got a bit fortunate to take the seventh frame. 2-5 at the interval. Stephen Johnston and Aaron Leslie put Times bar on the hill and Stephen Johnston reeled off another fabulous finish to reach the magic 8. Paul Kerr Broke and dished the next and David Blair chipped in to make it a flattering 2-10 score line to secure top spot for at least a fortnight as the Acorn Blinds NI Knock Out Cup is occurring next week.

In other matches:

Tigers 5 Titans 9.

Q Club 9 Colts 5.

Spartans 12 Pink Ladies 2.

Titanic Victories for Larne Men and Greenisland teams falter

In the third week of the Carrick and District Pool League, sponsored by SKC Gaming NI  Greenisland Colts hosted Times Bar Scorpions.

Colts had chances in the opening couple of frames however Davy Blair put the visitors 0-1 up. Colt’s John McClean was on a reverse dish to level the match at 1-1 taking out all seven reds only to see the final black hang in the jaws of the pocket and let his opponent in. The Scorpions’ Darren Haddock rose to the challenge and potted all seven yellows and a tap in black that was over the corner pocket.

L McIlreavy and P Kerr extended the lead before Colt’s A Watters pulled one back to 1-4. Scorpions won the last two frames of the first half giving them a 1-6 lead at the break. Once again missed chances from the Colts in the next two frames saw the Scorpions increase their lead 1-8 to secure all three points, 

J McClean got the Colt’s Second frame 2/8 beating Scorpions Paul Kerr. The eleventh frame went to Darren Haddock, his third of the evening. Joe Patton got the Colts third frame of the night. Scorpions won the last two frames of the evening to complete a convincing 3-11 victory.

Best on the night were D Haddock & D Blair both with hat tricks of wins. Times Bar Scorpions remain top of the table.

Q Club Titans hosted Greenisland Galcaticos in a battle for second place in this week's table

The new world masters champion, Rhys McLaughlin, faced Aaron Rolston. It was Rolston who kept his cool and took the first frame of the night for the visitors. Brian Crilly showed his class and levelled up for the Titans. Riley Patterson and Dean McDonagh added to the home side’s scores.  Aaron Rolston stopped the rot with a clinical break and dish in the sixth frame giving hope of getting some momentum back for the champions. Stuart Kelly, Brian Crilly and Ryan McKillopp took the score to 7-2. Ryan Marcus took the next frame with a great finish and a superb long red. Crilly and Harris had a great tactical battle in the 11th frame for Crilly to pull out the finish of the year to take the match and frame 8-3. Kelly, with a clinical break and dish, saw the match reach 9-3 before Ryan Marcus and Chris Carson took the last two frames.

Players of the night: Crilly 3/3 Kelly 2/2. This home victory moves Titans to second place in the league table.

Times Tigers vs Stadium

The Tigers welcomed league new boys, Stadium to the Times Bar. Lewis Neill got the visitors off to the perfect start with a win over Stephen McWhirter, but wins for Tigers’ Johnny Eccles, Scotty Pettigrew and Kye Robinson put the hosts 3-1 up. The Stadium responded with wins for Blain Jordan, Willy McCullough and John English to leave the score 4-3 at halftime.

The second half started just like the first! Lewis Neill got his second victory over McWhirter and Kye Robinson got his second win of the night for the Tigers. Score at this stage 5-4 to the Stadium. Captain for the evening John English then hit his second win to extend the Stadium lead before Scotty Pettigrew once more beat Bryan Joseph to reduce the deficit, and leave the Stadium winning 6-5 with 3 frames to go. Tom McGurk edged a win to get the sides level. Both sides hoping for a win or at least a draw at this stage but knowing at least a bonus point was secure! Frame 13 saw 2 unbeaten players on the night go head to head, with Kye Robinson and John English meeting, both having won 2 out of 2.  A great finish from John put the Stadium on the hill. Last frame between Scotty Pettigrew and Kyle Robertson was an edgy affair with both players having chances on the black. Ultimately Kyle held his nerve and came out on top to secure the win for Stadium moving them into the top half of the table. Final Score Tigers 6 Stadium 8

Players of note, John English with 3/3, Lewis Neill with 2/2 for the Stadium.

Trojans vs Railway Blues 

The Trojans welcomed the Railway Blues to Whitehead with both teams looking for their first win of the season with the Trojans drawing their first 2 league games and Blues losing their first two games. The Blues got off to great start with Ryan Stewart winning the first of the night.  The next frame was won by Trojans’ Stephen Hamilton with a great 8 ball clearance and frame 3 was also won by the Trojans Gordan McKinty. Railway Blues then kick into gear and took the next 3 frames via Josh McIlroy, Matthew Hagan and Rab Brown. Last frame of the first half was won by Matt Thompson of the Trojans to make it 3- 4 to Blues at half time. 

The second half started with the Blues taking the first two frames  (Ryan Stewart,  Wes Smith) to take a commanding lead 3 - 6 but the Trojans were not prepared to lay down and won next two frames (Stephen Hamilton, Maroof Balogun). The 12 frame was a very close game with Blues Robert Craig winning it for the Blues taking them one frame away from their first win of the season. Game 13 was one of the quickest games of the night with Rab Brown put the black ball into the middle pocket far too early and losing the match. So the Trojans need to win the last frame for another draw and the Blues for their first win of the season. After some great pool by both players (Trojans’ Gordon McKinty and Blues Gareth Curlett) Gordon took out a great finish to win and give the Trojans another draw. Top players for Trojans Stephen Hamilton 2/2 and Gordan McKinty 2/2. Top player for Blues Ryan Stewart 2/2.

In other matches, where home team captains chose not to send in reports...

The Pink Ladies remain at the foot of the table after a 1-13 tanking from Q Club Larne.

Grange continue their rise up the table with a 9-5 victory of a decent Spartans team.

 

Times Bar Scorpions Are Top Of The Table

In the second league match of the Carrick & District pool league, sponsored by SKC Gaming NI Ltd. Times Bar Scorpions faced off the Pink Ladies, with a 7 man team. Captain Lee McIlreavy drew first blood followed by David Blair, Darren Haddock, Paul Kerr, Darren Whiteside, Stephen Johnston with an intricate finish and Aaron Leslie. 7-0 to the Times Bar Scorpions. The second half went the in the same fashion. The final score was 14-0 although a few frames could have went in favour of the ladies had they taken their chances. The Tigers Bay men leapfrog Colts to the summit of the league table this week.

Railway Blues had their pants pulled down and the arse skelped clean off them for the second week in a row! This week it was by the formidable Q Club Titans. Final Score 12-2 who move up to second spot.

Galacticos entertained the Tigers this week and Jack Carson drew first blood for the hosts, laying a great snooker and taking out a pinpoint clearance with the resultant two visits.
Paul Harris took the next after his opponent missed his last ball, leaving a routine black.
Gee Crawley played with patience to get himself into a winning position before taking out a lovely clearance. 3-0.
Chris Carson stretched the lead taking out a nice clearance when presented with it before Gary Wallace made it 5-0 grinding patiently to get the win.
Jack Carson capitalised on an in off from the break to mop up the table with pinpoint precision before Sam Sloan stopped the rot in the last of the session giving the visitors a glimmer of hope.
Stephen McWhirter ensured a bright start to the second half for the Tigers taking the first before John Fulton took out a sublime break and finish to shorten the deficit to 6-3.
Chris Carson guaranteed two points for the hosts with a nice clearance before son Jack got to the magic eight, capitalising on two visits.
Tom McGurk took out a majestic 8 ball clearance in the next as the Tigers pushed for the bonus point but Gary Wallace took out a lightning quick finish after a tip tap game before Chris Carson finished the match with another accurate clearance.
Final score Galacticos 10 - 4 Tigers and puts the reigning champions Galacticos up to third.

Bowlers vs. Whitehead Trojans – A Thriller Ends All Square
It was Matchday 2, and the Bowlers hosted the Whitehead Trojans in their first home game of the season. Both sides came into the clash hungry for their first win — and it showed right from the off.
Captain Ricky Topping got the Bowlers off to a dream start, producing a slick 3-ball finish to take the opening frame and make it 1-0. The Trojans hit back in a cagey second frame, with Jared McFadden holding his nerve to level the scores at 1-1.
What followed was a dominant spell for the Bowlers, who took control of the match by rattling off three consecutive frame wins courtesy of Darren Clifford, David Craig, and Darren Glass. At 4-1, the hosts looked to be cruising.
But the Trojans weren’t done yet. With their backs to the wall, they showed real grit. Matthew Thompson stopped the rot with a tidy clearance before captain Girvan Fleming added another to narrow the gap to 4-3 at halftime — game on.
Trojans’ momentum carried into the second half as Gary Fitzsimmons coolly cleaned up to tie things at 4-4. The next four frames were shared evenly: David Craig claimed his second win of the night for the Bowlers, and Robert Loughlin picked up his first league victory. Meanwhile, Gordy McKinty and Stephen Hamilton responded for the Trojans, taking their frames to level it once again at 6-6.
With just two frames left, up stepped Matthew Thompson. Already in fine form, he produced another composed finish to put the Trojans ahead for the first time in the match — and secured his own personal 2/2 on the night.
The final frame was set for a captain's showdown: Ricky Topping vs. Girvan Fleming. Tension filled the room in a nip-and-tuck battle, but it was Topping who rose to the occasion once again, sealing the frame with a superb shot on the black to snatch a 7-7 draw and cap off a brilliant night of action.
Special mentions to Bowlers captain Ricky Topping, David Craig, and Trojans’ Matthew Thompson — all of whom finished the night with perfect 2/2 records.
The game was played in fantastic spirit, with top-quality finishes, momentum swings, and captain heroics — and definitely a big improvement on the Bowlers’ dodgy first attempt at a live stream!

In other results

Grange had a convincing 4-10 victory over Q Club Larne.

Spartans 7-7 Whiteabbey Legion

Stadium had their first victory knocking Colts off top spot with a 9-5 win

World Suicide Prevention Event held by Carrick & District Pool League

On World Suicide Prevention Day the Carrick & District Pool League were honoured to have Graeme Anderson from Ulster Motivational facilitating a bespoke workshop focussing on the mental health of pool players. 

The main themes were 'Speak, Ask and Listen'.

If we are concerned for any of our team mate's mental health we need to ask "Are You OK?"

ASK TWICE. Because our default setting is to respond with "100% or I'm sweet or Dead on.

We don't have to have all the answers we just need to actively listen.

The league would like to thank Graeme for an informative session, Laura from Impact Network NI for funding the event, Jess from Greenisland Community Council for her hospitality and the players who selflessly gave up their time in the hope that they might be able to be there for a team mate in distress.

The league will be developing a short video from the session and we will share it across all teams for the people who could not attend.

The Greenisland Men Mean Business

Welcome to our 2025/26 season sponsored by SKC Gaming NI. 

The Q Club Titans welcomed and the Bay City Bowlers.

The Bowlers got out of the gates first with a first frame win from Richard Topping. Titans' new signing Stuart killer Kelly quickly drew level with a great clearance. Bowlers again dug deep to win a tactical exchange with already a veteran of the game and current Larne league player of the year, Dean the dark destroyer McDonagh taking the Bowlers 2-1 up. Titans then showed their class winning the next 9 frames via Ryan Mckillop, Riley Patterson, Alan Corrigan, Dean and Stuart. leading 10-2. Bowlers' Ryan Ward took the 13th and Stuart Kelly made it 11-3 on the night. Players of the Night Stuart Kelly 3/3, Ryan McKillop 3/3. A great night was had by all 🎱🎱🎱

Q Club Larne is a hotbed of pool. Q Club A Team pulled out all the stops to whip The Legion 3-11.

Stadium Bar, making their debut in the league, got a baptism of fire away to defending champions Galacticos. The champions took the first with an emphatic 8 ball clearance from Ryan Marcus after a dry break wasn't capitalised on. The visitors drew level with a nice long black from Lewis Neill.
Galacticos elder statesman Paul 'OMH' Harris steadied the ship with a swift whitewash to put the home team 2-1 up. New signing Jack Carson put the Galacticos further ahead with a pinpoint clearance before Ryan Marcus took out his second of the evening to put the hosts in a comfortable lead.
Gary Wallace took out a patient frame to give the hosts a 6-1 half time lead after Gee Crawley had added to the lead. Paul Harris took out an impressive finish incorporating a stunning double in the next and Gary Wallace patiently eked out another frame to ensure the champions started the season with three points.
Phillip Watson got another on the board for the visitors with a composed finish and Bryan Elwood added to the visitors total with a sublime run out.
Any hopes the visitors had for a bonus point ended in the next with another patient performance from the ever impressive Wallace.
Jack Carson got the hosts to double figures before Kyle Robinson finished the night off with an exemplary finish for the visitors.
Final score Galacticos 10 - 4 Stadium

The Greenisland Derby between The Pink Ladies and The Colts


Colts raced to a 0-7 whitewash. The second half went the same way all seven frames going to the Colts to complete a 0-14 whitewash to take the Colts to the Top of The Table for at least one week.

Wins for the Colt’s 3 Frames A Harris & J Patton & 2 Frames Each for G Burns, A Watters, D Harris & A MacKay. The Result Flattered the Colts as some of the Pink Ladies were unlucky not to take a few frames in each half . Best for the Pink Ladies was Tracey Cook and Wendy Long who both came close to winning their frames but came up short in the end. Final Score Pink Ladies 0 - 14 Colts


The Times Bar teams started well too. The Tigers romped to a 12-2 victory over the Knockout cup champions, Railway Blues.

A fixture both sides always look forward to with great friendships and bonds established between the players. On this occasion though the Tigers seemed determined to get off to a fast and winning start, wins for Stephen Simpson, John Fulton, Scott Pettigrew, Kye Robinson and Stephen McWhirter had the Tigers 5-0

up. The last 2 frames were shared with Rab Brown getting the Blues off the mark and Stephen Simpson taking his second win of the night to leave half time score 6-1!!

Stephen McWhirter got the second half off to a winning start for the Tigers before a nice clearance from Wes Smith reduced the deficit to 7-2. That was as good as it got for the Blues though!! Wins for John Fulton (with a notable 8 ball clearance), Scott Pettigrew, Johnny Eccles, Tom McGurk and Kye Robinson taking the last five frames!!

Final score

Tigers 12 Blues 2

Notable performances from Stephen Simpson, John Fulton, Stephen McWhirter, Scott Pettigrew and Kye Robinson each with 2 wins from 2 games. 

Great night as usual and I’m sure the Blues will hope to revenge the result when the sides meet again later in the season

Last years Players Memorial Champions, Times Bar Scorpions also had a convincing 2-12 win away to a strong Granges side in Grange Ballyclare (1) Facebook

Our first live streamed match of the season was selected because on paper it was to be an epic and very close encounter. Unfortunately Granges had a few of their first team players out.

The first four frames were shared before Paul Kerr Kick started the Scorpions into gear with a sublime break and dish in frame 5. Times Bar Scorpions went on to win the next 9 frames on the trot. 3/3 for Paul Kerr and Lee McIlreevy. 2/2 for Darren Whiteside and Stephen Johnston.

In the Whitehead Derby the Trojans hosted the Spartans. The Trojans, with 3, very welcome, new signings got off to a flyer, quickly going 4-0 up with wins from Gary Fitzsimmons, Gordon McKinty, Stevie Hamilton and Chris Hobson. The Spartans fired back with 5 frames on the bounce, with wins from Paddy Graham, Kenny English, Alan Johnston, Mark Millar and Alan Johnston again, before the Trojans stopped the rot and levelled at 5-5. The final 4 frames were hard fought affairs and were shared between the 2 teams, for a fair result on the night of 7-7. Best for Trojans were Stevie Hamilton and Chris Hobson with 2/2. Best for Spartans were Kenny English with 2/2 and Alan Johnston and Mark Millar both with 2/3.

Galacticos start off the season with silverware

In the SKC GAMING NI LTD league opener, the Charity Shield it was the Railway Blues vs Galacticos. In an upset last season in the knockout cup final the Galacticos may have taken the Blues a little bit lightly along with some fine play by the underdogs as the Blues lifted the trophy.

Last night the league champions seemed to have learned from that encounter and punished mistakes while creating chances to run out 8-3 winners. 

A big thanks to Greenisland Workingmens club for hosting this event. Congratulations Galacticos and commiserations Railway Blues.

Next week we start the league proper with a full set of fixtures. Best of luck everyone.

SPEAK, ASK, LISTEN

At the start of our 2025/26 season we are hoping all teams will send at least one member to this event.
Graeme, a motivational speaker from Ulster Motivational will be facilitating an evening focussing on positive mental health. 
He will share tips and strategies to not only look after our own mental health but how best to look out for our team mates.
It starts at 7pm in Greenisland Jubilee Hall. 
Please share this event with your team and encourage a team mental health champion to attend.

AcornBlinds NI Knock Out Cup Draw

Carrick & District Pool League Knock-Out Cup 25/26 

Prelims Take Place Wednesday 1st October

 

Sponsored By Acorn Blinds NI Ltd 

Prelim 1 Pink Ladies vs Bay City Bowlers - Venue - Greenisland Working Men's Social Club 

Prelim 2 Times Scorpions vs Stadium Bar - Venue - Times Bar 

Prelim 3 Whiteabbey Legion vs Railway Blues - Venue - Whiteabbey Royal British Legion 

Prelim 4 The Grange vs Greenisland Colts - Venue - The Grange Ballyclare 

Prelim 5 Q Club vs Whitehead Trojans - Venue - Q Club Larne Prelim 

Prelim 6 Times Tigers vs Greenisland Galacticos - Venue - Greenisland Working Men's Social Club 

Quarter Finals Tuesday 7th October 

QF1/   Prelim 1 winners play winners of Prelim 2 

QF 2/  Prelim 3 winners play winners of Prelim 4  

QF 3/   Prelim 5 winners play winners of Prelim 6 

QF 4/  Q Club Titans vs Spartans - Venue - Q Club

We are back with 14 teams and raring to go

The Carrick & District Pool League, sponsored by SKC Gaming NI will commence on 2nd September as the League Champions, Greenisland Galacticos take on the Knock Out Cup Champions, Railway Blues in Greenisland Workingmens Club. 

The last time these two met it was the Railway Blues who came out victorious in an epic final. This Charity Shield opener for the league will showcase what we are all about. Fun and friendly competition. 

Our Charity of the year is Macmillan Cancer and we hope to raise some funds on the night so please make an effort to join the teams in person and donate your spare change on the night. 

The first full league fixture of the new season will be on 9th September. 

This year we welcome a new team from Belfast's Shankill Road, Stadium Bar. 

The amount of pool trophies around the cabinets in this venue tells us that they will mean business from day one.

Best of luck to all teams this year and we hope you have fun.

'POOL TOGETHER' END OF SEASON CELEBRATIONS

Our End Of Season Celebration "POOL TOGETHER" took place on Friday 27th June in Greenisland WWMC.

Carrick Pool League sponsored by SKC Gaming NI provides a spirit of belonging, acceptance, a safe space where we can talk without fear of judgement. There is friendly, competitive spirit and players can gain a sense of mastery, praise and recognition.

In the Pool Together celebrations we brought our members and supporters together to celebrate our players. Not just the winners but all who took part, and their loved ones.

In this thirtieth year of our pool league we had entertainment, trophies, food and more importantly built new connections and strengthened old ones.

Mental health was mentioned a number of times this year and we organised bespoke training for our players to look out for their team mates and make the league a safer environment.

We were successful in a bid to continue with supporting and encouraging better mental health and were awarded a grant for funding towards some of the costs for live streaming equipment and trophies.

Trophies were presentated by Councillor Bobby Hadden. 

The KnockOut Cup went to The Railway Blues. The final was an epic that went to a decider. Ryan Stuart ripped out a sublime finish to give the Blues glory against Galacticos on a super Saturday.

The Players’ Memorial Shield was won by Galacticos, defeating Greenisland Colts.

The Amber Castle Harbour Cup was won by Whitehead Trojans, defeating Times Tigers.

The Knockagh Cup was won by Q Club Larne, defeating Whiteabbey Legion.

Doubles was won by Titan’s Dean McDonagh & Shawn McAllister beating Grange’s Jim Gilchrist and Johnny Mackay.

Three a sides was won by Darren Whiteside. Lee McIlreevy and Aaron Leslie beating Kenny English, Trevor Whiteside and Tommy Fleming.

Seniors was won by Scorpions’ Stephen Johnston against teammate, Aaron Leslie.

Masters was won by Trojans’ Kenny English in a fabulous final against Grange’s Steven Herron.

Grandmasters was won by Colts’ Joe Patton, defeating Bowlers’ Gary McClure

Ladies was won by Jean McIlroy, defeating Billie Jo McClure.

The Player of the year went to Legion’s Rab Butler winning an impressive 49 of 61 frames played.

The Q Club Larne Open Singles was won by Titan’s Rhys McGlaughlin beating Q Club’s Ryan McKillop

The Wooden Spoon went to Pink Ladies.

League Champions were crowned in the final match of the league season. Greenisland Galacticos held off late challenges from Times Scorpions and Q Club Titans to win back to back titles. League app live was invaluable for live updates and frame differences etc.

We would like to thank SKC Gaming for their continued support of our league. Amber Castle entertainment for sponsoring the Harbour Cup and Q Club Larne for sponsoring our Open Singles event. We would like to thank Impact Network for their grant towards supporting the mental health of our players and Greenisland Club for hosting the Pool Together event.


If any teams want to join us next season, please get in touch via email at carrickpool@gmail.com or on any of our social media accounts: www.carrickpool.blogspot.com; www.facebook.com/carrickpoolleague; youtube.com/@carrickdistrictpoolleague3794

Our AGM and registration is on Tuesday 5th August in Greenisland club at 19:30 for the upcoming season.

Players Memorial Shield Goes to Greenisland Galacticos

The players memorial shield was our last competition of the year. We make a point of playing this tournament for all of the players who once graced our league and are no longer with us. This year we sadly lost our devoted player and committee member Gordon McCormick who played from Whitehead Trojans. May he rest and the others in peace.

Galacticos came through after disposing of Railway Blues to the semi finals and their old rivals, the reigning Players Memorial Champions, Times Bar Scorpions.

Scorpions had came through a tough match against Titans 5-3. Galacticos are a different animal this year and began with two break and dishes, a reverse dish. Scorpions tried to stem the tide getting two frames but at 4-2 up Galacticos' Ali Wilson eased them into the final with yet another break and dish.

In the other half of the draw The Trojans came through with a win over the pink Ladies. They met Greenisland Colts in the semis who had came through a nail biter of a deciding frame win over Bowlers and an epic win over the Knockout cup winner Railway Blues.

Colts were hitting a purple patch and soon reached the final.

In an all Greenisland Final in Greenisland Workingmens Club, the minnows of the Greenisland Colts were taking on their stablemates, The mighty Galacticos.

You would not have thought this was a mismatch as the Colts held their own the entire match a will rue some of their untaken chances. The experience and expert finishing from the Galacticos was enough to come through with a narrow victory 5-3.

Congratulations to Galacticos and thanks to Greenisland WWMC for hosting finals night.

Galacticos are SKC GAMING NI LEAGUE Champions

Tuesday night was judgement night. Theoretically, three teams could still win the league on the final night of the season.
Q Club’s Titans sat in third place, only 3 points off the leaders. Times Bar’s Scorpions sat in second place 2 points off the league leaders.
Galacticos sat at the top of the league, as they had for most of the season.
Q Club Titans could only control their match and romped home to a 12-2 victory over Bay City Bowlers. (full report to follow).
Scorpions had a convincing 11-3 victory away to Whitehead Trojans.
Scorpions’ captain, Lee McIlreevy started with intend and Davy Blair soon followed before Kenny English chipped in for the Trojans. Paul Kerr, Darren Haddock, Davy Blair and Darren Whiteside wrapped up the first half 1-6 to Scorpions.
The second half went in a similar fashion with Lee McIlreevy, and Paul Kerr winning frames 8 and 9. Kenny English took the 10th for Trojans. This was a fatal blow to Davy Blair’s hopes of winning player of the year. Darren Haddock potted a skilful black off two cushions to cut it into the middle. Paul Kerr added with a reverse dish. Yet again Trojans Kenny English stopped the rott with a great finish of his own. Lee McIlreevy finished off the match in style with a scintillating reverse dish. Final Score Trojans 3 Scorpions 11.
Theoretically and mathematically speaking is one thing, but reality is another. The Galacticos were playing the Pink ladies, who sat bottom of the league. It was a ‘Davina’ versus ‘Goliath’ match that was never going to have a Disney style ending for the ‘Pink Ladies’.
Galacticos romped home to glory with a merciless 12-2 victory over the Pink Ladies and deservedly secured the Carrick & District League Title sponsored by SKC Gaming NI Ltd.
Greenisland Colts took the points against Railway Blues 9-5.
Times Tigers had a 14-0 walkover v Grange Ballyclare.
Q Club Larne took the points 6-8 against Whiteabbey Legion.
Full reports to follow.

Whitehead Trojans are our Amber Castle Entertainment Harbour Cup Champions

The Trojans got off to a great start in the Harbour Cup Final (sponsored by Amber Castle Entertainment).

Gary Fitzsimmons, Trevor Whiteside, and Stevie Hamilton winning the first 3 frames The fourth frame was won by the Tigers’ John Fulton with a great break
and dish. The next frame was won by Trojans Chris Hobson, taking the Trojans into a 4 -1 lead. The next 2 frames shared, and at half time, it was 5- 2 to the Trojans.
The second half started with the Trojans player Gary Fitzsimmons fouling by potting the white ball with the black give the Times Bar Tigers the win. The Trojans won the next 2 frames before the Tigers fought back to make the score 7-4 . The Trojans player of the night Trevor Whiteside won the next frame to give the Trojans the win.

Congratulations to the Whitehead Men and commiserations to the Tigers. A special thanks goes to Colin Beckinsale for sponsoring this event and joining the guys in the photo. Also thanks to Q-Club Larne for hosting the final.

We will see you all on 27th June at our end of season pool event.

Q Club lift the Knockagh Cup

A close final was anticipated in the final of the Knockagh Cup between Whiteabbey Legion and Q Club. The Larne men started on fire with Kyzler Todd, Jason Voorhees and a William Irvine break and dish sending them 3-0 up. Legion captain Mark Porter battled to win the 4th frame and to get the lads off the mark but Q Club would hold a commanding 5-2 lead at the interval to have 1 hand on the cup.

The tie went back into the balance though as Rab Butler and Mark Porter won the first 2 frames to close the gap to 1 at 5-4. Kyzler Todd and Ciaran O’Toole restored the 3 frame gap and got Q Club onto the hill taking frames 10 and 11 with 2 expertly taken out finishes. The Legion wouldn’t give in however and Mark Porter completed a well earned hat trick in frame 12 and Tristan Scott Heyes took the match to the last frame in regulation with a win in frame 13. Kyzler Todd would however complete his hat trick to get the Larne boys over the line with a nervy win in the last frame.
A good win for the Q Club and both sides will meet again next week in Whiteabbey in the last league game of the season.
A massive thanks to Q Club for hosting this final.

Rhys Makes History winning the Open

Congratulations to The Iceman, Rhys Mclaughlin on being crowned the youngest ever CDPL open individuals champion sponsored by Q Club
He looked to be up against it the whole way through the final but lived up to his nickname with some lovely stuff to take the title.
A great day was had and a huge thanks to Helen, Alex and William Irvine for fantastic tables and conditions all day and sponsoring the event.
Unlucky Ryan Mckillop who seems to be always the bridesmaid in these events but was magnificent also all day.
Huge thanks to everyone who turned out for the event competition.
Hopefully see you all in GWMSC on the 27th for the end of season do.
on the photo we have the winner, Rhys And Derek Whiteside the tournament director and chairman of the Carrick District Pool League

Pooling Together for better mental health

POOL TOGETHER
Coming together in our pool league provides a spirit of belonging, and acceptance, a safe space where we can connect without fear of judgement or ridicule.
We have friendly competition and players can strive for mastery gaining praise and recognition as they progress in our sport.
Recently we had an initiative to train up local mental health champions from teams in the Carrick District Pool League. We had 12 people trained in the link life connections programme.
CDPL Pool Together project endeavours to provide an opportunity for all of our members and supporters to come together for a celebration event in Greenisland Working Men's Social Club during international Men's Health month on Friday 27th June.
During this event we will celebrate all of our players, not just the winners but all who took part in the season.
In this thirtieth season of our pool league we plan to bring in catering and entertainment for mindfulness related music.
We plan to roll out further mental health related events throughout the year incorporating TAKE 5 approaches of Connecting, Being active, Keeping learning, Giving to others and Taking Notice.

The elements of TAKE 5 are woven into all that we do throughout the season and we hope to reach more of our former players and new players through live streams.
These initiatives are gratefully supported by the Public Health Agency and Impact Network NI.

Galacticos Have One Hand On The League Title

Tuesday 20th May saw The Greenisland Working Men's Social Clubs Colts journey to nearby Royal British Legion Club in Whiteabbey in the Carrick and District Pool League Sponsored By SKC GAMING NI.
The evening began well for the home team after Colt Vice Captain Colin Beckinsale's break cue ball really quite unluckily went in off
However this mustn't detract from any credit British Legion player Andrew Arbuthnot should receive from thereafter successfully executing an excellent eight ball reverse dish clearance
The Colts were evidentally undeterred from the evenings first frame misfortune by winning each of the remaining first half games by way of Captain Harry Warwick, Christopher McCurry, Aarron Watters, McCurry, A.Watters and Beckinsale
Entering the interval with a commanding 6 - 1 lead
In similar fashion to the evenings first half The British Legion team began well again by way of a victory for Arbuthnott
This time they would win two in a row via a win in the next by Robert Butler.
The Colts would secure atleast a draw after this though winning their seventh frame of the evening via Paul Watters
And in the next Warwick would get his side over the winning line
This was soon improved on further with another win by Beckinsale
British Legion man Butler would take a consolation frame in the next before Colt A.Watters would win the evenings final frame (Meaning he would be best and only player to win three from three played) and making the final Score Royal Brirish Legion 4 Colts 10
Players of particular note for The Royal British Legion winning two from 3 played Butler & Two from two played Arbuthnott.

Titans v Scorpions & Pink Ladies v Grange were postponed due to a pool competition in the Republic of Ireland.

Galacticos won 11-3 v Bay City Bowlers and surely have one hand on the trophy as they go 4 points clear with two games to play.

Doubles delight for Dean and Shaun

Congratulations to Q Club's Dean McDonagh and Shaun Mcallister (left in photo) on becoming the 24/25 annual doubles champions. They beat Granges' Johnny Mackay and Jim Gilchrist (right in photo) in the final.

Jim/Johnny eased into the semis with 4-1 over Joe/Darren.

Paul/Davy made it to semis with a win over Scorpion team mates 4-2 Cinto/Gordon.

Shaun/Dean won a deciding frame to move to the semis over 4-3 Jack/Chris.

Last years champs Paul/Gary moved to the semis with solid win over 4-1 Jackie/Kitson.

Shaun/Dean came through another decider 4-3 Paul/Gary

Jim/Johnny made it to the final with a 4-2 win over Paul/Davy.

Shaun/Dean stepped up a gear and reeled of a fabulous 5-0 victory over Jim/Johnny to lift the title.

A big thanks go to Q Club for hosting the event.

Cinto Is our seniors champion

Scorpions’ elder statesman, Stephen Johnston rolled back the years as he came through a challenging field of very good over forties players.

His first victory was 4-0 walk, over Wayne Lewis.

In the last 16 he beat Colin Rafferty 4-0.

Trevor Whiteside took two frames but Cinto Johnston was just unstoppable on the night and he cruised to the semis 4-2.

He had another walkover from Roger Smyth in the semis before playing teammate Aaron Leslie in the final.

The final score was Stephen Johnston 6 Aaron Leslie 4. Congratulations to Stephen Johnston and to Aaron for reaching the final.

Kenny is our Master

The Carrick Pool League Masters competition for over 50’s finals night took place on 13th June.

Trojan's Kenny English overcame Darren Whiteside winning the last 3 frames on the trot to reach the finals with a convincing 5-2 win.

Titans' Jason Vorhees raced to a 4-0 lead. They say the run of the balls sometimes evens itself out. Stephen Herron ripped out some fabulous finishes to win the next 5 frames and secure his place in the final.

In the final the fine form continued and it was fairly even all the way until 4-4. Kenny English took the final by the scruff of the neck, with some fine skill shots and lovely finishes to take the trophy and a well-earned 6-4 victory.

 

The Knockagh Cup

Knockagh Cup was played on Tuesday 13th May at 8pm. Race to 8.
Whiteabbey Royal British Legion v Greenisland Colts won 8-7 after a play off frame where Colin Beckinsale inadvertently potted the black mid frame to hand their Finals night ticket to the legion.
Q Club v Railway Blues was also a great game and the Larne Boys won 8-5.
The final will take place on 3rd June at 8pm in Q Club Larne

The Harbour Cup is sponsored by Amber Castle Entertainment

The Harbour Cup, sponsored by Amber Castle Entertainment is a tournament for the bottom four teams in the Carrick District pool league.

The semi finals took place on Tuesday 13th May.

Trojans hosted Bay City Bowlers at their Whitehead Rangers fortress. Bowlers’ Ricky Topping put the first frame on the board before a brace for Trojans Trevor Whiteside, Tommy Fleming and Gary Fitsimmons and a single from Chris Hobson put Trojans on the hill in this race to 8. In a gallant display Jim Miller, Ricky Topping and Ian McMillan begun the Bowlers’ come back before stalwart Trevor Whiteside Secured the winning frame for Trojans and his Hat Trick on the night. Final score Trojans 8 Bowlers 4.


The Pink Ladies hosted the Tigers in Greenisland Workingman’s club. Tigers’ Scott Pettigrew, Stephen McWhirter, Steven Simpson, Sam Sloan and Kye Robinson took their chances and raced to a 5-0 lead. Billie Jo McClure stopped the rot and notched up a frame for the ladies. Steven Simpson chipped in his second followed by Tom McGurk and Jonny Eccles for a convincing 1-8 victory for the Tigers Bay outfit.

Thanks again to Amber Castle Entertainment for sponsoring this event.
The final will take place on 3rd June in Q Club Larne at 8pm.

Galacticos Suffer The Blues as Railway Bar Lift the KO Cup

On Saturday 3rd May, the Knockout Cup Final took place in Greenisland Workingmen’s club. It has to be said this was a David versus Goliath match. The Railway Blues sit in seventh position in the league. Galacticos are top. In their previous two encounters, the scores have been 13-1 and 12-2 in favour of the Galacticos.

The first two frames were shared with Blues Craig Laughlin going in front and Chris Carson levelling for Galacticos.

A barrage of Blues’ frames for Josh Mcilroy, Robin Kerr and Captain, Ryan Stewart put the blues 4-1 ahead.

Galacticos dug deep and international pool players, Roger Smith and Ali Wilson reduced the arrears to 3-4 at the break.

The second half got underway and Ryan Stewart secured his second frame of the night defeating Roger Smith. Blues’ Wes Smith and Josh McIlroy put the Railway Blues within touching distance of the cup at 3-7.

Galacticos are simply too strong to just roll over and one by one they fought back with wins for the reigning Carrick & District Pool League individual champion, Gary Wallace, Ali Wilson and Chris Carson to bring it back to 6-7. The experienced Paul Harris held his nerve for Galacticos to send this great match to a play off.

Galacticos’ ‘ever reliable anchor man’, international A team player, Gary Wallace was selected and Railway Blues’ Ryan Stewart faced off in a one frame shoot out for glory Click here to see the highlights.

The pair endeavoured to take control of the table in a tactical battle. Gary played a great safety before Ryan found a shot cannoning his ball into the middle pocket off one of Gary’s. With just about enough of the potting angle Ryan took a tremendous long pot landing perfect on one of his tricky colours to the middle. He dropped it in and took his last two balls, controlling the cue ball and sinking the final black for the unlikeliest but most popular victories of the season. This was a fabulous win for the underdogs and a great advertisement for our league. All players shook hands and hugged and the sportsmanship within our pool league shone through.
Galacticos were magnanimous in defeat and Blues were ecstatic in victory… and rightly so.

A big thanks go to Greenisland Workingmen's Club for hosting the final. Here's a link to the full match.

Galacticos delighted with a Draw resuming top spot

This week in the Carrick and District Pool League sponsored by SKC Gaming NI the league leaders, Q Club Titans had no match.

Nearest rivals, Galacticos and Scorpions battled to gain top spot with a win of their game in hand.

Former Scorpion Chris Carson put one on the board for Galacticos. Gordon Boomer and Paul Kerr took the next two to put Scorpions 2-1 up. Ali Wilson levelled things up and Aaron Leslie put Scorpions ahead. Aaron Rolston and Paul Harris took the next to give Galacticos a slender lead at the interval 4-3.

Scorpions came out after the interval fired up and rattled off 3 in a row with wins for Paul Kerr, Aaron Leslie and Davy Blair. 4-6 now. Galacticos took the next 2 frames with further wins for Aaron Rolston as he got out of a snooker with a hit an hope and fluked the black with a cocked hat in off the white. Gary Wallace took the next. Paul Kerr put Scorpions on the hill at 6-7 before Gary Wallace held his nerve to secure the draw after staring defeat in the eye.

Final Score: Galacticos 7 Scorpions 7. Click here to see the full match.

This result sees Galacticos leapfrog Titans and reach the summit of the league with only a few matches left.

Times Tigers v Greenisland Colt’s
Colts travelled up the Shore Road to take on their close rivals the Times Bar Tigers.
Colts got off to a great start winning the first two frames courtesy of Colin Beckinsale and Joe Patton. Tigers’ Scott Pettigrew won the third frame. Colts Chris McCurry edged the fourth.
In true form, for these two teams levelled the match at 3-3 with wins for J Eccles & J Fulton.
McCurry took the final frame of the first half 3-4 for the Colts.
Colts took the next three frames with wins for C Beckinsale, A Watters and H Warwick securing at least a draw. The next two frames where shared. J Fulton for the Tigers and J Patton for the Colts. Tigers took the last two frames of the evening with wins for K Robinson and T McGurk with a Break and dish to secure the bonus point.
Final Score Tigers 6-8 Colts

In other matches:

Grange 11-3 Bowlers

Pink Ladies 3 -11 Q Club

Whiteabbey Legion 5 Railway Blues 9.

Hatchet, Penfold and Aaron are your SKC Gaming NI 3 a sides Champions

Scorpion Fizzers are the CDPL three-a-sides Pool League Champions

Congratulations to the Scorpions’ Lee Mcilreavy, Aaron Leslie and Darren Whiteside on becoming the SKC Gaming NI Ltd 2024/25 3 a sides champions. The Fizzers came through some tough matches on their route to the final.

In the first round the Scorpion Fizzers beat Carrick Golf Club 5-1, The Glam Grans 5-0 and 'Scorpions 3' 5-0. In the semis the Tigers went down 5-1 as the Scorpion Fizzers reached eased into the final.

In the other half of the draw the Trojans’ Kenny English, Trevor Whiteside and Thomas Fleming were journeying to the final with wins over the Titans, 3 Muskaladies, the 'Scorpions 1' and the Grange to reach the final.

In the final the Scorpion Fizzers raced to a 2-0 lead but were soon pegged back to 3-3. In the business end of this match it was the experience of Lee McIlreevey and Aaron Leslie who held their nerve to win the final two frames and claim the match 5-3 to be crowned the SKC GAMING NI 3 a sides champions of 2024-25 season.

Many thanks to Q-Club Larne for hosting the event and our sponsors SKC GAMING NI.

Jean, the winning machine

Carrick & District Pool League's annual ladies competition concluded last night. Jean McIlroy won her semi final 4-1 against the ladies captain, Sarah Lou Graham in a tighter match than the score line suggests.

Billie-Jo McClure reached the final with another tight match winning a nail biting decider against Marion King 4 - 3.

Carrick Ladies Pool Finalists Jean McIlroy & Billie Jean McClure Credit: Harry Warwick

In the ladies final Larne's Jean McIiroy romped home by 5 frames to 1 against a highly talented young player in Billie Joe McClure. This is jeans second time winning the prestigious trophy. Her first time was thirteen years ago.

Massive congratulations to Jean Mcilroy our 24/25 SKC Gaming NI Ltd LADIES CHAMPION.

Many thanks to Greenisland Working Men's Social Club for hosting the event.

Seniors 24/25 is up next

Up next in the Carrick & District Pool league sponsored by SKC Gaming NI is the Seniors tournament. Players who are 40 years or more can compete in this tournament for the glory of getting their name on the trophy and enshrined in the CDPL history books.


This is one of the toughest competitions to win with talent from top to bottom: Here is a link of our first two players on the draw below having back to back dishes last night:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DIN6j2ioFGb/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link


Seniors draw for Tuesday 15th April. Races to 4. Loss a frame every 5 minutes a player is late. Played down to 1 winner at each venue.


In Whitehead Glasgow Rangers
@19:30
1 Aaron Reid v John Fulton
2 Jackie Murdock v Trevor Whiteside
@20:00
3 Wayne Lewis V Stephen Johnston
4 Colin Rafferty v Stephen Herron


In Q Club
@19:30
5 Jim Miller v Richard Kitson
6 Ali Wilson v Jim Gilchrist
@20:00
7 Mark Miller v Tom McGurk
8 Scott Pettigrew v Roger Smyth


In Granges
@19:30
9 Davy Blair v Andy Quinn
10 Benny Booysen v Darren Whiteside
@20:00
11 Joe Patton v Girvan Fleming
12 Jean McIlroy v Julie anne Cromie


In Greenisland
@19:30
13 Kenny English v Paul Kerr
14 Aaron L v Mark Porter
@20:00
15 Marion King v Steven Simpson
16 Jason Vorhees v Rab Butler

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/18XY436GAx/?mibextid=wwXIfr

SKC GAMING NI Masters into semi finals

In the Carrick and District Pool League, sponsored by SKC Gaming NI we began our annual master’s pool championships on Tuesday night.

Four venues hosted the first rounds of heats. 

In Greenisland WWMC we had 4 preliminary matches. 

Harry Warwick put up a good battle but Mark Porter prevailed 4-2. Newly crowned Grand Master Joe Patton fell to an in form Jim Gilchrist 4-0. Darren Whiteside had a walk over from Michael Wilson 4-0. 

Jim Miller rolled back the years. He simply out potted Steven Hamilton for a 4-1 victory. 

Jim Gilchrist romped to a 4-0 victory in the first round against Mark Porter. 

In a tight match, Darren Whiteside broke and dished to go 2-1 and pushed on to a victory 4-1 over Jim Miller. 

The quarter finals saw Jim Gilchrist levelling the scores with a break and dish at 2-2 before Darren Whiteside dug deep to get over the line 4-2. 

Darren faces Kenny English, 2019 champion, who won his heat in Whitehead Glasgow Rangers Supporters Club. 

In the prelims Paul Kerr had a walkover 4-0 from Julie Anne. Stephen Johnston won 4-0 against Aaron Reid. David Blair won 4-0 against Iain McMillan and Kenny English won 4-0 against Booysen. 

Paul Kerr defeated Steven Johnston 4-1 in the first round. Kenny defeated David Blair 4-0. 

Kenny won 4-3 against the reigning champion, Paul Kerr in their quarter-finals. Kenny was 3-1 up when Paul broke and dished then reverse dished to bring it to the hill. Kenny eventually took advantage of a bit of misfortune and held his nerve to finish. 

In Times Bar Stephen Herron was flowing as he swiftly dispatched of Gary McClure 4-0. Gary Fitzimmons also won 4-0 against Girvan Fleming. Stephen won the decider 4-0 is the quickest heats of the night to reach the semi-finals. 

Steven will face Jason Vorhees. In the Q club, Jason won 4-1 against Marion King. Colin Beckinsale won 4-1 against Joaney. Jean McIlroy had a 4-0 w/o from Rab Brown and Marty Kane had a 4-0 w/o from John McClean. Jason kicked into gear and won 4-1 over Colin. Marty came through a tight match with Jean 4-3. Jason cruised to a 4-0 victory in the quarter-finals 4-0 over Marty Kane. Jason, who recently took the Larne Masters title, would love to add this masters double of south east Antrim pool leagues to his trophy cabinet in an outstanding season so far. The semi-finals will take place on 13th May (venue TBC) 19:30 start. Darren Whiteside v Kenny English Steven Herron V Jason Vorhees. 

We hope to stream this event live on Carrick Pool League Facebook channel too.

Net week is an international pool break and there are no matches. We are back on 15th April with the seniors individuals.