Jonathan Collado wins Black Ball tournament

The Gibraltar Pool Association held a tournament on Saturday March 19. This tournament attracted 24 players to battle it out for the elusive prize money. At £50 entry fee it was an exclusive event for the top players of our current Gibraltar pool scene. 1st Prize was £450 2nd Prize £250 3rd Prize £125 and 4th Prize £75.
The day started with a few upsets Shelly McDermott the winner of that event lost to Julian McGrail 5-4. This was a mouth-watering match to watch straight to the wire. Kharim Lopez and Stephen Webber 2 players who have an elusive background in the Gibraltar pool scene also went head-to-head in the first round with Stephen Webber coming on top 5 – 2. Youngster Aidan Borg has improved a lot lately and this tournament he was proving to be a tough opponent to beat he started his campaign winning against Rich Ammons 5-2 and then in the Quarterfinals he showed how much he has improved by coming back from 4-1 down to beat Stephen Webber 5-4 not an easy fete against the quality that Stephen has on the table. Jonathan Collado one of the most decorated players in the game started his campaign with a 5-2 win over Grant Black.
The semi-finals started with Julian McGrail on top form playing Against Andrew Olivero. Andrew himself had a great run beating Ernest Clinton 5-3 and Guy Olivero 5-3. Andrew was playing great also all day. This semi-final was a pleasure to watch as both players showed great form to prove why they have been amongst the top ranked players for the last decades. This match had it all safety play and great clearances, and it went down to the wire with Julian McGrail taking a last frame decider to beat Andrew Olivero 6-5 after coming back from 3-0 and then 5-4 down.
The second semi-final was between upcoming youngster Aidan Borg and Jonathan Collado this match also went to the wire 6-5. Jonathan came out on top in the last frame proving why he is one of the greats of the sport his composure and tactical game gave him the edge to take the match in the decider. Jonathan also had 2 break dishes in this match.
Onto the final, Julian McGrail vs Jonathan Collado. These two players have seen plenty of finals in the last 20 years and this match was a reminiscence of the good old days as they say. What a final it was. The first frame saw Jonathan break perfectly and clear the tables in 1 visit. The second frame Jonathan potted the cue ball and Julian used his knowledge of the table and used his 2 shots to clear the table after the foul 1-1. The third frame saw a tactical error from Jonathan that allowed Julian McGrail to clear the table 2-1 Julian. Mistakes at this level are highly punished by the opponent. 4th frame was more of the same a missed position to reach the black ball forced an error from Julian that Jonathan cleared to make it 2-2. Julian then took the next 2 frames to lead 4-2 and then Jonathan bounced back to go 5-4 in front and then Julian took the next one to force a decider. What a match. In the final frame Jonathan had his best break of the day, and the table spread nicely to which Jonathan took the opportunity presented and cleared the table to win the tournament. 6-5 final score.
It was an amazing days event down at Jumpers Bastion and greatly run as always by the Gibraltar pool association team of helpers. Roll on the next tournament. - CB