Malcolm Keenor Trophy Semi-Finals
Fairwater Cons Mack 3 v 2 Taff’s Well
Canton Libs 3 v 0 Rumney British Legion
CDSA Plate Semi-Finals
Fairwater Cons 3 v 0 Roath Cons
Savoy 3 v 2 Mackintosh Snooker
Breaks
Jason Hewett 40 (Fairwater Cons Mack)
The final of the 2022-23 Malcolm Keenor Trophy will be between Fairwater Cons Mack and Canton Libs after a night of drama saw the defending champions come back from 2-0 down to beat Taff’s Well and book a place in the final.
The random draw worked out well for Ronnie Allen’s side as their star trio of Brian Rees, Alan Hurley and Jason Hewett were drawn out first and with the winner needing three frames, Taff’s Well knew that they were going to have to get off to a good start. Rhys Carpenter managed to build on his 7-point handicap early on against Brian Rees in the opening frame and some tight tactical play coupled with crucial pots when he needed them saw the 2019 Cardiff Open champion give Taff’s Well a 1-0 lead.
Alan Hurley was on next against Jimmy Llewellyn, but it was the latter who made the first meaningful contribution of the frame to build on his handicap and establish a 40-point lead. Some good long potting and safety from Llewellyn didn’t allow Hurley to get back in the frame after that to leave Taff’s Well one frame from victory at 2-0. Kevin Brown started well in the third frame against reigning Player of the Year Jason Hewett, but a 40 break towards the end from the Fairwater maestro saw him win the frame on the colours to pull one back. Ronnie Allen then comfortably won the next against Glyn Jones to level the match and take it to a decider, and Khurram Khan managed to win the frame on the green against Tom Cross after some nervy exchanges on the colours to seal the comeback and book their place in the final.
There they will face Canton Libs after a much more straightforward 3-0 victory over Rumney British Legion saw James Wigmore’s side make their first Malcolm Keenor Trophy final. After topping their group, Canton came into the match as favourites but following Rumney’s remarkable 5-0 win in the last group game to seal their semi-final place, Frank Deriu’s side went into this match full of confidence. However, they lost the opening frame after James Facey beat Dave Bowgen and Canton made it 2-0 when in-form Declan O’Callaghan defeated Alex Ellis to leave his side one frame from victory, and Ed Topham made sure of the win after he beat Albert Columbo to send Canton through to the final.
The CDSA Plate Final will be between Fairwater Cons and Savoy after contrasting victories in their semi-finals against Roath Cons and Mackintosh Snooker respectively. Fairwater won the opener after Terry Garland beat Alan Wright, before Ben Griffiths won a close frame against Kerri-Lee Whiting on the pink and Steffan Davies sealed the win after defeating Lee Cornock.
Savoy’s match was very different though as they raced into a 2-0 lead before eventually needing a win the deciding frame to book their place in the final. They started well with Mark Bennett beating Stephen Connors and Colin Lane beating Mike Nessbert. Nathan Dunne then defeated Dave Hurn before Carlos Schiazza levelled the match after victory over Jeff Lane, but Lee Greening held his nerve to win the match for Savoy after beating Jerry Connors to make it 3-2.
