Snooker goes to - LATVIA!

Perhaps as the season drew to a close last year I was content to look back on my participation in 3 European events with fondness and happy memories, not expecting to have the opportunity again. Thankfully I have one final attempt at the Masters event, and will be participating in the 2012 EBSA European Championships, held this year in Latvia. You can follow my Latvia Snooker blog here, which like before will be updated with all the goings on, craic and maybe some snooker also!

McIntyre pays his bets - Confirmed

Well done Daniel Wells (Wales) on winning the 2011 European Snooker Championships. Daniel, who will be turning professional in the forthcoming season played extremely well, but proved to be too strong for his opponent Vincent Muldoon (Ireland) on the day. Unlucky Vinnie, you had a great championship.

I took a fiver of McIntyre - ha ha ha ha ha......

A Winning Bet
Just a little 'aside' to the snooker. During our enjoyable day on Vitosha Boulevard yesterday, John and I both discussed the merits of the Masters event, now that 'hot favourite' Darren Morgan was put out. Who was going to win the prestigious event now we wondered, and given that we had differing opinions,  we decided on a small 5 BGN wager, which wasn't going to break the bank, just for fun. John was off the opinion that 2008 winner Alan Trigg would be too tough an opponent.

For me, I stuck with my original pick Steve Judd (see my earlier postings for confirmation !!) and it was the Englishman who came good in the end, winning 6-4 in a tight match. The 5 BGN Lev was duly handed over this evening, Mr McIntyre pays his bets, let it be said :)

Thursday & Friday - Our time in Sofia is ending

A nice leisurely stroll to the Lions Bridge with my friend Janne from Finland where we stopped for a coffee at the nearby Papaya coffee house. Janne told be a lot about his country, and it sounds like an ideal destination for future Championships. I know his compatriot Jyri is a big fan of the idea, and is bending a few ears to the idea at this event. 

Later that evening we had a very enjoyable hour or two on Vituska Boulevard with the legend that is John McIntyre. He is one of the best 'travel companions' you could wish for and I for one hope this isnt his last trip away. Having said that if we are successful in hosting he 2012 European Championship in Northern Ireland, he will probably have one of the shortest trips imaginable. We spent the evening having a quiet drink and watch the pedestrians stroll up and down the Boulevard. The strangest thing we saw was an elderly man bedecked in flashing strobe lights from head to foot...John thought he had just witnessed a UFO landing!

Back to the hotel and I was summoned by Janie to her 'office' where she presented me with her t-shirt I had been admiring earlier and another as a gift. I won't be looking at it until I get home, I like surprises. A very nice touch from a lovely lady (even if she did give us a hard time for not attending the exhibition!)

A Special Request for Peter O'Brien

The evening wouldn't have been complete without a bit of 'ribbing' towards the experienced Irish referee Peter O'Brien. During the Mens Semi Final in which he was officiating he had a momentary lack of concentration, respoting the blue when McDonnell was clearing up the colours...his reaction once he realised was classic.....'oh fxxx' he says putting his hand up to his head before removing the blue again. He took it in good grace, an unusual lapse from a great guy. Don't think he appreciated my rendition of Phil Collins number which goes like this... 'When Im felling blue, all I have to do, is stop and think of you'....classic end to the night.

Friday Afternoon
I am writing this from the city centre, having had a quiet stroll this morning. Each day I decide to walk to Lavov Most (Lions Bridge) and get a bottle of water and maybe a slice of pizza. Once there I will decide if I can walk a little further, I continued on to the picturesqe Banski Square, sat down with my Ipod listening to Edel - 21 and watched the city go about its day to day business. As some stage in my excursion I finished up at the imposing NDK or National Palace of Culture (below).

National Palace of Culture, Sofia

Then I went up to Vituska boulevard again (I do love this pedestrianised Area of Sofia with its shops and outside eateries) before taking a detour and sitting down to write this update. Where I am I don't know and I'm not overly concerned. I have just enjoyed a nice chicken meal, washed down with a Latte, sitting in the shade of the Catcus Restuarant and Bar, there are affordable taxis applenty, so long as I remember the name of the hotel we are staying. Speaking of which, our closing ceremony is tonight, our last night in beautiful Sofia.

The Masters - Its a knockout

For me my tournament ended with a 3-0 defeat to Allan Norvack from Denmark in the final 32. He played a very strong game and I was 2-0 down before I knew what was happening and despite trying hard in the third just couldn't get over the line. 
It would have been nice to have made a match of it, however when its not your day no amount of sweat and tears is going to get points on the board.

Other matches to note today:
Darren Morgan beat Stephen Merrigan 4-0 for a place in the quarter final. Stephen from Ireland was a semi-finalist in 2008 and I had him tipped to go one step further this year. Alas coming up against a player who made a 142 clearance earlier in the week was always going to be tough. I am continually surprised that the Welsh player continues to compete at this level when his game is undoubtably strong enough to compete in the main event. That is a question only he can answer. Jyri Virtenan from Finland was another one of my tips to progress but he lost out to Kurt Desplenter 4 frames to 3.

Given there was no snooker for me today, I spent the day doing some unplanned sightseeing (as suggested by Janie earlier in the week).
My intention was to walk to Lavov Most (Lions Bridge) for a slice of pizza and a bottle of water, then maybe chill at the pool. This didn't really go to plan and before I knew it I was having a meal and a glass of wine at Victoria Restaurant (Tsar Osvoboditel Blvd) having spent an hour or two viewing the sights nearby like the impressive Alexander Nevsky Memorial Church (right) and the nearby Russian Church of St Nicolas (below).

Day 2 - Sports Minister breaks off

We had a VIP at the opening ceremoney today, Bulgaria's very own Sports Minister Svilen Neykov who 'broke off' to officailly anounce the start of this years European Snooker Championships.

Under no pressure whatsoever from the assembled press, in case your wondering no, he didn't miscue, although the cue ball did fail to reach the baulk cushion. It was a great start to the event though and a credit to the organising committee for securing such a high profile politician to officially open the tournament.

Svilen Neykov Bulgarian Minister of Physical Education and Sports tells the waiting press about the growth of snooker in Bulgaria, and outlines what  exactly went wrong with that break off.

My colleague John McIntyre has had a stressful days travel today, he couldn't make the trip yesterday as the flight was full, and instead had to travel on his own but thankfully made it ahead of his match with Darren Morgan of Wales. John lost 3-0 but it was a tough ask given just 30 mins to get prepared.

My tournament started at 5pm with a tough match against the gritty Marcel Bera from Romania. Marcel pots a lovely long ball and in truth I didn't give him enough respect, taking on too many 50-50 chances. He punished me like any good snooker player should. My 2-0 lead evaporated and he levelled at 2-2 before we were escorted off the table to make way for another match. The break was just what I needed, winning the decider comfortably.

John and I finished the evening with a glass or two of wine and some 'spag bol' before calling it a night. Another day over, just glad to get a win under my belt.

Subway time

Was just browsing a local book store in the lovely Derry (as you do) during my lunch break looking for a clarinet book for my lovely daughter jo jo aka bubbles, and stumbled across a nifty little Thomas Cook travel guide. Together with the usual hot spots and must visit attractions, snuggled inside is a map of the local subway...I have never been so happy, and yes, I am easily pleased.

For the uninitiated, when I don't have a match I will locate the nearest tram or railway station and climb aboard, where I end up nobody knows. This is by far one of the main attractions of competing in these fantastic EBSA tournaments, second only to the people and the craic. Whoever decides on the tournament location I will find out, I owe you a very large drink (or two).

Sofia - whats going on?

I finally received notification from NIBSA Secretary yesterday that my nomination has been sent through to EBSA ahead of this years European Championships in June. Thanks Brian. Once confirmed, I quickly had a peek at www.skyscanner.net to check out flights and prices. Once completed, it was down to a bit of 'research' on Sofia, and Bulgaria ahead of the trip.

Church of St Nedelya & Goddess Protector

This gets quite a mention in most of the sites I have looked at, Sveta Nedelya (not pictured) is apparently a typical example of neo-Byzantine architecture. There has been a church on site since medieval times, although the present building dates from the mid-19th century. In 1925, the church was largely destroyed when Communist rebels exploded a bomb during a funeral service, attended by Tsar Boris III and his cabinet ministers, killing 123 people. Nice.

The square, Ploshtad Sveta Nedelya, used to be named after Lenin and a statue of the Communist leader once stood here. It has since been replaced by a 24m (79ft) bronze statue of the goddess protector of the city, Sofia (above), holding the symbols of wisdom and fame, a much better view than Lenin I think.

First impressions of Sofia are very good. Will have to get my Daughter Joanne and her friend Morgan to do a little bit more research for me, its going to be an awesome trip, so long as I remember to bring my Snooker Cue, it is a tournament after all!