The PokerStars IOM Invitation took place on Friday evening at South Ramsey Bowling Club immediately after the conclusion of the IOM bowls festival.

It was a strong field taking part with every player in the field having played county bowls. The format was 31 up with 5 on the card which is a format that hasn’t been played for a number of years on the Island, but is a popular format across the water.

Robby Fitzpatrick (Merseyside) was the first jack on taking on Billy Speed (Lancashire), with Speed taking control of the game early on without ever going behind in the game. Speed won to a comfortable 31-20 score.

Local player Jordan Cain made his first appearance in the competition, with Cain only one point behind Carl Fielding (Warwick and Worcester) at 20-21. Fielding took control from there to see the game out with a 31-22 victory.

Derbyshire man Conor Chamberlain took on five time Manx Champion Colin Kelly, with Kelly’s knowledge of the green over the years proving enough to take a 31-21 win.

The final game in the top half of the draw had top Merseyside player Matt Gilmore taking on North Lancs & Fylde man Dave Jackson with Gilmore taking the biggest win of the round with a 31-19 victory.

In the bottom half of the draw Jon Palmer (Shropshire) took on James Wilcox (Yorkshire) with Wilcox proving too strong for Palmer taking a 31-23 win.

Nidge Hughes (Merseyside) took on one of the top players on the bowls circuit Callum Wraight (Shropshire) with Hughes hanging on to the tail of Wraight throughout the game and lying two bowls on top of the jack at 27-29, however Wraight had one of his trademark strikes taking off both of Hughes’ bowls with the jack staying on the green to leave himself one. Wraight secured another single on the next end to win 31-27 with Wraight’s striking ability being the difference.

Richie Goddard (Shropshire) and Kevan Shaw (Lancashire) was a good encounter with several tight ends and measures with Shaw getting over the line 31-26.

The last game in the bottom half of the draw had Paul Bailey (South Yorkshire) taking on Merseyside man Phil Lee with the game being close throughout with Lee going 30-27 up before Bailey hit back with two singles and a two to edge it 31-30 to book his place in the quarter finals.

The first game of the quarter finals had Speed up against Fielding with Speed taking an assured 31-23 win to book his spot in the semi finals.

Colin Kelly had his challenge ended by Gilmore who had a comfortable 31-17 win.

In the third quarter final Wilcox took on Wraight with the game living up to expectations. It was close throughout with the score tied at 27 and then 29 with Wraight scoring a double to secure a hard fought 31-29 victory.

In the last quarter final game Bailey was always ahead against Shaw taking a 31-19 win.

In the first semi final Speed took on 2015 winner Gilmore with Speed using all his experience to book his spot in the final with a 31-28 win with Gilmore pushing hard to get through.

In the second semi final Wraight took on Bailey, with both players being big hitters their striking didn’t disappoint with a number of hits throughout the game with Wraight taking a 31-24 win over Bailey.

In the final Wraight was quickest out of the blocks taking a 12-6 lead, then extending this even further to 25-10 on his trademark short marks to the middle of the green. Wraight held off Speed to take a 31-15 win to secure the title and a cheque for £1,200. Speed will no doubt have been cheered up by his cheque for £600, with the losing semi finalists each receiving £250, and the losing quarter finalists taking home £125.

At the conclusion of play the presentation was made by event organiser Glynn Hargraves, who thanked the sponsor PokerStars for their continued support, the players for what made for an entertaining evening of bowls, the spectators for turning up to support, all the club members who had helped in any way to prepare for the competition ahead of the day and on the night. Special thanks were also passed to the South Ramsey Ladies who once again catered for the event.

The traditional pre festival open the Ballacashtal Cup was held at Castletown on Sunday with an entry of 86 the competition had an early start to get through the games.

Rather unusually the quarter finals featured just one visiting bowler Neil Ridgen (New Longton) in a competition that has been heavily dominated by visiting bowlers over the years. Ridgen went out to Onchan man Phil Kerruish 20-21 after coming back from 14-19 down before losing out. In the second quarter final another Onchan player Matthew Quirk put an end to the challenge of Stevie Kelly (Peel) 21-16. In the third quarter final John Kennish (South Ramsey) had a comfortable 21-13 win over Neil Withers (Marown). In the last quarter final it was an all Marown clash with Colin Kelly having enough in the tank to beat team mate Paul Dunn 21-15.

In the first semi final Quirk took on team mate Kerruish, who despite being 14-19 down came back to 19-20 and had a good lead to which Kerruish played an even better bowl to count. Quirk struck and missed which confirmed Kerruish’s spot in the final. In the other semi final Kennish took on Kelly in a game that rarely disappoints for spectators. Kelly held a 13-10 lead, before Kennish kicked into gear to take take seven of the next eight ends to secure a 21-14 win.

In the final Kennish scored a two on the first end to take an 8-6 lead before Kerruish replied to take the next three ends to go 11-8 ahead, with Kennish responding with a two to sit one point behind Kerruish at 10-11. From here Kerruish used all his know how of the green picking a difficult mark to take six of the next seven ends to go 19-11 up and within touching distance of the trophy. Kennish never one to give up got back in with a single and led a fair lead which Kerruish beat. This forced Kennish into reaching up however he took his own bowl out allowing Kerruish the opportunity to make an easy two which secured a 21-12 win and with it a first Ballacashtal Cup win on the same green that he won the Manx Championship on in 1986.

At the conclusion of play the presentation was made by Ron Williams who thanked Dennis Oates and Kath Kinley for their work in running the competition on the day and over a number of years, along with all the club members who helped in any way. Thanks were also given to the green keeper for preparing the green and the sponsor Friends Provident International. Adam Drewett was then introduced to present the prizes on behalf of the sponsor.

The Jim Kernan was held at South Ramsey on Saturday with the green running well despite the heavy rain overnight and early morning. There was an entry of 44 taking part.

Visiting bowler Paul Bailey lost out at the quarter final stage to home greener David Bradford with Bailey 12-10 up before Bradford ran out to win 21-13. Bailey will no doubt have found the competition useful practice ahead of the PokerStars Invitation next Friday. Dido Kelly had his hopes of a first Jim Kernan win ended by Marown man Paul Dunn who had a comfortable 21-14 win. Reversing the fortunes for Marown was James Teare who performed well to see off Marown’s Neil Withers with a 21-18 win. Another visiting bowler featuring in the quarter finals was Roger Lunn who ended the run of South Ramsey D team captain James Moore thanks to a 21-11 win.

In the first semi final it was Bradford against Dunn with the latter taking a 13-11 lead before Bradford kicked into gear to take four consecutive two’s, then two singles to book his place in the final with a 21-13 victory.

In the other semi final between Teare and Lunn it was close throughout with the score going level at 17, 18, 19 and 20 with Lunn just holding on to win 21-20 to secure his place in the final.

In the final neither player was able to get a run with the jack early on in the game with the score tied at 7, 8, 9 and 10 before Bradford ruthlessly used his knowledge and experience to secure his third Jim Kernan win courtesy of three consecutive two’s, a single and two further two’s to run out with a 21-10 win for a deserved victory.

The presentation was made by South Ramsey Chairman Steve Moore, who thanked George Brew for his generous sponsorship, those who ran the competition, prepared the green, and anyone else who helped. Special thanks were also given to the Ladies who had put on a variety of hot and cold refreshments throughout the day.

Rayner Shield

In a repeat of last year’s semi-final South Ramsey A took on Onchan A at Onchan Park in what was expected to be a close match it didn’t disappoint. With heavy rain the green was constantly getting heavier. The home team adjusted to the conditions quicker with Jordan Cain winning 21-7 over Alan Moore, whilst Kevin Quirk turned on the style to see off Dido Kelly 21-9. Tony Dugdale replied for the visitors with a 21-11 win over Mike Thomas. It is worth mentioning that the home team must have been grateful for the weather as this led to Peter Slinger being available to play with the boat not sailing, Slinger made the most of this defeating Peter Collister 21-8. At the half way stage Onchan held a 3-1 lead and led by 29 chalks (74-45). As expected South Ramsey hit back in the second half with David Bradford clawing back 17 chalks with a 21-4 win over Phil Kerruish. Glynn Hargraves was next off winning 21-11 over Steve Crampton, after being 20-5 up and lying two for game Crampton bowled in to save game and then earned a six extra points which turned out to be crucial. This levelled the match on games at 3-3 and gave Onchan a lead of just two chalks (89-87). Sealing the win for Onchan was Matthew Quirk who beat Stefan Kelly 21-9. John Kennish was last game off beating Rob Monk 21-13 to level the match on games 4-4, however this left the chalks 123-117 in favour of Onchan which was enough to book their spot in the final. All of the Onchan winners won their games to single figures, which was the difference on the night.

Conditions were similar in the south of the Island with Port St Mary A hosting Marown A in the other semi-final. Neil Withers got the visitors off to a good start with a 21-4 win over Thomas Keggen, backed up by John Gelling who beat Rob Cooil 21-16. Port St Mary replied with Paul Skelly winning 21-16 over Dean Kipling, whilst captain Trevor Quayle beat Matthew Keggen 21-13. The match was finely balanced at the half way stage 2-2 on games with Marown leading by nine chalks (62-71). Colin Kelly extended the lead with a 21-7 win over Nathan Hamilton, with Wayne Roberts and Dan McCabe both holding their nerve to beat Paul Kelly and Phil Kelly 21-20 respectively. Visiting captain Paul Dunn knew a win to any score would do due to the advantage on chalks and wasted no time in securing the victory with a 21-11 win over Ewan Cooil. The match ended 4-4 on games with the visitors winning by 29 chalks this was enough to book their spot in the final.

The final of the Rayner Shield between Onchan A and Marown A is to be held on Friday 13th July with the venue to be confirmed.

Rayner Plate

In another thriller Noble’s A (+40) took on Peel A (+10) at Noble’s Park. Noble’s knew home advantage could be crucial along with a 30 point start. Gary Smith continued his fine form for the season with a 21-7 win, backed up by Tommy McMeiken who beat Reginald Temporaza 21-6. Glenn Boland was 20-12 up on Frank Watson, however Watson then took nine consecutive chalks to run out 21-20. Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly beat Bod Boland 21-16 to put the visitors just ahead 94-89 to leave the match finely poised at the half way stage. Tommy Collister beat Tom Kelly 21-16 to level the match on chalks. Kevin Firth handled the conditions well to beat Stevie Kelly 21-19, to give the home team a two point lead with two games left on the green with David Quayle 20-20 against Jerome Surridge. Surridge held his nerve to win 21-20 to reduce the deficit to just one chalk (151-150). David Pease was 19-19 with David Proctor, Pease managed to secure the win 21-19 to record a memorable win by just three chalks (172-169) for the home team to book their place in the final.

In the other semi-final South Ramsey D (+76) hosted Finch Hill B (+80) the visitors had their work cut out to win away to the team sitting nine points ahead of them in the table. 10 year old Ryan Hargraves was first off the green securing his second win of the week with a fine 21-17 win over Eric Stanley to level the match on chalks. Ian Moore beat Kevin Anderson 21-18, backed up by Martin Caley beating new comer Paddy Murphy 21-11. Richard Davies then beat Brian Murphy to the same score to give the home team a lead of 23 chalks at the half way point (160-137). Replying for Finch Hill Kevin Stannard beat Jay Moore 21-16, whilst Sam Stannard beat Matthew Corkill 21-7 to cut the deficit to just four chalks (183-179). Franz Ten Donkelaar eased the home team’s nerves with a 21-9 win over Frank Christian, whilst captain James Moore beat visiting captain Pat Maher 21-14. South Ramsey won the match by 23 chalks (225-202) whilst also winning 6-2 on games to ensure they take part in their first ever final.

The final of the Rayner Plate between Noble’s A (+40) and South Ramsey D (+76) is to be held on Friday 20th July with the venue to be confirmed.