Shaun Sharkey, Dungloe, became the first player to retain the title of County Champion this weekend with a hard fought victory in the final over Donegal Town’s Shane Faulkner.
The win meant that Sharkey lifted his third title in four years.
Sharkey, who recently reached the semi-finals of the European Championships, stormed through the field to reach the final.
He defeated his Owenies Bar team-mate and good friend, Lee Murrin, 6-3 in the first round, and then took comfortable victories over Anthony Anderson (6-1), David Moore (6-0) and Michael McLaughlin (7-1).
At that stage, few would’ve wagered against the Irish international but Faulkner – who also had a very impressive run to the final – had other ideas.
The Donegal Town player made all the early running in the final and was extremely unlucky not to go 3-0 up.
Sharkey finally established parity in the match to level it at five frames apiece and then took some nerveless finishes to take an historic 8-5 victory over his hugely talented opponent.
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