THE Scottish Open Pool Championships saw a star-studded entry from all over the UK descend on Aberdeen at the weekend, with half a dozen players from the Borders competing.
The early rounds saw Stan Thomson and Daniel Brown – in his first appearance on the national stage – both fall to good opponents, while Ian McCombe lasted longer before crashing to Scottish Under-21 captain Mark Fleming.
Local hopes now hung on international duo Scott Bowers and Craig Reid – and they didn’t disappoint. Both reached the last 16 in fine fashion, Bowers taking out two fellow Scottish team members before being edged out in a thriller by ex-Aberdeen pro Neil Simpson, while Reid shocked two top Scottish stalwarts in convincing style, playing some tremendous shots along the way and also going down in a tense final-frame shoot-out to experienced international Ian Soutar.
Thomson told TheSouthern: “Although a few us are disappointed at falling early, the standard was out of this world.
“Craig was pure class and finally put together some impressive match-play form, while Scott still amazes everyone and you write him off at your peril.”
Local players are now looking ahead to June when Galashiels plays host to the Scottish Masters.