Gunnell in early exit
Birthday boy Adrian Gunnell saw his Northern Ireland Trophy snooker dreams ended when he was edged out in a final frame decider by Welshman Dominic Dale.
Birthday boy Adrian Gunnell saw his Northern Ireland Trophy snooker dreams ended when he was edged out in a final frame decider by Welshman Dominic Dale.
The Telford qualifier went down 5-4 on his 36th birthday in the first round of the opening ranking event of the season.
Gunnell twice trailed in the early stages - but fought back to level at 2-2 at the interval, including a break of 96.
Dale went ahead again at 3-2, and crucially landed the sixth after Gunnell fought back from a 50-point deficit - only to jaw a tricky final black.
Gunnell fought back to take the next two but was always trailing in the decider, and his hopes ended when he missed a difficult green.
"I wasn't at my best but didn't get reward for playing the right shots," said Gunnell.
"At 4-2 down I decided to have a bit of fun and throw my arm at everything but I didn't really get a chance in the last frame.
"It was disappointing but you have to take the positives and I wasn't at my best and I should have beaten a top player."