THE third ranking event of the 2024-25 NIBSA calendar – the Drumaness Masters – cues off in the Co Down village this weekend.
The event is the first in the newly-announced Triple Crown Series which will carry bonus ranking points.
Twenty-five per cent extra points will be available for the 87-strong field, and the same will apply for the next event – The European Qualifiers after Christmas.
The final event in the series will be the Northern Ireland Championships, which will take place in the spring and will have an extra 50 per cent of points on offer.
Coalisland’s Fergal Quinn is the man in form heading into the event and his recent win at Blackstaff, his first ever in a NIBSA ranking event, has moved him up one place to number four on the ranking list.
Dungannon’s Patrick Wallace still tops the list but his slow start to the season means he is not as far clear as he once was, with Northern Ireland champion Darren Dornan, a semi-finalist at Blackstaff, now up to a career-high number two and closing the gap.
Antrim’s Raymond Fry, winner of the first ranking event at his home club, is number three, but Quinn is breathing down his neck for that position. Brian Milne, Declan Lavery, Ryan McQuillan and Stephen Brady complete the top eight.
