Stars of snooker take city into 40 million homes across globe

By Dave OÕConnellGalway went green in more ways than one for St PatrickÕs weekend as the worldÕs top snooker stars took to the baize in the unusual surrounds of NUIGÕs Bailey Allen Hall, battling it out for the Û320,000 up for grabs in the Betfair Players Tour Championship Grand Finals.In the end Stephen Lee became the first man to defeat AustraliaÕs Neil Robertson in a live televised final Ð but the real winner was Galway which was universally praised by the organisers and broadcasters who took this event into 40 million homes across Asia, Europe and the US.ÒWe are absolutely thrilled with the success of the event; the people from Eurosport, for example, have just been singing GalwayÕs praises all week on air. You couldnÕt buy that sort of publicity for the city,Ó said event organiser Shay McNelis after Sunday nightÕs final.ÒThe players loved the atmosphere and many of those who were already out of the event stayed around to enjoy St PatrickÕs Day Ð and they certainly got a flavour of the real Ireland,Ó said his brother and co-promoter, Cllr Niall McNelis.The 650-capacity venue was packed for Sunday nightÕs decider, which saw Stephen Lee win his first ranking event for six years, beating Neil Robertson 4-0, after a dramatic last frame which had seen the Aussie come back to tie on the black ball; that forced a re-spot which Lee eventually won to land the £70,000 top prize and his first ranking victory since the 2006 Welsh Open."I didn't let Neil get going, and in these short matches if you don't settle in the first couple of frames then you can lose 4-0. It's a cracking feeling; it makes all the hard work and travelling worthwhile,Ó said Lee.For more, read this week's Connacht Sentinel.