McAuley stars in Magherafelt derby

The Gerry McAuley-Sean Doyle head-to-head resulted in a resounding 3-0 victory for McAuley, a bit harsh on Doyle as he missed the final black in frame two that would surely have changed the match.

Paul Currie got off to the flier he wanted as breaks of 53 and 82 set him on his way to a 3-0 victory against John Donaghy, who do little to thwart the Currie onslaught but did show signs of better to come.

Defending champion Brian Milne overcame an early scare to defeat Martin O’Hagan 3-0; John Halferty, tipped as a dark horse, compiled a 55 break in a comfortable 3-0 victory over Kieran Cassidy; Mickey Quinn lost his opener to Enda O’Hagan’s 36 clearance but Quinn bounced back to secure the next three; and Conor Morgan whitewashed Joe Loughran with the minimum of fuss.