Ireland tasted its first success on the European Wallball Tour as Tyrone's Conor McElduff wins the 2015 Dutch Open.
McElduff & Armagh's Conall McCavitt stayed in Holland all of last week to train in the lead up to this tournament, and the increase in their quality of play as a result was evident. Both men cruised through their groups, winning all three matches to progress to the QF's on Saturday night.
There, Conor defeated Belgium's Tangauy Metayer 15-9, with Conall taking out USA's John Melo 15-12, before Danny Torres (USA) ended McCavitts run at the SF stage in a fantastic battle 21-14. McElduff looked to be cruising against the UK's Dan Grant, leading 9-1 early on, but Grant fought back into the game, with Conor leading only 16-14 before a late surge saw him prevail.
Many expected Torres to win the final given his impressive showings all weekend, but this never materialised as McElduff dominated from the off to seal a much more comfortable than expected 21-2 win.
QF:
- Danny Torres (USA) dft Sebastiona Potiez (Belgium)
- Conal McCavitt (Ireland) dft John Melo (USA)
- Dan Grant (UK) dft Saxa Perrello (Spain)
- Conor McElduff (Ireland) dft Tanguay Metayer (Belgium)
SF:
- Danny Torres (USA) dft Conal McCavitt (Ireland) 21-14
- Conor McElduff (Ireland) dft Dan Grant (UK) 21-16
Final:
- Conor McElduff (Ireland( dft Danny Torres (USA) 21-2