Morgan claims Masters title in World Snooker

Darren MorganHyderabad, Nov 24 : Darren Morgan of Wales regained the Masters title with ease as he outplayed defending champion Dene O'Kane 6-0 at the ONGC-IBSF World Snooker championship.

In a contest that ended close to midnight Monday, the 43-year-old Morgan, winner of the men's title in 1987 at Bangalore when the tournament was last held in India, wore down O'Kane who showed signs of his age (46) especially after losing the first frame that lasted a little more than an hour.

Morgan's safety play and consistent potting proved decisive in a match that did not rise to expected heights and was completed to the accompaniment of a music concert that grew louder by the minute in the adjoining hall.

Barely a handful of spectators were present to witness the moment and perhaps, the lack of atmosphere rubbed off on the players neither of whom produced anything extraordinary.

The results:

MASTERS (Final) - Darren Morgan (Wales) bt Dene O'Kane (New Zealand) 6-0: 77-38, 65-53, 83-36, 68-57, 66-30, 58-14.

Semi-finals: Morgan Simon Zammit (Malta) 5-0: 68 (60)-13, 80-9, 59-33, 49-26, 102 (87)-4. O'Kane (New Zealand) bt Costas Konnaris (Cyprus) 5-1: 59-70, 44-32, 131 (92)-14, 73-12, 69-9, 68-19.(IANS)