Over the coming weeks we will begin to list the top 10 RILSA players of all time. As an acknowledgement to those who have not made it to the top 10, it’s important to recognise other players who have contributed to this initiative and list players from 11th to 16th place.
11th spot goes to our current President Margaret Browne from Meath, who has been involved with RILSA over 40 years and continues to play her part in the organisation as a player on the tour.
Margaret has had much success over the years having reached the final of the National Championship on two occasions and 4 National Ranking wins along with numerous runner up spots. Since 2014, Margaret has won 1 Gold, 3 Silver and 13 Bronze medals. Her commitment to RILSA and female cue sports is much appreciated by the players and hold her in high esteem. Margaret has 13 International Caps for Ireland and with Paula Darby in 1996 took the Home International Title in Prestatyn Wales beating the Isle of Man in the final 5-1.
12th on our list is Paula Darby Dublin (Nagal Kane) Paula played with RILSA back in the late 80’s and throughout the 1990’s with great success. Unfortunately didn’t win a National Championship title but certainly had great success on the National Rankings, having reached 14 finals with 4 wins under her belt. She was ranked number 1 on 3 occasions.
Paula holds 11 International Caps for Ireland and along with Margaret Browne won the Home Internationals Team Title against the Isle of Man in Prestatyn Wales in 1996. She deserves her place among the top 16 players listed.
13th place goes to Emirjeta Doda from Dublin. Emirjeta has dominated our Junior tour since joining RILSA in 2014. She has won 4 National U21 Titles and has been in all 6 finals, some achievement for this young player. Since joining the organisation, she has picked up a total of 24 medals, 6 Gold, 3 Silver and 15 Bronze.
On the National Amateur rankings, she once held number 3 back in 2015 and a top 8 on two other occasions, currently at number 12 on the rankings. Emirjeta has 5 International Caps. She has won 1 National Intermediate Ranking event and is the current Irish International Open 6 Red Champion.
14th place on our list is Louise Jordan from Meath who took the Inaugural National 10 Red Championship title in 2019. Louise returned to snooker after a number of years away with instant success winning two National Ranking events along with the 10 Red and reached two other finals in the last two seasons with RILSA.
Louise has a total of 10 medals, 3 Gold, 3 Silver and 4 Bronze which is a great result for her. She has 2 International Caps for Ireland. Louise was in the top 4 ranked players in Ireland on 3 occasions and is currently 9th on the National Rankings.
15th place goes to Michelle French from Kildare who has made great progress since joining RILSA just over 3 years ago. Michelle won the National 6 Red Championship title in 2018 and runner up in a National Ranking event in the same year.
Michelle has been successful in the International Irish Open Snooker Championship Intermediate events over the past two years, winning in 2017 and retaining her title in 2018, a great result indeed. On the National Rankings, she improved each season moving from 66th in 2017 to a top 16 place at 14th in 2018 and 9th in 2019, this season she broke into the top 8 at 7th spot.
Michelle has a total of 7 medals, 2 Gold, 2 Silver and 3 Bronze, she also has 3 International Caps for Ireland.
16th on the list is Megan Randle from Wicklow. Megan won her first National Intermediate championship title in 2018 when she defeated her mam, Suzanne 2-1 in the final. The following year she took the U21 National Title against the current holder Emirjeta Doda.
Megan is currently one of our top Intermediate players on the tour and has 1 ranking event win and 1 runner up place over the past two seasons. She has picked up a total of 9 medals since joining RILSA with 3 Gold, 3 Silver and 3 Bronze to her name and two National titles in her short time with the organisation, is certainly one to watch. Megan is just ahead of twin sister Carrie on this list, we will see more good cue sports from them in the future.
On the National Rankings. Megan held 14th place in 2019 and is capable of much higher. Megan has 1 International Cap for Ireland.
