2026 Metro Pool League 1PT Tournament Won By Mit Patel Over Troy Richards
- Cue Sports Nova Scotia
- Feb 7
- 3 min read
By Craig Teal
February 7, 2026.
The 2026 edition of the Metro Pool League 1-Point Tournament was held February 7th at Doolys Burnside. The field cracked the hundred mark at 102 players taking part.
The field was wide open in terms of who were the favorites to win. 2022 winner Dennis Larkin was on hand, as well as last year's runner-up Harry O'Donnell, and perennial contender Dan Deal.
The first two rounds of the A-side began as a race to 3. But it became apparent the A-side matches had to be shortened from that point forward to match the B-side race to 2, in order to get the event completed by a reasonable hour. Even with shortened races, a winner was not determined until 2 am.
Short races also lead to upsets. Dan Deal was taken down before the money rounds at the hands of Kevin Shannon and Mike Laffin. Larkin made it to 13th-16th place, having lost to Brian Ash and eventually bowing out to Mit Patel.
The final 6 players boiled down to Troy Richards (Portland C) and Dan Watters (Rockingham A) in the A-side final, with O'Donnell (Portland C), Patel (Kempt B), John MacTavish (Bedford A), and Aiden MacLeod (Kempt B) still alive on the B-Side.
Richards got past Watters to claim a spot in the final. O'Donnell bested MacTavish, who has had a noticeable improvement in the league this season. Meanwhile, Patel survived a matchup of teammates with MacLeod. Patel, who was looking very focused, next relegated O'Donnell to 4th place.
Watters and Patel then started their B-Side match by trading games, each making table clearances of their own, punctuated by statement long pots on their 8-Ball. However, Watters would be the one to succumb, suffering a critical scratch in the deciding game, but having accomplished a well earned 3rd place finish.
Richards, as the last undefeated player, had to be beaten two sets in the final, if Patel wanted to earn the title. Richards confidently took the first game of the first set. Patel nearly scratched in the second game, which likely would have handed the win to Richards, given where the balls laid. The cue ball stalled on the lip of the pocket, offering reprieve to Patel, who took full advantage, gaining that game and the next to force a final set.
Patel opened the deciding match with a clearance to take a 1-0 lead. Richards fought back to steal game two, knotting the score. In game three, the final 8-ball dropped in favor of Mit Patel, the 2026 MPL 1-Point Champion, in what was a very entertaining finale.
Thank you to Brian McNamara of Brian's Cuesport Streams for enduring the long day to make the stream available to those following the action remotely.
A big thank you to the staff of Burnside Dooly's for hosting the event. Your hospitality and service was greatly appreciated by all.
Thank you as always to MPL president Dale Brimicombe for organizing another successful league event, well supported by Paul Gunn, Glenn Nickerson, and Keith Tyler.
And thank you to all the MPL members who came to play. Your keenness, sportsmanship, and comradery is what makes these annual events something to look forward to.
The full tournament chart and results can be found at this link, as well as information on prior years of the MPL 1-Point tournament:
The stream recordings of the event can be found on youtube at Brian's Cuesport Streams (please like and subscribe):
Part 1:
Part 2:
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