A scaled-down version of the former Northern Ontario Open tournament as part of the PSA (Professional Squash Association) Tour still provided fans of the sport in Sudbury with plenty of highly entertaining matches last week.

Opting to run the Sudbury Invitational Pro-Am, organizers showcased an event that featured six pros and a pair of Canadian juniors. The grouping included Sudbury natives Mike McCue, currently enjoying a career high ranking of 83rd in the world, as well as up and comer Charles de la Riva Jr.

In the end, McCue would face Nich Sachvie (91st) from St Catharines in the final, with the Lockerby Composite graduate holding a 2-0 set lead when Sachvie was forced to retire due to injury.

The third place match would see Juan Vargas (95th) from Columbia sweep past Albert Shoihet of Toronto in three straight sets, with all four players pocketing some prize money (McCue-$1750; Sachvie-$1500; Vargas-$1250; Shoihet-$1000) for their efforts.

The bottom half of the draw would see Scottish BU-19 Junior champion Dominic Wren of Gatineau get the better of Cory McCartney (Toronto), while Thomas King from Regina downed de la Riva in games played at the Sudbury YMCA last weekend.

Both McCue and Sachvie were back on the road early this week, leaving for Ireland and the next stop as they gear up for the Canadian Championships next month.

Meanwhile, de la Riva and his younger brother Robert are off to Toronto this weekend as the Mayfair Club Lakeshore plays host to the 2018 Canadian Junior Championships from April 19th to the 22nd.