His success follows picking up the Jersey Pétanque Association trophy in 2007 and 2009.
Said Pinel: ‘The treble has been a long time coming, but today really made the wait worthwhile.’
He beat Mark Nicol 13-9 in the final, a match that swung one way, then the other, with the eventual runner-up being 9-6 up at one stage.
Said Nicol: ‘I’m really pleased for Matt. He needed a boost before we go to Canada to play in the World Triples championships.’ The pair along, with Matt Buesnel, will make the trip in September.
The final was the first defeat Nicol suffered in the day’s long competition, as one of only three players who came through the preliminary round unscathed, along with Brian Harris and Geoffroy Buffetrille. The other group winners were Neil Selby and Andrew Bellamy-Burt. Pinel, on the other hand, lost his first game of the day and only reached the quarter-finals as the best-runner up in the group stage.
There was no play-off for third place so medals were awarded to both Andrew Bellamy-Burt (beaten 13-5 by Nicol in the first semi-final) and Brian Harris (who lost a close match to the eventual winner, 13-11).
Only one woman reached the quarter-finals, Christine Eccles, who then lost out 13-3 to Nicol, although Joy Hart and Wendy Ritzema only just failed to qualify.
Pinel had another tough match in the quarter-final, beating the man he’d lost to in the opening round, Geoffroy Buffetrille, 13-12. In the other quarter-finals, Andrew Bellamy-Burt saw off Neil Selby 13-3 and Brian Harris beat Alan Oliveira 13-8.
