Anton Kazakov defeated Riley Powell 5-3 to win the 2026 European Under-21 Championship title and earn a two-year World Snooker Tour (WST) tour card.
The Ukrainian cueist will compete among the professional ranks for the second time after winning through a field of 100 players to secure the title in Gandia, Spain.
Organised by the European Billiards & Snooker Association (EBSA), the event began with a group phase and Kazakov topped his group courtesy of wins over Ryan Dornan, Lennart Tomei and Matthias Weening.
Kazakov, who previously competed on the WST from 2022 to 2024, then defeated Lorcain O’Curraoin (4-0), Jack Borwick (4-2) and former European Under-16 champion Vladislav Gradinari (4-0) to reach the quarter-finals.
Reigning Hungarian national champion Erik Nagy awaited him and proved to be Kazakov’s toughest test so far as Nagy won consecutive frames to move 3-2 ahead and one away from victory.
The Ukrainian held his nerve, however, taking the next two frames to win through in a decider before defeating Poland’s Sebastian Milewski 4-1 to reach the title match.
There he faced Powell, from Wales, after the 17-year-old had last overcome Scotland’s Ayaan Iqbal 4-1 to move within one victory of a place on the WST.
Powell started in blistering fashion, hitting breaks of 88 and 68 to move 2-0 ahead in a race to five.
A further half century was scored by the Welshman in frame three, but Kazakov managed to take it with a 56 contribution of his own and he then took the next to restore parity.
The scores remained level after six frames before the Ukrainian pulled away with the help of a 61 break to take the last two frames of the final and secure the prestigious title.
Poland’s Michal Szubarczyk beat Vladislav Gradinari 4-0 to successfully defend the European Under-18 Championship title.
The 15-year-old, who won both the Under-16 and Under-18 titles 12 months ago, won through a field of 96 cueists to win the event for the second time.
He began with a clean sweep of 3-0 group stage wins over Will Taylor, Joel Williams and Maxim Balerca before downing Denny Booke (3-1), Daniel Boyes (3-1) and Iustin Cripei (4-2) to reach the semi-finals.
Ukraine’s Matvei Lagodzinschii awaited Szubarczyk at this stage but the 15-year-old proved to be no match for the defending champion as he hit breaks of 56, 44 and 46 to set up a final meeting with former European Under-16 champion Gradinari.
An impressive run for Gradinari had seen him last overcome Oliwier Nizialek 4-2 in the semi-finals, but it was Szubarczyk’s week once more as he earned a whitewash final victory to successfully defend the title.
Krzysztof Czapnik beat Tadija Matijasevic 4-2 to win the European Under-16 Championship title for the first time.
The 15-year-old from Poland came out victorious among a field of 78 players to earn the first of two European titles for his nation at the event this year so far.
After topping his five-player group with the loss of just a single frame, Czapnik earned consecutive whitewash wins in the knockout stages against Artem Tseluiko and Darragh Gallagher.
Czapnik dropped his first frame of the competition in the quarter-finals, but a top break of 73 saw him defeat Hungary’s Nicolas Le Clercq 4-1 before a victory by the same scoreline against Matvei Lagodzinschii saw the Polish player reach the title match.
Serbia’s Matijasevic was his opponent after he had beaten Poland’s Hubert Micherdzinski 4-0 to reach the final stage.
Breaks of 87 and 40 saw Czapnik race into a 3-0 lead, one away from glory, before Matijasevic rallied by taking the next two to reduce the deficit to just a single frame.
Czapnik showed composure under pressure, however, to get over the line in frame six and secure European glory in Spain.
The main event of the 2026 EBSA European Championships concludes on Saturday 14 March with the winner earning a two-year WST tour card. Follow the event via EBSA.TV
The post Kazakov Regains Professional Status with European Under-21 Glory appeared first on WPBSA.
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The Ukrainian cueist will compete among the professional ranks for the second time after winning through a field of 100 players to secure the title in Gandia, Spain.
Organised by the European Billiards & Snooker Association (EBSA), the event began with a group phase and Kazakov topped his group courtesy of wins over Ryan Dornan, Lennart Tomei and Matthias Weening.
Kazakov, who previously competed on the WST from 2022 to 2024, then defeated Lorcain O’Curraoin (4-0), Jack Borwick (4-2) and former European Under-16 champion Vladislav Gradinari (4-0) to reach the quarter-finals.
Reigning Hungarian national champion Erik Nagy awaited him and proved to be Kazakov’s toughest test so far as Nagy won consecutive frames to move 3-2 ahead and one away from victory.
The Ukrainian held his nerve, however, taking the next two frames to win through in a decider before defeating Poland’s Sebastian Milewski 4-1 to reach the title match.
There he faced Powell, from Wales, after the 17-year-old had last overcome Scotland’s Ayaan Iqbal 4-1 to move within one victory of a place on the WST.
Powell started in blistering fashion, hitting breaks of 88 and 68 to move 2-0 ahead in a race to five.
A further half century was scored by the Welshman in frame three, but Kazakov managed to take it with a 56 contribution of his own and he then took the next to restore parity.
The scores remained level after six frames before the Ukrainian pulled away with the help of a 61 break to take the last two frames of the final and secure the prestigious title.
SZUBARCZYK RETAINS UNDER-18 TITLE
Poland’s Michal Szubarczyk beat Vladislav Gradinari 4-0 to successfully defend the European Under-18 Championship title.
The 15-year-old, who won both the Under-16 and Under-18 titles 12 months ago, won through a field of 96 cueists to win the event for the second time.
He began with a clean sweep of 3-0 group stage wins over Will Taylor, Joel Williams and Maxim Balerca before downing Denny Booke (3-1), Daniel Boyes (3-1) and Iustin Cripei (4-2) to reach the semi-finals.
Ukraine’s Matvei Lagodzinschii awaited Szubarczyk at this stage but the 15-year-old proved to be no match for the defending champion as he hit breaks of 56, 44 and 46 to set up a final meeting with former European Under-16 champion Gradinari.
An impressive run for Gradinari had seen him last overcome Oliwier Nizialek 4-2 in the semi-finals, but it was Szubarczyk’s week once more as he earned a whitewash final victory to successfully defend the title.
CZAPNIK CAPTURES UNDER-16 CROWN
Krzysztof Czapnik beat Tadija Matijasevic 4-2 to win the European Under-16 Championship title for the first time.
The 15-year-old from Poland came out victorious among a field of 78 players to earn the first of two European titles for his nation at the event this year so far.
After topping his five-player group with the loss of just a single frame, Czapnik earned consecutive whitewash wins in the knockout stages against Artem Tseluiko and Darragh Gallagher.
Czapnik dropped his first frame of the competition in the quarter-finals, but a top break of 73 saw him defeat Hungary’s Nicolas Le Clercq 4-1 before a victory by the same scoreline against Matvei Lagodzinschii saw the Polish player reach the title match.
Serbia’s Matijasevic was his opponent after he had beaten Poland’s Hubert Micherdzinski 4-0 to reach the final stage.
Breaks of 87 and 40 saw Czapnik race into a 3-0 lead, one away from glory, before Matijasevic rallied by taking the next two to reduce the deficit to just a single frame.
Czapnik showed composure under pressure, however, to get over the line in frame six and secure European glory in Spain.
The main event of the 2026 EBSA European Championships concludes on Saturday 14 March with the winner earning a two-year WST tour card. Follow the event via EBSA.TV
The post Kazakov Regains Professional Status with European Under-21 Glory appeared first on WPBSA.
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