Sixteen-year-old Riley James dramatically defeated Hassan Abdalla 6-5 to become the youngest ever winner of the New Zealand National Snooker Championship.
The teenager came through a strong field of 50 cueists which included former WPBSA Q Tour Asia-Pacific event winner Matthew Scarborough to make history in Auckland.
Photo: NZ Billiards & Snooker Association
The event was staged at the Papatoetoe Cosmopolitan Club and began with a group stage that saw James bounce back from an opening match loss against Jason Todd to reach the knockout rounds.
James beat Tupou Lokeni 4-2 to set up a rematch with Todd in the last 16. This time around, the teenager successfully gained revenge as a 4-1 victor to advance to the quarter-finals where he battled past Mark Canovan in a decider.
A surprise 5-3 victory over Scarborough then set up a title match meeting with Abdalla.
Photo: NZ Billiards & Snooker Association
Abdalla had last beaten Joseph Conchie 5-2 to make the final and he raced into a 3-1 lead at the mid-session interval of the best-of-11 frame contest.
The 16-year-old rallied and was finally able to restore parity at 4-4, but Abdalla took the next to move within one of victory. However, James found his best form at the ideal moment and fired in a tournament high break of 83 to force a decider.
A further half century, this time a contribution of 51, in frame 11 was then enough for James to secure the title and make history in his country as the youngest ever national champion.
The post Teenager James Makes History in New Zealand appeared first on WPBSA.
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The teenager came through a strong field of 50 cueists which included former WPBSA Q Tour Asia-Pacific event winner Matthew Scarborough to make history in Auckland.
Photo: NZ Billiards & Snooker Association
The event was staged at the Papatoetoe Cosmopolitan Club and began with a group stage that saw James bounce back from an opening match loss against Jason Todd to reach the knockout rounds.
James beat Tupou Lokeni 4-2 to set up a rematch with Todd in the last 16. This time around, the teenager successfully gained revenge as a 4-1 victor to advance to the quarter-finals where he battled past Mark Canovan in a decider.
A surprise 5-3 victory over Scarborough then set up a title match meeting with Abdalla.
Photo: NZ Billiards & Snooker Association
Abdalla had last beaten Joseph Conchie 5-2 to make the final and he raced into a 3-1 lead at the mid-session interval of the best-of-11 frame contest.
The 16-year-old rallied and was finally able to restore parity at 4-4, but Abdalla took the next to move within one of victory. However, James found his best form at the ideal moment and fired in a tournament high break of 83 to force a decider.
A further half century, this time a contribution of 51, in frame 11 was then enough for James to secure the title and make history in his country as the youngest ever national champion.
The post Teenager James Makes History in New Zealand appeared first on WPBSA.
Continue reading...