Record entry for U-17 Open
A record 24 players from 10 different countries are to compete in the VI European Under-17 Snooker Open, to be played in Buġibba and Ħamrun concur-rently between January 3 and 11. The participating players hail from Austria, Belgium, England, Finland,...
A record 24 players from 10 different countries are to compete in the VI European Under-17 Snooker Open, to be played in Buġibba and Ħamrun concur-rently between January 3 and 11.
The participating players hail from Austria, Belgium, England, Finland, Hong Kong, Isle of Man, Poland, Scotland, Sweden and Malta.
Malta will have seven players in the tournament – Chris Peplow, Ryan Pisani, Mathew Zammit, Brian Cini, Leon Caruana, Benjamin Schembri and Shawn Deguara. Cini, Caruana, Schembri and Deguara will be making their first appearance in the European Under-17 Open.
Local players have done well in previous editions with the best performance coming from Thurston Grixti who finished third in 2007. Shawn Sultana was fourth in 2009 and last year, Peplow reached the quarter-finals.
The referees for the tournament will be Ambrose Licari and Frans Bugeja and Swedish duo Jonas Fahlander and Martin Linderoth.
The favourite for the 2012 European U-17 Open title is Darryl Hill. The cueist from Isle of Man has already managed a highest break of 133 in competition and a personal best of 141 in practice.
Other players who have achieved century breaks during competition are Leong Man Hoi (Hong Kong), Brandon Sargeant (England) and Joseph McLaren (Scotland). The tournament is being organised by Pro Am Snooker and matches will be staged at the Apple Club (Buġibba) and Jesmond Sports Club (Ħamrun).
Entrance for the public is free and the first session starts at 9 a.m.
Players and officials will be residing at the San Antonio Hotel & Spa, the main sponsors of the tournament along with the Malta Tourism Authority, Apple Snooker Club, Jesmond Sports Club and Hartlepool Snooker Club.