Riley Powell became the second 14-year-old to reach the second round of this year’s BetVictor Shoot Out as he knocked out five-time ranking event winner Kyren Wilson.
On Wednesday, Vladislav Gradinari became the youngest ever winner of a televised ranking event match when he beat Ng On Yee. Teenager Powell is just two months older than Gradinari and turns 15 in August this year. He has an ideal environment to develop his skills on the baize as he comes from Tredegar in South Wales and practises with the likes of Mark Williams, Lee Walker and Jackson Page.
World number eight Wilson, who has won just three matches in this event since 2017, opened with a break of 30, but Powell battled his way back into the frame. Wilson led 31-18 when he potted a long red but went in-off, and his opponent’s run of 19 got him into the last 64.
“That was amazing, the best event I have played in,” said Powell, who won a Welsh under-16 event to earn a place in the field. “The crowd were so good. I had a couple of early mistakes but then got back into it. I just tried to enjoy the occasion and I loved every bit of it.
“I soon as I started playing snooker I loved it. Mark Williams has been fantastic with me, I’d like to thank him, Jackson and Lee for all the help they have given me. Any practice I can get them with is fabulous, I have learned a lot from them. I want to be world number one and World Champion.”
Michael Holt won this event in 2020 before dropping off the pro tour two years later. He is in the field this time as one of the amateur top-up players, and proved he still thrives in the format as he beat Lei Peifan with a 116 – a strong contender for the £5,000 high break prize.
Another format Shoot Out champion now playing as an amateur, Michael Georgiou, is also into round two as he beat Tian Pengfei with a break of 46.
Dominic Dale and Matthew Stevens contested the first blue-ball shoot out of this year’s event, after finishing tied 49-49. Dale was five points ahead during the regulation frame when he missed the blue, and Stevens potted it to force sudden death. But the former Masters and UK Champion missed the extra blue twice, allowing Dale to progress.
Rebecca Kenna came close to becoming the first woman to win a televised ranking event match, but narrowly lost out to Yuan Sijun. Kenna trailed 43-44 with just over a minute to go when she missed a tricky black on a break of 28. That proved crucial as Yuan potted the last red and added the points for victory.
Potting boffin Callum Beresford, who has just finished university exams in mechanical engineering, constructed a break of 45 to beat Zhang Anda. Fan Zhengyi made a 63 to win a Chinese derby against Ding Junhui, while Zhou Yuelong came from 46-0 down to beat Duane Jones with a run of 78.
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