Junior Semis Set in Sofia
The final rounds of the 2026 WSF Junior Championship will be played out on Friday (23rd January) with just four players remaining from the 80 who started the week at the Hotel Marinela in Sofia, Bulgaria.
With a two-year place on the World Snooker Tour to be won by the last player standing, representatives from four countries will battle it out to succeed Ireland’s Leone Crowley as the WSF Junior Championship winner.
In the top half of the draw, Thailand’s Prin Ratmukda takes on Ukraine’s Michael Larkov for a place in the title match.
Competing in the event for the first time, 16-year-old Ratmukda has dropped just three frames from seven matches played so far, having impressed throughout the early rounds. One of three players to emerge from the group stage with a 100% record, he has then defeated Jack Borwick, Xavier Rizzo and Welsh talent Riley Powell to reach the last four.
Awaiting him is Ukraine’s Larkov, who most notably came back from 1-3 down to Scotland’s Ayaan Iqbal at the last 16 stage to come through a 4-3 winner and progress to the quarter-finals. Once there, he fired in breaks of 114 and 73 in the opening two frames against Wang Xinzhong on his way to a 4-1 success.
The 17-year-old previously competed at the WSF Junior Championship in 2024 and 2025, but this will be his first appearance in the final day of the prestigious tournament.
The second semi-final will see China’s Wang Xinbo face off against England’s Daniel Boyes with a final berth at stake.
Brother of losing quarter-finalist Xinzhong, 18-year-old Xinbo has scored heavier than any other player with 15 breaks over 50, including three centuries.
Having also come through the group stage without the loss of a frame, Xinbo earned wins against William Hurley, Vladislav Gradinari and Northern Ireland’s Joel Connolly – winning the final two frames to edge a close match 4-3 – to book his semi-final place.
He will next face former English Under-16 Champion Daniel Boyes, who at his third appearance at the WSF Junior Championship has broken new ground by reaching the knockout stages for the first time.
Unbeaten in the seven matches so far this week, Boyes has defeated the likes of compatriot Dylan Smith, Germany’s Christian Richter and Hong Kong China’s Wallace Wong to secure his place in the last four.
The semi-finals will get underway at 10am EET, with the final to follow from 3pm. Live streaming of all matches will be available via the WPBSA YouTube channel and full live scoring at WPBSA SnookerScores.
