Kandi Class in Denmark

Daniel Kandi created history when compiling a 147 maximum break on his way to winning a sixth Danish National Snooker Championship title.

Held at the Copenhagen Pool and Snooker Club across the long Easter weekend, Kandi was one of 16 seeds that automatically went straight into the last 32 knockouts. These seeds were joined by 16 qualifiers who emerged from a qualification section that was completed before the main rounds.

It was during the third frame of his 4-0 opening round victory over Bo Jarlstrøm where Kandi produced perfection, much to the joy of the players, officials and spectators in the arena.

The achievement has been widely covered by various media outlets in his homeland. Not only was it Kandi’s first 147, but it is the first maximum ever to be made in a Danish tournament. The closest in comparison is 13-time national champion Rune Kampe having constructed one in practice.

Returning the next day, Kandi continued his title mission with eliminations of Danny Eriksen (4-1) and Gustav Raffenberg (4-1) to book a spot for Finals Day where he began with a 4-1 defeat of Ali Ijaz in the semi-finals.

In the final he faced five-time champion Allan Norvark, who was aiming to regain the honour for the first time since 2000. Norvark dethroned reigning champion Martin Søndergaard 4-2 in the quarter-finals and Kampe 4-1 in the last four.

However, it was Kandi going home with the gold medal for the first time since 2009 following a 5-1 success. The result meant he had dropped only four frames throughout the tournament.

The image above is courtesy of 1st Down Photo / Mikkel Bo Rasmussen

Article written and published by Michael Day on the 3rd April 2018.