Teenager James Makes History in New Zealand
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.