Teenage Kicks

Lines4Sunday marked the 20th birthday of Luca Brecel, who for at least as long as I have written this blog, has been regarded as snooker’s most promising teenage player.

Now that he is half way on to being eligible for the World Seniors Championship however, I posed the question on Twitter as to just who is snooker’s most promising teenager at this time, with several talented young players having either already made a mark on the professional scene, or certainly having done so at amateur level.

I wrote a similar piece back in 2009 and finding it interesting to look back at how those players have so far gone on to progress in their professional careers, click below for my look at some of the most promising teenagers in the game, together with the best of your tweets…

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Castle Sets Euro Target

Many young snooker players dream of becoming professional one day but few achieve that status.

However fourteen year old Shane Castle has mapped out exactly what he needs to do to make the dream a reality.

From the age of seven, when his cousin Billy took him to the local club to play on a full sized snooker table, Castle took the first steps on the path to being a professional player…

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How Young Is Too Young?

At the end of the 2010/11 season, the decision was taken by the WPBSA to remove the previous minimum age limit of 16, meaning that then 15-year-old Polish talent Kacper Filipiak was able to take his place on the main tour, becoming snooker’s youngest-ever professional. Last week 14-year-old Shane Castle came close to joining the him at a younger age still with his run to the final of the European Under 21 Championship and it raises again the question as to whether it was correct to remove the old age limit.

Click below for a discussion on the topic, with the thoughts of Shaun Murphy and Michael White, two players more qualified than most to talk on the subject…

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Leslie Captures Euro U-21 Crown

Congratulations to Scotland’s Michael Leslie who has today defeated On Q youngster Shane Castle 6-2 in the final of the European U-21 Championship to lift the trophy and secure his place on the main tour for the 2012/13 season.

With breaks of 76,121,100 and 91, Michael was clearly determined to go one better than 2011 when he lost out in the final to Poland’s Kacper Filipiak and while Shane has also impressed many observers during the past week, he had no answer to the 19-year-old Scot.

Click below for a full report on the final with quotes from the winner…

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