Kacper Takes Pole Position On Tour

Poland will have its first ever representative on the World Snooker professional tour next season after Kacper Filipiak won the European Under-21 Championship in Malta.

Incredibly, Filipiak just 16-years-old and competing in his first international competition defeated Scotland’s Michael Leslie by six-frames-to-three in the final at the island’s Dolmien Hotel.

The early signs were not good for the youngster, as he only scraped through in fourth place from his qualifying group with four wins from his seven matches and without a break over 50 to his name.

The knock-out stages though seemed to bring Filipiak to life as he beat the number two seed from England, Mitchell Travis 4-2 in the last 32 and followed that result by taking out Swedens’ Sulaman Salam by four frames-to-nil.

In the last eight, he survived a final frame shoot-out against Scotland’s Eden Sharav, a feat he would repeat in the semi-final ending the hopes of England’s Sam Harvey, who had earlier claimed the scalp of highly rated Luca Brecel, by five-frames-to-four.

The writing appeared to be on the wall for Leslie to cruise to victory.

With much more experience and a game that looked in top form,

He had come through the qualifying stage winning all seven matches with the loss of just one frame and with the highest break of the tournament so far (113), and had beaten Wales’ Ed Topham (4-1), Ireland’s Greg Casey (4-0).

He was pushed all the way by fellow-countryman Robert Carlisle but after claiming the decider, he would go on to beat Welshman, Duane Jones and book his place in the final.

Filipiak was having none of it though, and he capped off what has been the biggest week in Poland’s short snooker career, as they also reached the final of the European Team Championship for the first time.

Despite looking terrified at the start of the match, Filipiak played his way into the match and took the match by six-frames-to-three and record one of the biggest shock results in amateur snooker for a long time.

If Filipiak can make the step up in class next season successfully, he could play a vital role in spreading the popularity of snooker in Poland and throughout Europe.

Final

Kacper Filipiak 6 – 3 Michael Leslie

Semi Finals

Michael Leslie 5-3 Duane Jones

Kacper Filipiak 5-4 Sam Harvey

Quarter Finals

Michael Leslie 5-4 Robert Carlisle
Duane Jones 5-2 Rhys Clark
Sam Harvey 5-4 Vincent Muldoon
Kacper Filipiak 5-4 Eden Sharav

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