Maks Benko‘s victory in the first-ever Jayson Shaw Junior Open final against Mika Van Berkel in a hill-hill finish has left the 13-year-old wanting more in his quest to become a leading star of the World Nineball Tour one day.
Benko from Ljubljana, Slovenia only picked up a cue four years ago and hopes his victory is a sign of things to come on the table: “It feels amazing. I had no idea I could win it when I started out. I was playing really well but at the beginning, I was so nervous about the final. I knew I needed to stay focused and calm and not get angry with myself. I watched the game and tried to use the opportunities I had to win it.”
“My father entered me in because they believed I had a chance, I have to thank them so much for giving me the opportunity to come here.”
Final: Maks Benko (L) vs Mika Van Berkel (R)｜©Taka G. Wu/Matchroom Multi Sport
The youngster came from 7-4 down to defeat Van Berkel in the final after overcoming India’s Laksh Sharma and Byron McGrail of Gibraltar along the way to clinching the $2,500 first-place prize as well as a free entry to the 2024 UK Open Pool Championship and to top it all off Shaw offered to pay for Benko to enter the 2023 US Open Pool Championship at Harrah’s Resort, Atlantic City in September.
A diverse field competed in London’s historic Copper Box Arena with over 17 nationalities represented underlining the global appeal of the World Nineball Tour and the opportunities afforded to all players of the game as Matchroom continues to grow the game at a grassroots level.
Maks Benko celebrations｜©Taka G. Wu/Matchroom Multi Sport
Jayson Shaw was proud to see the juniors competing at such a high level and thinks one day they will be taking his spot in the biggest tournaments: “I watched the final. Maks was down 7-4 and he made a great eight ball that changed. He played really well to win it. Congratulations to Maks. I think the Junior Open players are the future of the game, without them there is no future. It’s great to see these guys out here and competing and hopefully, we will see them on the main stage one day soon.”
On what Benko would do with his winning money, he insists it will be going on further training and also the chance to play in the inaugural Francisco Sanchez Ruiz Junior Open taking place during the Spanish Open from June 23-24: “I will spend the money on my game, more training sessions, and paying for other tournaments coming up so I can become the best player I can be.”
©Taka G. Wu/Matchroom Multi Sport
The final took place live on the Matchroom Pool YouTube channel alongside the quarter-finals of the 2023 UK Open Pool Championship with fans in the arena sweating the action as well as thousands online with the tournament supported by official partners Cuetec, Kamui, Iwan Simonis, Onboard Sportswear, Aramith Balls and Diamond Billiards.
All juniors competing were provided with a free custom Onboard Sportswear jersey and a special KAMUI gift pack that included Roku chalk and a set of cue tips.
來自斯洛維尼亞的13歲小將 Maks Benko 在首屆 Jayson Shaw 青少年公開賽決賽中 9:8 戰勝荷蘭選手 Mika Van Berkel 拿下冠軍。
Benko 賽後說道: “感覺棒極了! 剛開始我並不覺得我能贏得比賽。我表現地很好，但剛開始時我對決賽感到非常緊張，我知道我必須保持專注與冷靜，並且不與自己生氣。隨著比賽，我試圖地利用我所獲得的機會並以此贏得比賽。
“我父親幫我報名比賽，因為他們相信我有機會能贏，我非常感謝他們給了我來到這裡比賽的機會。”
Laksh Sharma (印度)、Byron Mcgrail (直布羅陀)、Ivan Rudenko (烏克蘭)、Bryzen Manipula (加拿大)
Benko
這位年輕人在決賽中以 7-4 落後擊敗了范伯克爾，此前他戰勝了印度的拉克什夏爾馬和直布羅陀的拜倫麥克格雷爾，一路獲得 2,500 美元的第一名獎金以及免費參加 2024 年英國公開泳池錦標賽和 最重要的是，Shaw 願意出錢讓 Benko 參加 9 月份在大西洋城哈拉斯度假村舉行的 2023 年美國公開賽。
多元化的領域在倫敦歷史悠久的 Copper Box Arena 展開競爭，來自超過 17 個國家的代表強調了世界九球巡迴賽的全球吸引力，以及隨著 Matchroom 繼續在基層發展這項運動，為所有玩家提供的機會。
Jayson Shaw 很自豪看到青年隊在如此高的水平上競爭，並認為有一天他們會在最大的錦標賽中取代他的位置：“我看了決賽。Maks 以 7-4 落後，他投進了一個很棒的八球改變了 .他贏得比賽的表現非常出色。祝賀 Maks。我認為青少年公開賽的球員是這項運動的未來，沒有他們就沒有未來。很高興看到這些人來到這裡參加比賽，希望我們能看到他們 很快就會在主舞台上。”
關於本科將如何處理他的獎金，他堅稱將繼續接受進一步的訓練，並有機會參加 6 月 23 日至 24 日在西班牙公開賽期間舉行的首屆弗朗西斯科·桑切斯·魯伊斯青少年公開賽：“我將花費 在我的比賽上賺錢，更多的訓練課程，並為即將到來的其他錦標賽買單，這樣我就可以成為最好的球員。”