- Matchroom Pool invests further into Junior Nineball with third tournament
- Set to take place alongside Spanish Open on June 23-24
- Zero entry fee with total prize fund of $10,000
- Juniors to play in same arena as Spanish Open closing stages with final live streamed
Nineball World Number One and current world champion Francisco Sanchez Ruiz will host the FSR Junior Open, the third junior event on the Nineball World Tour calendar set to take place alongside the Spanish Open Pool Championship in Lugo, Spain from June 23-24.
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The tournament will follow the same format as the SVB and JS Junior Opens with 64 juniors aged 17 and under able to enter for free. A prize fund of $10,000 is in the offing as well as free entry into next year’s Spanish Open Pool Championship with all players also receiving a free custom jersey courtesy of partners Onboard Sportswear.
Sanchez Ruiz cannot wait to cheer on the juniors in a town where the Spaniard won his first-ever junior tournament: “To be honest, it’s hard for me to assimilate everything from this last year and this news. After the victory in the Derby City Classic, I have had a lot of confidence and I have worked very hard to achieve everything that I have achieved.”
“Honestly, having a junior event in my name is a dream! I think billiards is growing a lot and young people can have a good future as a professional. My junior memories are wonderful and decisive in my career. I think that in the beginning, like anyone else, they are the most beautiful.”
Matchroom Multi Sport Managing Director Emily Frazer said: “The Junior Events proving to be popular, seeing young players from all parts of the world expressing interest. When the JS Junior Open takes place during the UK Open in London, there will be 21 nationalities amongst the 64 players, it is our goal to give juniors both the opportunity and exposure to be competing in the professional Nineball arena in both equipment and production setup.”
“A lot of the younger players participate in our Matchroom opens with little experience in a professional set up. A third event now on our Nineball World Tour specifically for juniors opens the door for more to get that vital experience that can help them along their way. There’s no better time and place to do one than here in Spain named after a player who is already so inspiring for the younger generation, it seemed the perfect next step.
The professional players are who the kids look up to and what a role model Francisco Sanchez Ruiz is!”
The final will also be live-streamed on the Matchroom Pool social media pages with coverage also set to feature during the live broadcast on Sky Sports in the UK, DAZN in Spain and networks worldwide.
Juniors competing in the tournament will not be eligible to compete in the main Spanish Open Pool Championship due to match schedules. As part of the entry to the FSR Junior Open, juniors will be offered a free season pass for them and one adult to enjoy the whole Spanish Open to have time to study the world’s best as they do battle.
Entries will open on Wednesday, 5 April at 2 pm UK time.