THE BEST JUNIOR players in the world are gathered in Gandia as the Predator WPA World Junior Championships broke off today. Culminating in the championship deciders on Tuesday 4th December, the event features three categories – Boys Under 17 and Under 19, and Girls Under 19.
Each of the three tournaments feature a 24-player field playing double-elimination down to the quarter-finals. All matches throughout are a race-to-seven.
In the boys U17, Hayden Ernst (USA) coasted through to the winners qualification round with two 7-1 victories, first over Qatar’s Sultan Alyafei and then Revo Maimre (Estonia). With a 13-strong contingent representing the USA, there are plenty of medal prospects including Ernst.
Commented Hayden, “I felt good. I started out a little bit slow but I heated up towards the end.
Everywhere I go I try and play to the best of my ability and see what happens. I’ve been playing well and I won four divisions at the BEF Nationals which qualified me to go here and I just got done with Ultimate Pool and I won that so I’ve been playing well lately.
“We’re all good friends in the USA squad, we all know each other pretty well, so it’s definitely fun, some great shooters and I hope we all do well,” he added.
A big name in the U19s is Germany’s Felix Vogel. Already making inroads in the adult’s game, Vogel is contesting his last ever WPA World Juniors, and after last year’s bronze medal, he’s hoping to go out with a bang.
“I prepared well for this event because I know it’s my last year and I really want to win it and I’m feeling very good. A lot of juniors put too much pressure on themselves in the junior events which is why most of them don’t play as good as in the adults.
“I think that’s the main difference and when juniors play against adults, they feel less pressure and that’s why it’s so hard to win in the juniors. I don’t feel pressure now but we will see. Maybe it comes.
“Sometimes it’s not easy to find your game in a tournament from the first match. But I’m feeling very good and maybe I hope I can play 2% better in my next match because one or two situations were not perfect but I’ll be trying my best.”
The girls World Championship sports a very strong field including all four of last year’s medal-winners. Making her debut though is Poland’s Julia Babica who enjoyed a tough battle against 2024 bronze medallist Shirin Volery (SUI) before emerging a 7-5 winner to take her place in the winners’ qualification round where she will play Jordan Helfery (USA).
Commented Babica, ”It was really tough for me. I was on the hill 6-2 and I won 7-5. I’m really happy with my game but Shirin was also really good. I had some luck but it was a really tough match.
I feel a little bit more confident now than before the match and I hope I’ll play the same in the next matches. I came here to play my best and show myself in the best light possible.”
Play continues on Saturday at midday with selected matches streamed on Tables 1 and 2 and available on YouTube, via the Pro Billiard TV channel – https://www.youtube.com/@
For all results, live scoring and draw visit the events’ homepage https://