Snooker ace Rhys Clark hopes to win the Under-21 World Championships

Jul 14 2011 by Andrew McGilvray, Hamilton Advertiser

AMBITIOUS Stonehouse teenager Rhys Clark is trying to earn a professional contract by winning his first major tournament – without his own cue.

The 16-year-old broke the tip of his cue a few months ago and sent it down to professional equipment firm Burroughes and Watts in Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, for repair.

Rhys hoped to have it back in time for the start of the International Billiards and Snooker Federation under-21 world championships in Montreal, Canada, but the English firm need to completely rebuild his cue and have given him a “loaner” to use in the meantime.

Rhys, who headed off to Canada on Tuesday for the tournament which started the next day, said: “A snooker cue is a really personal thing to a lot of players and it can make a big difference, but it’s pretty similar to my old one anyway.

“Originally I was hoping that I’d get my cue back up in time but they had to make a new one, and I’m quite used to this one now.”

In a series of round-robin opening matches Rhys has been pitched into Group G against Thailand’s Akani Songsermsawad, Mohamed Hamdy from Egypt, Jurian Heusdens of Belarus, Romanian Bogdan Cozmaciuc, Kirt Brown from Australia, and Ehsan Heydarinezhad from Iran.

The top four in each of the eight groups will progress to the next stage, with Rhys hoping to get through to the last 16 on July 21, semi-finals on July 22 and final on July 23.

“I’m delighted to be in the championships,” said Rhys, who recently left Hamilton College.

“You need to be in the top three in Scotland to qualify for it and I finished second last season, so I was delighted with that.

“It would be totally life-changing to win this. I think the winner gets something like £4000-5000 but, more importantly, a spot on the main tour next June, which would get me entry to all the pro events.

“There are a couple of other ways of getting onto the pro circuit too, if I win the European Championships and a couple of other tournaments.

“I’m only 16 so I have time on my side if it doesn’t happen for me this year but it’s an under-21 competition and I’m getting results like this at my age, so that’s encouraging.”

Rhys added: “I’m going full-time now and I’ve been thinking seriously about going professional for the last couple of years.

“When I started doing really well at events in Scotland I looked around at how good the professionals were, and realised that I could compete with them.

“I train at the Q Club in Glasgow with (two-time World Championship semi-finalist) Alan McManus and I’ve beaten a couple of players like Matt Selt, who was ranked 43 last season.

“Ronnie O’Sullivan and Judd Trump are players I look up to at the moment and it would be great to be able to play alongside them, but I’ll play in the Scottish events next season if I don’t win this tournament, and then try and qualify next year. I’m determined to turn professional.”