Hong Kong teen Liu makes snooker history with Shoot Out win, becomes youngest to triumph in televised ranking event
- 13-year-old Shaun Liu wins opening encounter at World Snooker Tour event in Swansea
- Teenager recovers from 36-0 down in 10-minute contest to beat training partner Ishpreet Singh Chadha 57-52
Hong Kong teenager Shaun Liu Yu-sang has become the youngest winner of a televised ranking event match after triumphing in the first round of the Shoot Out.
The 13-year-old beat Ishpreet Singh Chadha to write his name into the history books, beating the record set by Vladislav Gradinari, who was 14, when he won a match in the same tournament last season.
“I didn’t expect to win, I just wanted to enjoy it,” said Liu, who received a wild card for the four-day World Snooker Tour event in Swansea.
“The feeling is good and the crowd liked me I guess. I practise with Ishpreet, he’s my friend and we meet every day. After the game, he just congratulated me on how I played.”
Liu trailed his 27-year-old opponent 36-0 in the 10-minute contest, which has a shot clock of 15 seconds for the first five minutes and just 10 seconds for the last five. But a composed display saw him take charge with a break of 44, before edging past the Indian 57-52 as time ran out.
Separately, Shaun Murphy, made history to become the first player to post a maximum break in the 12-year history of the tournament.
