A trip to the world under-21 snooker championships in England is a possibility for Hawke's Bay cueist Sam Martin after exceeding expectations at the Oceania under-21 championships in Havelock North.
"If it comes I will definitely take it ... it's just the start of the season so we will see what happens ," the 17-year-old apprentice electrician replied when quizzed about the April 20-May 6 tournament in Britain.
A day after reaching the semifinals of the Oceania tournament, Martin, was unbeaten for the New Zealand team in their 6-3 win against Australia at the Havelock North Club today. He beat Hawke's Bay-born Aussie Hilton Moeahu 3-0 in his singles and combined with Otaki's Blane Watson for a 2-0 win against Moeahu and Xavier Daw in the doubles.
"I set the semifinals as my goal before the tournament and it was good to tick it off. I had a break of 51 and heaps of constant 40s so I couldn't be happier," Martin said.
Martin was beaten 5-1 by last year's runner-up Adam Lilley of Canterbury in the semifinals. He had earlier eliminated the more fancied Taranaki player Denin Bunn 4-0 in the quarterfinals. The other semifinal saw Aussie No 1 Alex Pace beat last year's winner Mario Hildred of Taranaki 5-2. The best of 11 frame final between Pace and Lilley was scheduled to start at 5pm today and wasn't expected to be completed before Hawke's Bay Today goes to press.
