Brilliant Bulcsu Makes History For Hungary
Bulcsu Revesz has defeated Gong Chenzhi 5-3 in the final of the WSF Junior Championship to secure his status as Hungary’s first ever main tour professional.
Revesz emerged from a field of 78 players from 23 countries to become the fourth winner of the WSF Junior Championship, following in the footsteps of Gao Yang, Anton Kazakov and last year’s champion Stan Moody who memorably lifted the crown in Australia.
Success in Albania represents the biggest achievement of 17-year-old Revesz ‘s career so far and has secured his place on the World Snooker Tour for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 seasons where he will compete with the most famous players in the world at the most prestigious tournaments in the sport.
The Hungarian talent secured his place in the final having progressed from a group stage which included fellow finalist Gong Chenzhi, before he defeated Edward Jones, Joel Connolly, Jack Borwick and Oliver Sykes in the knockout rounds.
There he would again face Gong, who notably secured the scalp of highly-rated Welsh youngster Liam Davies at the last eight stage, looking to earn a repeat victory having defeated the Chinese player during the round robin stage.
The Hungarian got off to a flying start with a break of 60 to take the opening frame and looked in command in frame two as he opened up a 44 point advantage. However, Gong was unphased and fired in a half-century of his own to level the game at 1-1.
A stunning break of 130, the highest of the tournament, followed from Revesz and he doubled his advantage by taking frame to lead 3-1 at the mid-session interval.
Gong took the first after the break to reduce the deficit before levelling the score in dramatic fashion in a seemingly pivotal sixth frame which came down to the colours.
Revesz was just a mid-range pink away from moving 4-2 ahead, but missed the pot and Gong calmly knocked in the two remaining balls to instead restore parity at 3-3.
The Hungarian refused the let the disappointment of the previous frame affect him, however, as he took a hard-fought seventh frame to move one away from the title.
The drama reached its peak in frame eight as it once again went down to the colours, but this time Revesz made no mistake as potted the final few balls to secure victory before turning to the crowd with his arms aloft in delight.
Post-match Bulcsu reflected: “It’s just amazing, I didn’t expect anything before the tournament but I felt like I was getting better and better and before the final I just knew I was going to win.
“I missed the pink to go 4-2 up and so at 3-3 I was on the floor. I don’t know how, but I won the seventh frame and then I was back in the saddle again.
“I think I am going to have so many messages because every Hungarian player was supporting me which is a brilliant feeling. I hope everyone is so happy and I hope this can inspire more players in Hungary. I have enjoyed playing since the age of eight and I still love it.
“To stay on tour after the first two years is my first goal. To be in the top 64 I will have to play even better than I have this week, but I know I can do it. I am looking forward to it.”
The WSF Championships continue with the open age WSF Championship from 3-11 February 2024, which will see over 200 players battle it out for the second professional tour card available in Albania. View more information via WPBSA SnookerScores.
