Hill Retains European Under-18 Title

The Republic of Ireland’s Aaron Hill defended the EBSA European Under-18 Snooker Championship after he defeated Sean Maddocks 4-1 in the final in Portugal last night. 

Featuring 70 players from 24 different countries, Hill was the last cueist remaining following four days of action at the Salgados Palace Hotel in Albufeira. The teenager follows in the footsteps of current main tour professional Jackson Page who retained this title in 2018. 

Hill had no issues in qualifying for the knockout stages as he topped his group with four wins from four and crafted the tournament’s highest break of 131. He then dispatched Luis Vetter (Switzerland) 3-1 before dropping no subsequent frames against Liam Graham (Scotland) 3-0, Joe Fenton (England) 4-0 and Ben Mertens (Belgium) 4-0 to make the final. 

For Maddocks it was his second major international final appearance in just over two months after reaching the title match at the World Snooker Federation Junior Open in Malta. The Englishman also went through undefeated, eliminating recent Polish national champion Antoni Kowalski 4-3 from 3-1 down in the quarter-finals and fellow countryman Connor Benzey 4-1 in the last four. 

Looking to avenge his whitewash loss to Maddocks during the semi-finals of the previously mentioned WSF Junior Open, Hill made an ideal start to the final as he compiled breaks of 73 and 55 to take the opening frame. The Irishman doubled his lead and it was looking like he was going to inflict a clean sweep of his opponent when a run of 92 allowed him to move 3-0 up. Maddocks got on the board with frame four but a 50 break helped promising prospect Hill secure a 4-1 victory and once again lift the trophy. 

Elsewhere in the tournament, 13-year-old Bulcsú Révész (Hungary) and 15-year-old Robbie McGuigan (Northern Ireland) finished the groups phase as the top seeds, although Révész lost to Benzey in the quarter-finals and McGuigan bowed out to Joe Fenton (England) in the last 32. The Ukraine’s Iulian Boiko – runner-up at the recent World Snooker Federation Open – lost to Benzey in the last 16 and Dean Young – a winner on this season’s Challenge Tour – also went out at the same stage to Kowalski. 

Attention in Portugal now turns to the lucrative European Under-21 Championship across the coming days where the winner will be offered a two-year professional World Snooker Tour card. 

Results – from the quarter-finals onwards: 

Bulcsú Révész (Hungary) 1-4 Connor Benzey (England) 

Antoni Kowalski (Poland) 3-4 Sean Maddocks (England) 

Ben Mertens (Belgium) 4-0 Madalin Gal (Romania) 

Aaron Hill (Republic of Ireland) 4-0 Joe Fenton (England) 

Semi-finals 

Benzey 1-4 Maddocks 

Mertens 0-4 Hill 

Final 

Maddocks 1-4 Hill