Teenage Sensation Larkov Wins Ukrainian National Title

Fifteen-year-old Mykhail Larkov defeated Kyrylo Baidala 5-1 in the final of the 2024 Ukrainian National Snooker Championship.

The event was staged in Lviv from 7-12 November 2024 and saw a total of 48 cueists competing for the prestigious national title.

Larkov, who is from Khmelnytskyi in western Ukraine, began his campaign at the last 16 stage where he comfortably whitewashed Andrii Ivasiv to reach the quarter-finals.

A 4-2 victory over Lee Tang saw Larkov reach a last four stage that was dominated by youth – with three of the four semi-finalists still being teenagers.

A hard-fought semi-final contest between Larkov, who reached the last four of this year’s European Under-16 Championship, and 14-year-old Matvii Lagodzinskyi came down to a deciding frame and it was Larkov who was able to get over the line to set up a title match meeting against 18-year-old Baidala.

Baidala had shown strong form to overcome Ivaniv Svyatoslav, Petrash Serhiy and Yury Semko in the knockout stages to reach the final against Larkov.

However, the 15-year-old proved too strong on the day as he ran out a 5-1 victor to secure the Ukrainian National Snooker Championship crown.