Our latest tournament catch up is on the 2019 New Zealand Junior 9 Ball Championships that were held in Hamilton just after the final of the ‘Anywhere in the World Tour’. New Zealand’s best junior 9 Ball players came together for the tournament that also doubled as the final leg of the Predator New Zealand Junior 9 Ball Tour, and the quality of play did not disappoint! Here is the report from Massé’s Head Coach, Jimmy ‘The Professor’ Henry:
2019 NEW ZEALAND JUNIOR 9 BALL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Deon Rawlings has again stamped his authority as one of the best juniors in New Zealand. Winning the New Zealand Junior 9 Ball Championship for 2019, this is Deon’s 2nd consecutive win after taking the title last year as well. Fresh from his outstanding 4th place in the senior 10 Ball National Champs, Deon beat the other junior star, Zabian Jeram, by 7 frames to 5. These two players don’t really know how good they are! They have the talent to become professional players and we could do with a few more Marco sharks in New Zealand.
Massé is very lucky to have one Marco shark lurking around to inspire all of our juniors, and to show them that dedication and the right attributes are key to becoming world class players. The proliferation of Massé’s junior development program is starting to pay dividends with our juniors starting to make their mark on the senior division. These kids can really play.
A big performance from player of the day, young Harlem Hoggart, saw him come 3rd equal overall. Auckland’s Sheridan Burmester also put in a great effort to achieve his best tournament result, finishing 2nd in the Under 16 age group. Pukekohe’s Janni Beekman and Hamiltonian Jack Beggs have also shown big improvements since being named in the New Zealand Junior Development Squad.
Watch out for these future stars next year: Cam Stokes, Manthan Patel, Tyler Falepeau, and Laqueisha and Aaliyah Clifford. See you all at Massé’s junior prize giving on Sunday December 8.
Here are the results of the Championships:
Under 13
1st – Jack McDonald
2nd – Rhys Stevenson
3rd = Jack Beggs and Harlem Hoggart
Under 16
1st – Zabian Jeram
2nd – Sheridan Burmester
3rd = Alexandria Endres and Rachael Harwood
Under 21
1st – Deon Rawlings
2nd – Kieran Dempsey
3rd = Cameron Stokes and Deon Stevenson
