Snooker star Ryan top of the pots
SNOOKER starlet Ryan Clark has shot down the best potters on the continent just two years after picking up a cue at Hartlepool Snooker Centre.
The 15-year-old was crowned the European under-17s snooker champion at the weekend after his unbeaten march to the final saw him beating the reigning champion five frames to four in the climax of the event, held in Malta.
Ryan, a pupil at Dyke House school, started playing at the snooker centre two years ago, with his only previous potting experience coming on a children's table at his grandma's house.
His mum Kelly Athey said Ryan was "buzzing" after his victory and was determined to become a pro after he finishes his GCSEs next year.
She said: "Ryan is a very quiet lad but he was really buzzing after he won. He never lost a match all the way through.
"Ryan and his brother used to play on a children's table and they were dead keen and then he took up football which was just a hobby really. But he has really got into this.
"He is down at the snooker centre every day of the week and his coach John Hartley is brilliant with him. He is determined to make a go of this."
It is not the first time that Ryan has enjoyed a success on the big stage.
In 2006, he became the youngest ever winner of the Magna national championships – a title which he retained last year.
And next weekend, he is travelling to Ireland with the England billiards squad for an international fixture.
Kelly thanked town firm Niramax who are sponsoring Ryan and his grandma Agnes Clark, who has paid for lessons and away trips for the teenager and his brother Liam, 12.
"I could have never have afforded the fees or the accomodation myself so they have really made a difference," added Kelly.
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Weather for Hartlepool
Saturday 11 February 2012
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