A WEST FIFE cue star is celebrating after potting his way to a continental age group championship title success.

Jack Borwick, a fourth year pupil at Queen Anne High School, travelled to Malta to compete in the EBSA (European Billiards and Snooker Association) European Snooker Championship 2023, and pocketed the under-16 crown.

The talented Cairneyhill player celebrated his 16th birthday whilst at the tournament, and enjoyed the perfect present as he defeated Bulgaria's Maksim Kostov in the final last Wednesday.

After negotiating his way through a round-robin format, Jack defeated Austria's Lukas Stötzer by three frames to nil to set up a quarter-final with fellow Scot, Ayaan Iqbal, who he defeated 3-1.

A last four win over Latvia's Andrejs Pripjoks then took him into the final, which he won in four frames.

His proud mum, Suzanne, was in Malta to watch his triumph, and she told Press Sport: "He has a composure and a maturity around the table, and it is probably the best I've seen him play. He's like a different boy, which so many people were commenting on.

"I was absolutely more nervous than he was; he was so cool. It was shown on Malta TV, and he was interviewed on Malta. He takes it all in his stride; he was asked, did you expect to win, and he said, yeah, that's what you practice hard at home for!

"It's great exposure and experience to play against different players. It was a very proud mum moment; I shed a little tear!"

The event was live streamed, meaning that family, friends and supporters at home were able to watch his progress, which also included playing in under-18, under-21 and senior competitions.

In the under-18 event, Jack reached the quarter-finals, where he lost out to the eventual winner, England's Liam Pullen, by four frames to two, and, in the under-21 competition, he reached the last 32, where he was beaten by Wales' Liam Davies.

At the time of going to print, the men's event was still ongoing, and Suzanne added: "His aim was to get out of the groups.

"He probably had hope and belief he could do well in the 16s, then had hope he could get out of the 18s and 21s groups. The under-18s kicked off when the under-16s was still ongoing, so these boys are like machines.

"He's done so well. He was the furthest Scot in the under-18s.

"He just turned 16 last week, so it was a bit of a birthday celebration."

Jack's European success comes after, in January, he played at the BetVictor Shoot Out event – a ranking competition on the World Snooker Tour – where he played against two-time former World Snooker Championship finalist, Ali Carter.

Last year, he was crowned as Scottish Snooker Under-16 champion, and is aiming for a place on Q School - a pathway for players to join the World Snooker Tour - and a potential shot at the Scottish Open later this year, for which he could receive a wildcard entry depending on his national junior ranking.

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