Duffy shows no mercy

RYAN DUFFY — junior title

YOUNG snooker sensation Ryan Duffy is in the pink after clinching a major regional title.

The 15-year-old Waterhead potting machine won the North-West Under-16s Championship in Preston thanks to a 2-1 final defeat of Preston’s Jack Culligan.

The final saw Ryan concede his only frame of the day, having previously seen off four other players in the group stages and Liverpool’s Paul Merrigan 2-0 in the semi-finals.

Ryan followed up this display with victory over adults at the Les Dodd Snooker Centre in Southport.

The scratch open competition attracted many top amateurs from the Southport area and farther afield and although Ryan went out in the first round of the main event, he more than made up for it in the Plate competition for first and second-round losers, beating a 38-year-old opponent in the final.

Ryan has been playing snooker since the age of 10 and is the nephew of the Oldham area’s leading player, Michael Wild, who has enjoyed success at professional level.

He often practices with his uncle and is determined to match his achievements, or even surpass them.

Already with a match break of 62 and practice effort of 78, Ryan clearly is a young player of great potential.