Shaun Dalitz took out the title of Australian Under 21 Snooker Champion at the Commercial Club Albury today, defeating Queensland’s Kurt Brown - 6 frames to 4. The win earns Dalitz a coveted place representing Australia in the IBSF.

The win earns Dalitz a coveted place representing Australia in the IBSF World Under 21 Snooker Championship to be held later in the year.

Albury’s Dalitz got the match off to a flying start with a break of 129 in the first frame of the final. A total clearance and a break of 142 looked on until he struck the blue a little too hard and left himself out of position on the pink. The only way back onto the black was to send the white around the table, which caused the pink to jaw and the break come to an end.

Brown hit back in the second frame to equalise, but was still finding his rhythm. A number of simple errors in the next couple of frames allowed Dalitz to forge a 4-1 lead at the interval.

Déjà vu seemed to be the order of the day, as the scoreline was exactly the same in the semi final when Dalitz led 4-1 over Victorian Kurt Dunham, only to see his lead evaporate under the pressure of the situation. Kurt Brown returned from the break looking more determined, and managed to equalise at 4-4, including a break of 77 in the seventh frame.

The match was hanging in the balance with the scores tied and three frames to play, but an 83 break by Dalitz gave him the advantage. The tenth frame could have gone either way, but it was again Dalitz who took the lead with a break of 51. With two reds remaining Dalitz held a lead of 50, meaning Brown required two snookers to get back into the match. Brown potted one of the reds, but then failed to sink the black following it, putting victory further out of reach so he conceded the match to Dalitz.

Source: ABSC