Reanne Evans beaten by Gary Wilson at Snooker Shoot Out, Riley Powell bows out, Dechawat Poomjaeng powers on

Riley Powell’s dream Snooker Shoot Out debut came to an end at the hands of Daniel Wells, but his fellow 14-year-old Vladislav Gradinari claimed a place in finals day with victory over Victor Sarkis.

Dechawat Poomjaeng star continued to rise at the Shoot Out, and he moved into finals day with victory over Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, but Reanne Evans’ hopes were dashed by Gary Wilson.

He spoke confidently about his future in the game prior to taking on Wells, saying his aims were to be “world No. 1, world champion. I want to win everything I can.”

Reaching the last 32 proved beyond Powell, as Wells largely shut the youngster down.

Wells got in front early and it proved decisive, as he went on to claim a 38-2 win.

Powell did show his long-potting prowess with a brilliant red, but he was unable to get plumb on a colour and after missing the green, Wells shut the game down as he booked his place in finals day.

“I went out there and thoroughly enjoyed it,” Powell told Eurosport. “Unlucky I came out with a loss, but well done to Dan.

“I had to go for something and it did not go in unfortunately.

“I have enjoyed it all, brilliant.”

While one teenager bowed out, another advanced as Gradinari showed experience that belied his years to beat Sarkis.

The Moldovan, who plays at the Northern Snooker Centre in Leeds, worked an early advantage and then played a string of clever safeties that ate up the clock as he claimed a 42-20 win.

“I tried again to be as calm as possible to then try and pot some balls,” Gradinari said. “I am trying to do as much as possible. This is the sport and this is the dream.”

The Poomjaeng roadshow rolled onto finals day after an epic win over fellow Thai Thepchaiya.

The histrionics were not as wild, as he kept his focus to open up a 57-point lead. It looked all over, but Thepchaiya is a Shoot Out superstar and pulled off a series of brilliant pots to threaten a fightback.

He knocked in a stunning yellow with under a minute on the clock and did the same with the green and brown. But his hopes were dashed when he dropped awkward on the blue, and Poomjaeng was able to celebrate in front of his adoring public.

The 12-time women’s world champion did nothing wrong, and was undone by an outrageous fluke.

The scoreline suggested a disappointing affair, but Ben Woollaston and Rory McLeod produced decent snooker but failed to drop on balls – with the former claiming a 13-9 win, while Yuan SiJun was impressive in shutting down Jordan Brown in a 68-0 success.

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