It’s been a fortnight to remember for Chinese teenager Luo Honghao as he cements his place as one of snooker’s players to watch.
The 18-year old potter secured his place on next season’s professional circuit with victory at the recent World Snooker Federation Championship in Malta.
After a string of impressive performances throughout, he recovered from 3-2 down to beat former professional Kacper Filipiak 4-3 in the semi-finals and then cruised to the title with a 6-0 demolition of Adam Stefanow.
His run of form has shown no signs of subsiding since either. He’s grasped his opportunity to play in this week’s China Open as a wildcard with both hands. First, he knocked out Egypt’s Basem Eltahhan 6-1 in the pre-qualifying round and now he’s through to the last 32 after wins against Stuart Carrington (6-2) and top 16 player Anthony McGill (6-4 from 4-2 down).
Matt Huart, from the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association, got the chance to watch Luo up close in Malta and believes he could be a great addition to next season’s ranks.
“He’s only 18, but I was really impressed with the maturity of his shot selection.
“Sometimes when you watch amateur snooker, some players can be quite negative but Luo always seemed to play positively. He played the right shots at the right times and just stood out from the rest of the players.
“He’s really got something about him – he’s a proper player.”
It’s not only Luo’s performances on the table which captured people’s imagination while he was in Malta. He was also videoed when he got back to the airport playing the piano.
“It’s fair to say he’s a real character,” said Matt. “Even when he was posing for photographs (in the events), he was clenching his fists to the camera. Not to same extent, but I suppose he’s got that kind of character like Liang Wenbo.”
