Alfie Burden looks set to return to the professional circuit after beating Brazilian Igor Figueiredo 10-8 to win the IBSF world amateur title in Hyderabad, India today.
Burden, whose highest ranking was 38th from 2001 to 2003, led 3-0 but found his South American opponent very difficult to shake off.
Indeed, Figueiredo led 6-5 but Burden won three frames in succession, the last with a break of 103, to secure an 8-6 advantage.
Figueiredo refused to give up but Harrow cueman Burden did enough to capture the trophy.
The world amateur champion is usually offered a place on the main tour.
Congratulations to Alfie, who follows in the footsteps of the likes of Doug Mountjoy, Jimmy White, Ken Doherty and James Wattana.
But credit must also go to Figueiredo, who until April of this year had only played ten red snooker on a ten foot table.
If he keeps improving, he could become snooker's first South American professional.
9 comments:
why not giving igor a wildcard to enter next year's tour? should be great to see a new face from a new continent.
Totally agree with the wild card idea.
What are wild cards for if not for this sort of thing?
If it all goes all, we might finally see that tournament in Brazil which World Snooker announced almost six years would be happening "in September".
In fairness they didn't say which September.
Igor said in an interview that there are 8 Million players and some tournaments have 1500 players.
Surely that's not an emerging nation thats a sleeping giant!!
lets be feir here neither of these 2 guys are gonna make a big impact on the tour are they really alfie unfortunatley has probally had is time and the brazilian would probally be a bit out of his league
he may at first be out of his league but it can only improve his all round game playing a better standard of player on a regular basis
This lad is what wildcards should be for!
Nice one Alfie, absolutely delighted for you.
You deserve to be on the Main Tour.
Who knows, there may even be a tournament in Brazil in the very near future... watch this space, you heard it here first!
Congratulations to Alfie! Having played in tournaments with him over the last couple of years, it is clear that he still has professional quality and deserves another crack at the whip.
But what an achievement by the young Brazilian, surely an early favourite for a wild card onto the Tour next year. Or will they give them to this year's Preece, Gray, Norman who are all showering themselves in glory this season...!
MW
matt, i never heard it here first
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