by ST. PAUL’S BAY – 48-year-old Miguel Santos from Lisbon, until this Thursday, a class 3 international snooker referee, was promoted today, in Malta, to the above class (Class 2) after passing the exams conducted by the president. of the Referee Committee, Poland’s Kazimierz Olejniczak, during the European Championship, held from 6 to 19 in the Mediterranean country.
“It is a goal I have pursued for a long time, as part of my dedication and passion for snooker and refereeing. I hope to continue to honor the sport and the country as best I know and can. I’ve been doing this for almost a decade, I’ve invested a lot of time, money and sacrifices, but it’s worth it for the joy of helping players at the table,” said Miguel Santos, who follows A BOLA. the steps, among others, of João Leão Correia (Class 2) and André Santos (Class 1) ascending the refereeing hierarchy.
While the ultimate competition continues – the European champion, who will succeed Estonian Andres Petrov, and will be nominated by the European Billiards & Snooker Association (EBSA) to World Snooker so that he can be invited to play on the professional circuit for two seasons. – , the coincidence is enhanced by the fact that Miguel Santos refereed Portugal’s only win in 11 games for Portugal’s table-topping duo at these European Championships, which include under-16s, under-18s and under-21s.
If the two-time national champion, Tiago Silva (AD Sanjoanense InLine) said goodbye to the Absolutes event in the group stage with four defeats – just like Miguel Ruivo (Ericeira Snooker Clube) – he was also in the group stage, but in the sub- 21 that Ruivo, in the third game, and with no chances of qualifying, also in the next phase of this category, added the only victory for Portugal… and with a twist, from 0-2 won in “black” (3-2) ) , against 14-year-old Scot Brendan Langan.
After defeats, in the under-21s, against the Polish Antoni Kowalski, 19, with 0-3 (individuals 0-86, 19-91 and 20-66) and against the 12-year-old Ukrainian phenomenon, Matvei Lagodzinschii. , with an identical margin – 0-3, individual 0-68, 16-82 and 8-71 -, Miguel Ruivo, in a game refereed by Miguel Santos, lifted the spirits of the Portuguese team by defeating the Scots 3-2, with individual 11 -57,49-54, 69-24, 73-54 and 63-15).
“It was a good experience, winning a game. I never consider myself defeated even in the face of such a comfortable disadvantage. It was ball by ball, game by game. I am happy that I can make my country proud. I’m better, I feel like I’ve improved, it’s playing with the best that you learn. I want to continue, I like to play,” said Miguel Ruivo, who is already back in Portugal with his father, Filipe Ruivo, his coach and accredited by the WPBSA as a monitor of the most multimedia variant of billiards.
“Michael’s evolution [Ruivo] it is tangible. You must continue to invest time, dedication and effort in more and more training. He is much better, we had lessons with the Irish coach PJ Nolan, who confirmed that he is much better and going the right way. Now it’s time to continue, as time and financial availability allow,” Filipe Ruivo, a tireless father and inspiration to take (and pay for) his son chasing his dream in every international competition, told us.
The 2023 European Under-21 Championship came to an end with 18-year-old Scot Liam Graham beating his great friend Iulian Boiko, 17-year-old Ukrainian, 5-2 in the final. Graham, who succeeds Belgium’s Ben Mertens, has also been nominated by the EBSA for World Snooker to play on the professional circuit for the next two seasons (2023/24 and 2024/25) and will be in Sheffield, in the qualifiers for the World Cup, in April.
