Ceighley star Melling survives Slovenia and is afraid to go far
CHRIS Melling returned to travel over the weekend, and pool player Keighley has appeared in his first Euro Tour event since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
The 9-ball competition took place in Slovenia, but Melling admitted to Keighley News last week that he may have rusted a bit, as he has played little in this format since the World Cup last June.
He started well, beating Swiss rival Michael Schneider 9-4 and then losing to one of Spain’s brightest European stars, David Alcaide, 9-7.
This ranked him among the losers in the draw, where he competed with domestic talent Max Benko, who is exceptionally 12 years old.
Benko created some brilliant pools, and Melling was full of praise for his performance, but Keighley potter avoided any embarrassment against the pre-champion and won 9-4.
This was followed by a remarkable set of results.
Melling came back 5-3 and beat Tomasz Kaplan 9-8, then also beat Luco Menna 9-8, almost eliminating that game 8-4 in the lead.
This led Melling to shoot for the final 32 against old enemy Alcaide, who lost his previous match.
The Keighley man looked finished 8-5, but came back and won 9-8.
This led him to a showdown in the final 32 with Estonian Denis Grabe, but Melling finally ran out of luck as he lost a 7-3 lead and was knocked out 9-8.
The tournament was eventually won by young Pole Wiktor Zielinski, who beat German Joshua Filler 9-7 in a flashing final.