Oliver Lines this morning won the European Under-21 Championship in Romania after a 6-1 victory over Ireland’s Josh Boileau in the final.
Along with the coveted trophy and the recognition as being the continent’s best young amateur, Lines will now have the privilege of joining his father Peter on the Main Tour as a professional next season.
As far as I am aware, this will be the first such instance of a father-son double act on the circuit, which could realistically lead to a very interesting contest between the pair at some stage in the future.
18 year-old Lines has been a constant threat on the amateur scene for a couple of years now and it is no surprise to see him making the step up in class so quickly.
The Leeds potter was rarely troubled throughout the tournament, being taken the distance in his last 16 tie with Rhys Clark before comfortable wins over Duane Jones and Irish pair David Cassidy and Boileau.
Despite defeats to Lines, it was still a fantastic week for Cork’s Cassidy and Boileau from Kildare.
Five Irish players started off in the competition and to have two of them reach the last four proves that there are still plenty of talented players in the country, despite the relatively weak numbers entering the ranking events.
Boileau has been widely tipped, including plenty of times on here, as a potential star of the future and his form over the past few days will have ensured his name is more widely looked for on draws in the future.
The 18 year-old will undoubtedly be disappointed to have missed out on top spot and the invitation onto the Main Tour but there are a lot of other avenues for the teenager, including the upcoming Q-School in May.
Lines, though, wont have to worry about that, as he joins the likes of Mark Allen, Ben Woollaston and Michael White to have earned European underage success.
EDIT: Father and son Geoff and Neal Foulds were of course on the Main Tour together in the 1980s.
