Anton Kazakov secured his return to the main tour by triumphing at the 2026 European Under-21 Championship in Gandia on Sunday.
The young Ukrainian beat Riley Powell 5-3 at the Palace Hotel, a victory that earns the 21 year-old a two-year card to compete on the World Snooker Tour.
Kazakov had previously participated on the main tour from 2022 to 2024, reaching a career-high world ranking of 101.
It’s safe to say that he found his first stint as a professional difficult, reaching only the last 64 of the Northern Ireland Open in 2023.
But that’s the way for many newcomers to the big-time and Kazakov will hope to build on that valuable experience when he rejoins the circuit for the start of the upcoming 2026/27 campaign.
Despite his limited initial success as a pro, it certainly appears to be clear that he boasts a decent level of pedigree.
Indeed, this is the second major international amateur tournament that he has won in his short career on the baize so far.
Kazakov previously won the World Snooker Federation Junior Championship in 2022, a glory that earned him his debut spot on the main tour.
In the European Under-21 Championship last week, he easily negotiated his round-robin phase to advance to the knockout stages with a perfect winning group record.
A 4-0 victory then took him through to the last 32 of the competition, where he overcame talented Scot Jack Borwick with a 4-2 scoreline.
In the last 16, Kazakov thumped Vladislav Gradinari 4-0 before being tested in the quarter-finals amid a seven-frame thriller with Erik Nagy.
A 4-1 defeat of Sebastian Milewski subsequently took him through to the final where he faced rising Welsh star Powell.
The latter gained the early initiative by winning the opening two frames of the title-deciding showdown, before Kazakov rallied to restore parity.
Powell, chasing a maiden promotion to the professional scene, again went in front but duly weakened towards the end, with Kazakov winning the last three frames to complete the victory.
The flagship amateur event of the continent will next take place with the 2026 EBSA European Championship crown to be won on March 14th.
2026 European Under-21 Championship
Selected Results
Last 16
Riley Powell 4-1 Lukas Stötzer
Matvei Lagodzinschii 4-2 Filips Kalnins
Joel Connolly 4-3 Oliver Briffet-Payne
Ayaan Iqbal 4-2 Zac Cosker
Amaan Iqbal 4-1 Mykhailo Larkov
Sebastian Milewski 4-0 Geremia Orsi
Erik Nagy 4-1 Joel Frandrei
Anton Kazakov 4-0 Vladislav Gradinari
Quarter-Finals
Riley Powell 4-1 Matvei Lagodzinschii
Ayaan Iqbal 4-2 Joel Connolly
Sebastian Milewski 4-0 Amaan Iqbal
Anton Kazakov 4-3 Erik Nagy
Semi-Finals
Riley Powell 4-1 Ayaan Iqbal
Anton Kazakov 4-1 Sebastian Milewski
Final
Anton Kazakov 5-3 Riley Powell
Featured photo credit: EBSA
