Snooker: Hill & Mercer reach Last-12 in Portugal

Manx duo have been contesting the European championship event

Two Isle of Man snooker players put in a series of spirited performances to reach the last-12 stage of this year’s EBSA European Team Snooker Championships.

Taking place in the Algarve, Portugal this year the Island was represented by Dollin Mercer and Darryl Hill in both the individual shoot-out and team competitions between 18-24 October.

In the shoot-out on Saturday (19 October) both players were beaten in their opening matches as Hill was defeated by local Portuguese competitor Joao Grilo and Mercer fell at the hands of Andres Petrov of Estonia.

Both then linked up for the team event – day one on 20 October saw them suffer a poor start with a 3-0 loss to France 1 before they bounced back later in the day to claim their first victory over Poland 1 with a 3-2 scoreline.

The duo started Monday (21 October) with a winning performance, dispatching Denmark 3-0 to progress to the knockouts.

There they face Malta 1 in the last-12 with the Maltese pairing of Aaron Busuttil and Chris Peplow racing into a 2-0 lead before Hill and Mercer fought back to level at 2-2.

Malta 1 would then take the fifth and deciding frame to end the Isle of Man’s campaign there.

Despite exiting the tournament, the Isle of Man will be represented internationally again from 1-6 November as Hill heads to Doha, Qatar for the 2024 IBSF World Amateur Championships.