Latvian snooker player Kalniņš reaches Q Tour last 16 for the first time
Latvian snooker player Filips Kalniņš reached the last 16 of the third Q Tour event, his best result in the series. There he lost 0-4 to former professional Peter Lines.
Latvian snooker player Filips Kalniņš has reached the last 16 of a Q Tour event for the first time in his career. The Q Tour is a series of snooker tournaments, and Kalniņš was the only Latvian competing in this third event of the season. In the last 16 he lost to former professional Peter Lines.
The road to the last 16
Kalniņš started in the second round against Luke Flenangen, an English player of the same age. The Latvian opened with three frames in a row and two half-century breaks (50+ points). Flenangen made a 40-point run to extend the match in the fourth frame, but Kalniņš sealed a 4-1 win in the fifth with a 52 break.
Next came England's Patrick Whelan. The start was less convincing, with the opponent taking the first two frames. Kalniņš won the third, added two more, including a 62 break, and took the deciding frame with a half-century to win 4-3.
In the third round he faced George Pragnell. The players first traded two frames each, and in the decider Kalniņš made a 46 break to win 4-3 and reach the last 16.
Last 16 and rankings
In the last 16, Lines won four frames in a row for a 4-0 result.
For this achievement Kalniņš will earn 2,400 ranking points and £750. He currently sits 54th in the Q Tour rankings. At the first event of the season, in Sofia, he was joined by Latvian runner-up champion Nikita Bazilevičs.
