Australia'S new snooker professional Matthew Bolton has cracked a big break record in billiards at the National Billiards Championship in Melbourne.
Bolton, 37, who won the Oceania Snooker Championship to turn pro and have a crack at the World Snooker Tour earlier this year, made an 809 break in the billiard discipline and claimed a 15th title, beating Joe Minici in the final, breaking his own national record of 736 from 2014.
However, this is not the highest he has made in billiards as in the IBSF World Billiards Championship, the man from Perth made a 831 break in 2011, which remains the highest break by an Australian under the modern rules.
Prior to Bolton's 736, a break of 702 by Bob Marshall had stood for some 60 years.
The Australian Billiards and Snooker Council wrote on their Facebook page: "It seems only a matter of time until Matthew beats Bob Marshall's record 21 Australian titles."
Setting the standard in Australian snooker and billiards
He made the break in the quarter-finals and beat Minici 3370 points to 1110 in the final.
It seems that Bolton is setting a new standard in Australian snooker and billiards, and these wins can boost his confidence going onto the pro tour in snooker this season. To turn pro, he beat Ben Judge in the final of the Oceania Snooker Championships 6 - 3 in March this year.
In the Lance Pannell Snooker Classic earlier this month, which the Aussie cueman also won, Bolton racked a high break of 133 in the tournament, beating Johl Younger 5 - 3 in the final.
Moving abroad
Bolton is the third pro Aussie on the World Snooker tour, as he joins the second player Kurt Dunham and top-16 player Neil Robertson, who was the first Australian to win a World Championship in the Crucible era since 1977, while also becoming only the second overseas player since Cliff Thorburn in 1980 to win a World title when he won it in 2010.
Bolton is certainly one to keep an eye on on the tour this season. On joining the World Snooker tour, he told PressReader online: "It's going to be very very exciting, but also challenging."
He added: "I certainly wouldn't be going if I didn't think I could make an impact."
When interviewed by the Cue View online magazine, Bolton said both Dunham and Robertson were very supportive.
As with many overseas talented players, the prospect of moving away from their homeland such as Ding Junhui is a daunting one, but is at some point necessary as many of the qualifiers for events are based in the UK.
Bolton told the Cue View he would staying put in Oz for the moment before he decides whether to move to the UK permanently.
