Stephen racks ‘em up

Ennis teenager Stephen Jordan who lives in Hermitage is now ranked the number one pool player in Ireland at U-15 level following his success at a weekend ranking tournament at the Green Isle Hotel in Dublin.
As member of Club 147, he went into the tournament as the number two but victory has pushed him to number one. A second year pupil at St Flannan’s College, Stephen has been playing pool for just two years.
“I joined the club two years ago and I started playing tournaments soon after this,” he told The Clare Champion this week.
An indication of the progress Stephen has made in the short space of time is reflected in the fact that he is the number six ranked player in Ireland at U-18 level.
“The Irish championships are coming up in three weeks in Westmeath and I will be playing in the senior men’s event on the Saturday and the U-15 and U-18 sections on the Sunday,” he explained.
Winning the U-15 title is his main target at these competitions but he will also be hoping to do well at U-18 level.
“The top three at the U-18 competition will get onto the Irish team,” he pointed out, adding that there will be Irish trials in Cavan come summer.
In last weekend’s competition, the 14-year-old won all three games at the group stage without dropping a frame. He then won through the quarter and semi-finals and in the final, having lost the first two sets, he fought back to win the match 5-2.
“David Duggan, who competes in the men’s senior event, takes a few of us to all the tournaments. He got to the last 32 in the men’s event last week which is a huge result given that there were over 200 playing in the tournament. He is a former number one at U-18 level,” Stephen explained.
Stephen practices every day and this week, he will be in Limerick playing in another tournament. He is also a keen snooker player and plays regularly in Munster snooker tournaments.
His younger brother Aidan, who is just 10 years of age, is also a keen player.