A Lanarkshire snooker sensation is heading Down Under to pit his skills against the best in the world.
Steven Wardropper, from Carluke, will be competing in the World Snooker Federation junior championships having already competed across Europe so far this season.
The 14-year-old has came a long way since walking into the Masters Snooker Club in Wishaw as a nine-year-old, with proud dad Raymond praising how "determined" he is to "work hard on his game".
Raymond told Lanarkshire Live : “We have a garage and we had to rebuild it with a full-sized table in it.
“During COVID he was out practising eight-to-10 hours a day. He showed unbelievable dedication.
“Neither myself or any of the family are great snooker or pool players. I just started taking him down to the club in Wishaw when he was nine and we got him a couple of lessons.
“He was potting balls left, right and centre.”
Steven’s progress has continued under the tutelage of Chris Small, a former ranking tournament winner.
As well as playing at home, Steven competes at the Red Triangle Club in Cumbernauld - all whilst trying to fit in his school work at Carluke High.
“Chris has been brilliant with Steven since he came in,” said Raymond.
“I’m over the moon with how well he’s doing.
“He comes to the house and works with him as well and you can see the improvement.
“When Steven comes in from school, he just grabs something to eat then heads out to the table and that’s him for the night - at least myself and his mum know where he is!”
It will be Steven’s mum Allison who accompanies him on the trip to Australia with Raymond having to make do with a trip to Malta for a tournament in 2023.
Ultimately Steven’s dream is to play on snooker’s professional tour - and with only 128 tour cards up for grabs each year, the family know he's set himself a tough goal.
However, Raymond is hoping Steven’s continued success at youth level will stand him in good stead going forward.
He added: “He has been winning and playing really well.
“It’s difficult trying to juggle work with making sure Steven is ready for these tournaments but he gets so much enjoyment out of it.
“His goal is to get on the main tour, it’ll be tough but that’s his dream and we will support him in anyway we can.
“He’s played a few games with John Higgins, Anthony McGill and obviously his coach Chris so he knows what it takes to get to the very top.
“He’s also had great support from his sponsors Stanford Logistics and EE Motherwell.”
If anyone company would like to sponsor Steven then contact Raymond by emailing raymondwardropper.1@hotmail.com
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