Press Release

16 YEAR OLD RILEY JAMES WINS THE 2025 NZ NATIONAL SNOOKER CHAMPIONSHIPS

Auckland, New Zealand – 12 October 2025

Riley James became the youngest ever NZ National champion at just 16 years of age eclipsing the efforts of Louis Chand who won the 2016 NZ National Snooker Championship at the age of 17.

James road to the final included two come from behind victories over Mark Canovan from Canterbury (NZ Rank #1) in the quarter-finals, Matthew Scarborough from Waikato (NZ rank #2) in the semi-finals.

In the final against Hassan Abdalla (Auckland), it was the young man came out on top with a 6-5 victory, featuring impressive breaks of 83 and 51 in the final two frames to clench the title. 

The NZ National Championships were held from Thursday, 9th October to Sunday, 12th October 2025.

For more information, please contact:

• Paul van der Straten
• Secretary.nzbsa@gmail.com
• Phone:  +64 21 171 4229
• Website:  nzbsa.org.nz

Previous articles (Riley James):

• Riley James primed for world snooker championships
• Pint-sized snooker player's big break: 9-year-old chalks up success to cool head
• Meet NZ's youngest ever snooker rep, nine-year-old Riley ...

Article added: Monday 13 October 2025