Snooker: Darryl Hill bows out in Last-16 of world amateur championships

Manxman narrowly beaten after heroic comeback in Doha

Isle of Man snooker competitor Darryl Hill's latest IBSF World Amateur Championships campaign has come to an end with a narrow 3-4 defeat to India's Sourav Kothari in the Last-16 stage.

The game went to a seventh and deciding frame after Hill had produced an almighty come back from 3-0 down to level the contest in Doha.

His progress in the competition again this year means the Island player has matched how far he went in last year's event.

After a quick turnaround from taking part in the EBSA European Team Snooker Championships in Portugal in late October, Hill got off to a difficult start in the group stages in Qatar with a 4-1 defeat to a clinical Asjad Iqbal of Pakistan.

However, Hill recovered with back-to-back wins in his remaining two group stage contests.

A 4-2 win over Qatar's Khamis Alobaidli was followed by a 4-2 victory against Iranian Milad Fathpour Kashani which ensured the Island player's progression to the knockout stage.

The Last-24 phase saw Hill face France's Nicolas Mortreux with the Frenchman racing into a 3-1 lead before Hill rallied back again to take it to a decider before going on to win the decisive seventh frame to win by a 4-3 scoreline.

The bounce-back character of Hill would come in handy once again in the Last-16 as he went behind early to Kothari before fighting back form 0-3 to again take a knockout game to a decider.

However, this time wasn't to be for the Island competitor as Kothari had enough to hold out and take the seventh frame to continue.

During his journey to the last 16 last year, Hill was one of two Isle of Man players that year involved along with Dollin Mercer who in 2023 was eliminated during the group stage.