Vegan Neil makes a 147 – and wins the Welsh Open

The Australian was one of 128 competitors competing in Cardiff in the final event of the Home Nations series.   Neil entere the tournament having already taken a win at the Riga Masters, a final appearance at the International Championships and a semi final at The Masters.

After two wins in the early rounds, Neil took a tight 4-3 win to reach the last 16, winning 4-0 there.  Winning again to make the semi final he annihilated his opponent 6-0 to set up a final with defending champion Stuart Bingham.  Neil beat him 9-7 after taking an early lead and seeing off a determined fightback.

Maximum

Neil also celebrated with a maximum break in the early rounds.  The fourth of his career, the 147 break came after he potted a red off the break and managed to continue.  A maximum in a ranking event is rare; there were two in this tournament and it was only the fifth time two had been recorded.

https://youtu.be/e_ACZKOKBoI

Neil tweeted “Awesome feeling and very unexpected to make the 147 tonight! Really made it special that Willie Thorne was doing the commentary and great touch from him to wait for me afterwards.”

Plant-based potter

In 2015 Neil told Great Vegan Athletes: “I felt I needed to eat healthier to give my self the chance to get the most out of my career. I was pretty interested in the vegan diet for months before I decided to give it a try through speaking to Peter Ebdon who has been vegan for about 3 years now.”

He explained what healthy looks like.

 “I always start the day with a carrot juice with my juicer followed by a 6 banana smoothie with half a bag of kale for breakfast. I bring another smoothie with me to the club which has another 6 bananas in it mixed with some other fruit. When I get home I make a salad and for dinner usually a pasta or rice dish.”

BBC covers his win

Neil’s Profile