Ben Mertens

{{Infobox snooker player

| name = Ben Mertens

| image =

| caption =

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|2004|10|13|df=yes}}

| birth_place = Wetteren, Belgium

| Sport country = {{BEL}}

| Professional = 2022–present

| High ranking = 70 (July 2023)

| Best finish = Last 16 (2023 Welsh Open)

| Ranking wins =

| World champ =

}}

Ben Mertens (born 13 October 2004) is a Belgian professional snooker player. He won the World Open Under-16 Snooker Championships in 2018.

Career

Ben Mertens is from Wetteren. When he was 12 years old, he reached the 2nd round of the 2017 EBSA European Under-18 Snooker Championship. At the 2018 event he got to the quarter-finals, where he lost to the later champion Jackson Page.

He won the Belgian U18 championship in 2018.{{cite news |title=België heeft een wereldkampioen snooker: Ben Mertens (13) wint WK U16 |url=https://sporza.be/nl/2018/10/07/belgie-heeft-een-wereldkampioen-snooker-ben-mertens-13-wint-w/ |accessdate=22 February 2019 |work=Sporza.be |date=7 October 2018}} In August 2018 he played in a professional ranking tournament for the first time, and beat Adam Stefanow in the first round of the 2018 Paul Hunter Classic.

In October 2018, when he was thirteen years old, he won the World Open Under-16 Snooker Championships, becoming the first male Belgian snooker world champion (Wendy Jans is a multiple winner of the senior women's world championship).{{cite news |last1=Luysterborg |first1=Peter |title=België heeft voor het eerst een wereldkampioen snooker: Ben Mertens, amper 13 (!), wint bloedstollende finale |url=https://www.hln.be/sport/meer-sport/belgie-heeft-voor-het-eerst-een-wereldkampioen-snooker-ben-mertens-amper-13-wint-bloedstollende-finale~afcfb35f/ |accessdate=22 February 2019 |work=Het Laatste Nieuws |date=6 October 2018}}

In January 2019, he defeated Michael White, then ranked #36 in the world, at a snooker tournament in Bruges.{{cite news |title=Veertienjarig snookertalent Ben Mertens zet Michael White een hak op Pro-Am snooker |url=https://www.nieuwsblad.be/cnt/dmf20190112_04098204 |accessdate=22 February 2019 |work=Het Nieuwsblad |agency=Belga |date=12 January 2019}}

At the 2019 Snooker Shoot-Out, a ranking tournament for which he got a wild card, he beat James Wattana in the first round.{{cite news |title=Teenager Ben Mertens stuns James Wattana at Snooker Shoot Out in Watford |url=https://www.skysports.com/more-sports/snooker/news/12243/11644584/teenager-ben-mertens-stuns-james-wattana-at-snooker-shoot-out-in-watford |work=Sky Sports |date=22 February 2019}}

In March 2020 he lost in the semi-finals of the EBSA European Under-21 Snooker Championships to later champion Aaron Hill.{{cite web |title=European Snooker Championships U21 - Albufeira / Portugal 2020|url=http://ebsa.pl/turnieje/2020/me21/en/show_drabinka.php?id_t=303&size=64|website=EBSA|accessdate=18 June 2020}}

In July 2020 he defeated James Cahill in the first round of the World Championship qualifiers, becoming the youngest player ever to win a match in the World Championships. This record was broken by Liam Davies, who was two days younger than Mertens when he won his first match at the 2022 World Snooker Championship qualifiers.{{Cite news |title=Davies, 15, sets World Championship record |language=en-GB |work=BBC Sport |url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/snooker/60991563 |access-date=2022-04-06}}

In June 2022 turned professional after winning the EBSA European Under-21 Snooker Championships and gained a two-year tour card for the 2022–23 and 2023–24 snooker seasons.{{Cite web |url=https://wst.tv/mertens-set-for-pro-tour/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220612202933/https://wst.tv/mertens-set-for-pro-tour/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 12, 2022 |title= Mertens set for Pro Tour |website=WST|date= 12 June 2022}}

Performance and rankings timeline

class="wikitable" style="font-size:85%;"

! Tournament

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|Ranking{{cite web|title=Ranking History|url=http://www.snooker.org/rnk/history.asp|publisher=Snooker.org|accessdate=6 February 2011}}It shows the ranking at the beginning of the season

|align="center"|He was an amateur

|align="center"|

|align="center"|New players on the Main Tour don't have a ranking

|align="center"|72

|align="center"|Players qualified One Year Ranking List started the season without ranking points

colspan="10"|Ranking tournaments

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|Championship League

|align="center" colspan="3" style="color:#555555;"|Non-Ranking Event

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|A

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|RR

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|Xi'an Grand Prix

|align="center" colspan="7" style="color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|Saudi Arabia Masters

|align="center" colspan="7" style="color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|3R

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|English Open

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|A

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|British Open

|align="center" colspan="4" style="color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|A

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|2R

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|Wuhan Open

|align="center" colspan="6" style="color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|2R

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|Northern Ireland Open

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|A

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|International Championship

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|A

|align="center" colspan="3" style="color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|UK Championship

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|A

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|Shoot Out

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|A

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|2R

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|A

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|2R

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|A

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|2R

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|Scottish Open

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|A

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|German Masters

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|A

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|A

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|Welsh Open

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|A

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|3R

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|World Open

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|A

|align="center" colspan="3" style="color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|World Grand Prix

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|DNQ

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|Players Championship

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|DNQ

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|Tour Championship

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|NH

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|DNQ

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|World Championship

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|A

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

colspan="10"|Former ranking tournaments

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|Paul Hunter Classic

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|2R

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|NR

|align="center" colspan="10" style="color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|WST Classic

|align="center" colspan="5" style="color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|2R

|align="center" colspan="2" style="color:#555555;"|Not Held

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|European Masters

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|A

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|A

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|2R

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|NH

colspan="10"|Former non-ranking tournaments

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|Paul Hunter Classic

|align="center" colspan="2" style="color:#555555;"|Ranking

|align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R

|align="center" colspan="10" style="color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held

style="background:#EFEFEF;"|Six-red World Championship

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|A

|align="center" colspan="2" style="color:#555555;"|Not Held

|align="center" style="color:#555555;"|LQ

|align="center" colspan="2" style="color:#555555;"|Not Held

class="wikitable" style="font-size:78%;"

bgcolor="#efefef"

! colspan="6"|Performance Table Legend

align="center" style="color:#555555;" width="30"|LQ

| lost in the qualifying draw

| align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|#R

| lost in the early rounds of the tournament
(WR = Wildcard round, RR = Round robin)

| align="center" style="background:#ffebcd;"|QF

| lost in the quarter-finals

align="center" style="background:yellow;"|SF

| lost in the semi-finals

| align="center" style="background:#D8BFD8;"|F

| lost in the final

| align="center" style="background:#00ff00;"|W

| won the tournament

align="center" style="color:#555555;" width="30"|DNQ

| did not qualify for the tournament

| align="center" style="color:#555555;" width="30"|A

| did not participate in the tournament

| align="center" style="color:#555555;" width="30"|WD

| withdrew from the tournament

class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%"
style="text-align:center; color:#555555;" colspan="4"\|NH / Not Held	means an event was not held.
style="text-align:center; color:#555555;" colspan="4"\|NR / Non-Ranking Event	means an event is/was no longer a ranking event.
style="text-align:center; color:#555555;" colspan="4"\|R / Ranking Event	means an event is/was a ranking event.
style="text-align:center; color:#555555;" colspan="4"\|MR / Minor-Ranking Event	means an event is/was a minor-ranking event.

Career finals

=Amateur finals: 4 (3 titles)=

class="sortable wikitable"

!width="80"| Outcome

!width="20"| No.

!width="50"| Year

!width="350"| Championship

!width="200"| Opponent in the final

!width="100"| Score

style="background:#98fb98;"|Winner

| 1.

| 2018

| World Open Under-16 Snooker Championships

| {{flagicon|IRL}} Aaron Hill

| 4–3

style="background:#98fb98;"|Winner

| 2.

| 2021

| EBSA European Under-18 Snooker Championships

| {{flagicon|BEL}} Julien Leclercq

| 4–3

style="background:#98fb98;"|Winner

| 3.

| 2022

| EBSA European Under-21 Snooker Championships

| {{flagicon|AUT}} Florian Nüßle

| 5–1

style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up

| 1.

| 2022

| EBSA European Snooker Championships

| {{flagicon|EST}} Andres Petrov

| 3–5

References

External links

{{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180813200920/http://www.benmertenssnooker.com/ |date=dmy |title=Official website}}
{{WST player}}
{{snooker.org player}}

Category:2004 births

Category:Sportspeople from Wetteren

Category:Belgian snooker players

Category:Living people

Category:21st-century Belgian sportsmen