SHEFFIELD'S got talent.
And Joel Walker has pots of it ...
The 14-year-old snooker playing kid from Charnock is a genuine tip for the top. Former world champion Shaun Murphy says so.
"Joel's a great talent. I've seen him play and he has a lot of ability. I wasn't as good as him at his age; he has a lot of natural ability," Murphy, based at Rotherham, reckoned.
The Sheffield lad is England's No 1 in his age group. Playing against adults, he won the Johnstone's Leisure Premier title.
Joel first picked up a cue as a toddler, was playing on a full-size table at six and rattled in his first 100 break at just nine.
He is the youngest ever Sheffield under-19 champion as well as the youngest ever Yorkshire U-15 title-holder.
He won the this year's Chesterfield Senior Championship, scoring wins over top players Adam Duffy and Martin Finnigan and ex-pro Scot Cooney.
"He's going to be a very good player, mark my words. I really wish him all the best, I'll always be here if he needs any help or advice," Murphy added.
"You can only get better by learning off people who have played the game; that's what I've done with the likes of Willie Thorne and other professionals like Ray Reardon.
"I've offered him a few tips on how to improve but he's a level-headed lad, he wants to do well.
"The main thing is to enjoy himself when he's playing, but also to keep practising and wanting to get better."
Joel, a regular at Sheffield's 147 Club, has just been called up for England U-16s for the home internationals in August against Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
His ambition is to be playing on the professional tour by the time he is 18 and he's currently looking for sponsorship in order to achieve that aim.
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