Denzel, 11, had his second successive runner-up finish in the under 12s, while sister Jadzia, 12, had her first match victory playing in the under 15s.

It was a busy week of competition for Denzel, who once again tried his luck at the under 15s level as well as his 12s tournament.

There were more opponents in his way in the under 12s competition this time around as a field of seven took part compared with the four this time last year.

Jayden Dinga, the Queenslander who knocked over Denzel in last year’s final, provided one of the most exciting pool matches against the Bathurst player.

The pair exchanged frames before Dinga took a hard-fought third frame 52-47 to take out the match.

In a showcase of his ability to keep cool under pressure, three of Denzel’s four pool victories came after he dropped the first frame.

That led to a semi-final rematch against Dinga, but this time Denzel was able to get his revenge when he had yet another come-from-behind win.

A 35-41, 52-44, 44-20 result put him through to the final.

Nikolas Burnett proved too strong in the best-of-five final, winning three straight frames to take the crown.

Denzel’s father Terry said his son produced a mixed bag of results in both finals competitions, but did pull off some of his best snooker to date.

“Denzel did really well. Just like last year, he was in the under 15s as well. That was where he produced his best game in the finals,” he said.

“He only lost one game in the 15s on his way to the finals and he really looked the goods. After winning that [round of 16 game] he ended up having to play Kyle Renton, who went on to win. Kyle’s now over in Romania representing Australia.

“In the under 12s final he played a best of five. The second frame came down to the black and he probably should have won that game. If he did, things might have turned out differently.”

That victory at the round of 16 came against South Australia’s Kane Weekley in a dominant 60-24, 57-13 result.

Renton put on a clinic to end Denzel’s dream run in the finals above his age, but his father was happy to see his son’s bigger drive to succeed this year. 

“He’s improved so much compared to last year. In the week before the competition, his game picked up 100 per cent,” Terry said.

“I said to him last year ‘you need to practice’. By the end of the competition he was physically drained. This time just over a week away he came to me instead and said ‘can I practice’? 

“He’d get there at 10 o’clock and he’d be there practising until 10pm. Because of that, this time around he wasn’t drained.”

Jadzia was the sole female competitor in all junior grades, granting her victory in the girls title, but she was out to show she could rattle the boys around her.

She managed to do just that in the under 15s competition when she took out her final pool game against Victorian Jack Hasell 59-43, 36-44, 57-13.

Terry said such a result was even more than his daughter had hoped for.

“She went up against the under 15 boys and they were just a class ahead of her. It was tougher for her too because she had all the older boys in her pool as well,” he said.

“Her objective was to try and win one frame, and she managed to not just do that but also take the match, so she was quite happy.”