Year 10 Kenmore State High School student Lilly Meldrum made history when she defeated defending champion Jessica Woods 4-2 to become the youngest ever winner of the Australian National Women’s Snooker Championship in Albury.
Meldrum, 15, first started playing snooker at the age of 9 on her family’s home table. Despite needing a jigger to reach across the full-size table, she quickly demonstrated a prodigious talent for the sport.
By 2019, Meldrum was already ranked 4th in the world in the under-16 age group. Her recent victory over seven-time national champion Woods underlined her rapid progress in snooker.
Lilly Meldrum defeats fellow Queenslander in comeback fashion
Woods, also from Queensland, jumped out to a 2-0 lead over Meldrum in the championship final. However, the young phenom showed resilience beyond her years and captured the next four frames in a row to claim the national title.
In doing so, Meldrum became the first player other than Woods to win the Australian women’s championship since 2018.
World championship in sights
Earlier this year, Meldrum was a semi-finalist at the World Under-21 Snooker Championship in Thailand.
At just 15 years of age, Lilly Meldrum has already etched her name into the record books and hinted at greater things to come. Her historic national title highlights the arrival of an exciting young player on the global snooker stage.
Published 19 August 2023