Professional snooker's new, unexpected powerhouse nation producing young stars

Next season, for the first time, Ukraine will have three players competing on the World Snooker Tour professional circuit, and they are all aged 21 years or under.

Iulian Boiko continues his spell on the sport’s top tier with the second year of his tour card, Anton Kazakov will return to it, and Mykhailo Larkov will be making his debut.

The highest profile of this trio is probably Boiko, who despite still only being aged 20-years-old, seems to have been on the scene for quite a while now.

Boiko made the final of the 2020 World Snooker Federation Championship and in recognition of his achievement was awarded with a spot on the top flight at the age of just 14.

He was relegated from the Tour after his two-year pass but regained his pro stripes last year by winning the European Under-21 Snooker Championship held in Turkiye.

On his return this campaign, Boiko has impressed with solid results, and amassed nearly £50,000 in tournament earnings. He won four matches to reach the last 32 of the Saudi Arabia Masters where he was pipped 5-4 by world number two Kyren Wilson.

At the Snooker Shoot Out in December, he was close to becoming a ranking event finalist but was denied by Stuart Bingham in the last four.

Like compatriot Boiko, Kazakov has bounced back following pro tour relegation. He initially qualified for the circuit by winning the 2022 World Snooker Junior Championship held in Sheffield, but has been of amateur status for the past couple of seasons.

However, earlier this month, Kazakov made his way back to the big time by securing the European Under-21 Snooker Championship that took place in Gandia, Spain.

A few days later during the same trip, Kazakov created history in winning the European Amateur Snooker Championship (open-aged) - becoming the first player to have claimed both continental titles within the same calendar year.

Larkov is only 17-years-old but will be preparing for his rookie professional term in a few months’ time.

Winner of the Ukrainian national championship in 2024, Larkov was the victor at this year’s World Snooker Federation Junior Championship held in Sofia, Bulgaria.

In the final, Larkov defeated China’s Wang Xinbo, 5-2; Wang has featured as a wildcard in several professional events held in his homeland.

Until only a few years ago, Ukrainian snooker had never featured at the business end of major, international amateur competition, but there has been a sea change in recent times due to the aforementioned three.

From the six editions of the WSF Junior Championship, Ukraine is the most successful nation with two champions (Kazakov, Larkov) and a semi-finalist in Boiko.

Having never fielded a finalist before, three of the last four European under-21 championships have had a Ukrainian player involved with Boiko (2025) and Kazakov (2026) winning it in back-to-back years. That was the first time a nation had claimed the title in consecutive editions since England did so in 2013 & 2014.

And in a tournament that was first won in 1988, Kazakov was the first Ukrainian to reach the final of, and then win the European amateur crown.

Boiko, Kazakov, and Larkov are all set to play in the 2026 World Snooker Championship qualifiers which take place at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield between April 6-15.

All three will likely need to win four successive matches in order to qualify for the main draw, televised stages; a Ukrainian player has yet to play at the Crucible.