Snooker: Leslie nears his Pro dream by making semis in Malta

Bonnyrigg's Michael Leslie only needs to two more victories to achieve his dream of securing a place on the Professional Snooker circuit after a last-frame victory over close friend Robert Carlisle (Edinburgh) saw him reach the semi-finals of the European Under-21 Snooker Championships in Malta.

While Leslie enjoyed a comfortable 4-0 victory over Ireland's Greg Casey in the last 16, Carlisle had to come from 3-1 behind to overcome Poland's Adam Stefanow 4-3 to set-up an all-Lothian quarter-final.

Carlisle started the better of the two winning the opening two frames before Leslie made three half-century breaks on the way to opening up a 4-2 lead. However, from looking on his way out of the competition, Carlisle comfortably won the next two frames to force a decider. Leslie, though, was not to be denied and another 50 break was enough to secure a place in the semi-finals against Duane Jones of Wales today who defeated Hamilton's Rhys Clark in his quarter-final.

The other semi-final will see England's Sam Harvey, who defeated Belgian wonderkid Luca Brecel, play 16-year-old Kacper Filipiak (Poland). The young Pole enjoyed a fine 5-4 victory over Alloa's Eden Sharav. Scotland's run in the Team Championship came to an end when they lost 10-9 to Poland in the semis.