Rockwood pool prodigy set to represent Canada at world championships

A Rockwood teen will be competing against the top junior billiard players in the world.

Sixteen-year-old Bryzen Ace Manipula recently won the 2023 Canadian Billiard and Snooker Association’s Canadian Junior Championship in the boys under-19 category. The win earned him a spot at the World Pool-Billiard Associations Junior Championship in Austria in October.

Manipula began playing pool as a child watching his dad and grandfather play the game.

“It really just runs in my family,” said Manipula. “My dad and grandpa really liked to play pool as did my aunts and uncles.”

It was just last year that Manipula decided to take up competitive billiards seriously. He won five tournaments and made it to the semi-finals in another tournament in 2023. Manipula recently got a sponsorship from a Japanese cue maker, Mezz Cues.

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For Manipula, the experience of playing competitive pool is exciting.

“I find it enjoyable to just be playing something that I like,” Manipula said.

When he is not picking up a pool cue, Manipula is picking up the books while attending John F Ross CVI in Guelph. He would like to one day play pool as a professional.

But for now, Manipula is enjoying the moment and working hard at his craft.

“I’m competing as much as I can and travelling to the States (for tournaments). I don’t care if I lose, I just work hard and keep playing.”