KEIGHLEY pool player Chris Melling pulled on one of his best ever shots in a tournament and footage of the excellent piece of skill went viral on social media.

Melling was playing former world champion and USA great Shane Van Boening in a 2023 Premier League Pool event last week at the Morningside Arena, Leicester, The pair were locked in a safety exchange before Melling produced an outrageous kick shot to force his way into the rack.

"It was a bit of a crazy one," said Melling. "I was snookered behind two balls, had to bend it between two and balls play it off three cushions before pocketing the two ball in a side pocket.

"It was in the top three of the best ever shots I have played. It was one in a thousand.

"It's had more than 140,000 views on the SportBible social media page."

Although he beat Van Boening 5-3 in that match, Melling admitted he struggled in the event, which saw Francisco Sanchez Ruiz claim the 2023 Premier League Pool title beating Jayson Shaw in the final.

Melling said: "It was a tournament where 16 players play in a round-robin format with the top performing players advancing.

"I played 15 matches and won five of them.

"I struggled a bit because the tip of my cue was really soft, so I wasn't able to get a good feel for the shots.

"It was a bit loose and affected shots I played with side spin or screw.

"I ended up missing so many easy shots.

"I played three matches each over the first five days. I won one the first day, two on the second and third days but none of days four and five.

"Each match was a race to five, so it was sometimes really difficult to get going or get back in the match.

"There was one match I lost 5-0 and I literally didn't get to the table.

"Nine ball can be a pretty cruel game sometimes."

Melling was pleased that his five wins were against players that he generally has not performed as well against in the past.

And although Melling was not able to advance past the round robin stage, he was pleased that his shot going viral on social media.

Melling will now switch formats to eight ball pool for his next two events.

"I have an exhibition this Saturday in Birmingham and then I'll be practicing for the Ultimate Pool Tour in Blackpool.

"It's one of the main events in English pool.

Melling said the "practising patterns" for the eight ball game will set him for the World Heyball Championship in China, which will be held from March 29 to April 6.

"It has a £740,000 first prize for the winner, so it's definitely worth winning.

"The tournament features 64 players, 32 Chinese and 32 international players.

"They really love their pool over in China.

"You can sometimes play before huge crowds of 3,000 to 4,000 people."