RUBBING shoulders with snooker’s glitterati recently were a group of eight highly talented youngsters from a Three Towns sports club.

The youngsters from the Saltcoats-based Nonsuch Snooker Academy enjoyed a day out at the Scottish Open in Glasgow’s Emirates Arena.

The lucky kids were: Brandon Sinclair, Sophie Nix, Cameron Armstrong, Dominic Coyle, Leo Moffat, Paul Williams, Josh Selwyn and Martin Lee Mcnally.

All are aged from nine to 14 and have very good prospects on the green baize.

Courtesy of the Scottish Snooker Association, they were accompanied by their coaches Allan Duffy and Johnny McNally to the event.

They played in the cue zone area and all received medals.

The young snooker aces were waiting for the heroes to arrive when two-time world champion Neil Robertson invited them in to the players’ lounge where they got their photos taken with many of the top competitors.

Then they were given autographs and enjoyed a tour of the venue which was built for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games and has also hosted top events including athletics, cycling, badminton and gymnastics,

When they finally got into the arena waiting on the Ronnie O’Sullivan match, the compere gave them a shout out on national TV.

They were congratulated on being in the top 16 junior players in Scotland, with officials saying they were the future of Scottish snooker.

The children were also sporting their new Nonsuch polo shirts which they are really proud of.

The excitement levels that day were incredible and all due to the hard work dedication and patience of the coaches.

Anyone interested can contact Allan in the Nonsuch at any time.

For the record, the event was won by Mark Selby and it attracted bumper crowds to the arena.

Gemma Keenan, manager of the Nonsuch Lounge Sports Bar said: “It was a great day for the young players to be involved in.

“They seemed to enjoy it and it was great to have the chance to meet the players.”