User:Montgomery15/sandbox/Ivaylo Pekov

Ivaylo Pekov

Ivaylo Pekov

Sport country	Bulgaria
Best ranking finish	Last 144 (2015 World Championship)

Ivaylo Pekov is a Bulgarian amateur snooker player.

Career

Pekov first played competitive snooker in 2011, entering the European Under-21 Championships in Poland. He lost all seven of his group matches and was eliminated at this stage from the tournament.

The following season, he entered the 2012 edition of the Under-21 Championships, which was this time held in his home country, and progressed from his group, but was defeated 3–0 in the last 48 by Duane Jones. Pekov also entered the 2012 European Championships, losing 0–4 to the experienced Maltese former professional Alex Borg in the last 32.

During the 2012/2013 season, Pekov played in his first PTC event, winning his first qualifying match against countryman Salim Otti to face another veteran, Rod Lawler, in the last 128. He took the second frame, but could not prevent a 1–4 loss.

In the Bulgarian Open the next year, Pekov was drawn against 2010 World Champion Neil Robertson in the last 128, but was outclassed again, losing 0–4. At amateur level, he entered the 2013 World Amateur Championship and the European Under-21 Championships; although he lost his first-round matches after progressing from the group stage in both events, he made a break of 108, his first century break, in the former.

At the 2014 European Championships, Pekov advanced from his group before beating Ross Vallance 4–3 and Gary Thomson 5–4 - having recovered from 0–4 - to reach the last 16 stage of an event for the first time. There, he took the first frame against Nick Jennings, but lost 1–5.

He was invited to participate in qualifying for the 2015 World Championship, and was drawn against Marcus Campbell at the last-144 stage. He held his opponent to 2–2, but eventually lost 2–10; Campbell would go on to lose his next match to Mark King, and his status as a professional, after twenty-four years on tour, at the end of the season.