From playing pool at home with his dad to his first overseas tournament at 12 and now to becoming one of the world’s most touted young talents, Jack Beggs’ road to greatness has just begun.
In just over a year on the World Nineball Tour, 16-year-old Jack Beggs has claimed three major junior titles, including the SVB Junior Open and the Hanoi Open in 2025 as well as this year’s Orlando event on the revamped NXTGEN circuit. With that impressive run, he is currently ranked number two on that particular circuit.
Behind all the glory on the international stage was a humble beginning at the pool table at home, playing with his dad. Beggs picked up a cue for the first time around age eight and immediately knew this beautiful game was meant for him.
“I was around eight or nine that I actually started playing a little bit seriously. And then when I was like 12 or 13, I thought, ‘Yeah, I’m kind of interested in this now.’ And then took it more seriously from there,” he says.
Growing up in New Zealand, a country many wouldn’t consider a pool powerhouse, Beggs had to carve his own path to the big oceans. Fortunately, he’s got a little help from a local hero, 20-time New Zealand pool champion and former World Pool Masters quarter-finalist Matt Edwards.
“One of my sponsors, Matt Edwards, is obviously New Zealand’s best pool player ever,” he adds. “He doesn’t really play much anymore, but he understands the kind of route you need to go. If I want to go to an event, I just call him up and ask if it’s a good idea to go. He guides me on what events he thinks are best to go to. The Matchroom events are always really good.”
Really good events indeed. He has etched his name in history as the first player from Oceania to lift three junior titles. Among his title wins, Beggs says his favourite moment was easily the nail-biting finish at the humid Hanoi Open cauldron, when he defeated local favourite Nguyen Tien Trung 9-7.
“It’s always nice to win in any event, but Hanoi was special because I played a Vietnamese player in the final,” he recalls. “There were a lot of people supporting him. I felt good to beat the player the crowd wanted to win.”
It was nowhere near one-way traffic. His opponent almost engineered a dramatic fightback, highlighted by a wonderful safety that made every highlight reel, which Beggs applauded as ‘a great shot’.
“I was winning 8-3 or something and then I started making a few mistakes. I almost got a little bit ahead of myself, but then, you know, I was able to refocus and cleared a good rack at the end to win.”
This title was extra special considering the physical journey he endured before arriving in Hanoi. After his title in the US, he went to Ireland for a month, practising and participating in red and yellow English eight-ball tournaments before flying straight to Southeast Asia.
The torments of constant long-distance travelling came crashing down on the youngster in Hanoi: “I felt like I couldn’t even hold a cue at the start. I was really surprised with how well I played.”
Wins bring unforgettable emotions, but losses are an unavoidable part of maturing and building character as a pool player.
Beggs says the defeat that still haunts him to this day was at the NXTGEN Frisco, where he failed to make the single elimination rounds due to a hill-hill loss in losers’ qualification: “I always have a problem when I always get to the hill first, and if I have a big lead, I struggle to finish it out. I need to fix it.”
Now often regarded as one of the top prospects in pool, the teenage sensation is preparing himself mentally and physically to compete at the next level.
He has entered a few tournaments with the senior players this year, notably the Scottish Open and the Phoenix Open, where he faced European powerhouses Jayson Shaw and Alexander Kazakis. Despite losing, he said it was ‘good experience’ for his future.
Outside American pool, Beggs has challenged himself in other disciplines to improve his overall game and have some eye-opening moments at the same time.
“I went to China for a Heyball event. It’s more of a snooker stroke, not as smooth as nine-ball, more jabby kind of technique,” he says. “I played the best Chinese player in Chu Bingjie. We played like 30 racks and he missed three balls. It’s crazy.”
While honing his skills, he always makes sure to keep himself grounded and not look too far beyond his current achievement.
Beggs expresses a lot of admiration and respect for European players: “Azuolas [Tadaravicius], he’s of course one of the best players. You have Felix [Vogel], his results are incredible.”
The 16-year-old especially looks up to the German pairing of Felix Vogel and Joshua Filler, even hinting at ‘The Killer’ as his idol. “I look at Felix a lot, you know,” he says. “I think his temperament around the table is also very good for such a young age. He’s really calm, and his fundamentals are good.”
“I like Filler. His rhythm around the table is good. It’s not too slow, and he understands the game well as well. His safeties are smart. He’s a great player, obviously.”
However, Beggs says he doesn’t want to model his game after anyone. He will keep practising at home after school and be the best version of himself, bar his other activities like football, of course.
Surprisingly, Beggs reveals he doesn’t practice with his younger brother Sean at all, despite both players being on tour for the NXTGEN competitions: “[Sean] doesn’t play as much as I do. I focus more on drills, like playing the ghost.”
With 2027 coming soon, Beggs looks to participate in more men’s events alongside the juniors. He hopes he can make the single elimination phase in at least one of them. “It’s a process. So, you know, I’m not going to get perfect results immediately and I just have to grind it out for a few years,” he says.
A new Kiwi on the block, the talented and humble Jack Beggs is looking to make next year even better for himself and inspire even more generations of New Zealand pool players.
