Two teenage pool players said they are "buzzing" as they prepare to represent their country in an international tournament.
Jed Leech, 17, from Leighton Buzzard, and Cavan Roberts, 17, from Houghton Regis, will be part of the England Under-18 team at the European Pool Championships in Cyprus later this month.
The pair know each other through playing for the Bedfordshire under-18s team.
"I just scraped through [qualifying]," Jed said. "I can't wait. I'm buzzing. I feel proud to represent my country. I must control my nerves."
Both players took up the sport at a young age. Jed practised on his snooker table by resting a stool against it so he could reach the balls.
He said that the sport takes his mind off things and that when he is competing he "doesn't worry about anything else around [him]".
Cavan avoided going to the swimming pool with his family on holiday. Instead, he would head for the pool table. He plays up to four hours a day, for most of the week.
He said he finds it "relaxing" and gets "continual enjoyment out of it" despite the standard in competitions being "ridiculous".
However, Cavan's mother is not allowed to watch him compete as it makes him "nervous". So how does Terri Roberts feel about that? "It's hard. So when he plays, either one of the mums is texting and telling us [what's going on], or we're hiding behind a pillar so he can't see us."
Jed and Cavan play 8 ball pool, which uses red and yellow balls and is played on tables smaller than those used for American pool.
It does not have the financial backing or exposure of comparable sports such as snooker or darts, but Rich Hall, manager for the Bedfordshire under-18s pool team, said the sport does have potential.
"Pool is starting to gain a [higher] profile, but I do believe it needs [a figure like] Luke Littler to come in and start dominating the game," he said.
"Maybe we've got [those players] in Bedfordshire."
Jed and Cavan would like to reach the Ultimate Pool professional circuit, but for now they are focused on doing well in the European Championships, which start on February 21.
"When I went to the worlds, I lost 25 per cent of my games before I had even had a shot because my opponent didn't miss," Cavan said. "The standard is ridiculous.
"You never want to play someone weaker than you. You always want to play players better than you in order to jump to the next level."
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