Player: Wiktor Zielinski
Event: UK Open
Date: May 8, 2026



Not every highlight reel comes from the case game of a world championship. Considering the depth and breadth of talent in the professional game, every match in an international event has the potential to produce amazing shots.

Take this month's Stroke of Genius. At last year's U.K. Open, Wiktor Zielinski faced Niels Feijen in the losers' side, with the winner advancing to the knockout stage and the loser going home.

With Zielinski up 4-3 in a race-to-9, Feijen was locked up without a clear shot on the 3 ball. He powered the cue ball of a rail and into the 3, but he missed the kick and the 3 ball kicked the 9 ball up-table, nearly fluking it into the top right corner.

Zielinski came to the table in the position shown in the diagram, with a clear shot on the 3 and the 9 sitting in the jaws of the top corner pocket. The Polish star had the opportunity to cut the 3 into the bottom right, but he also had a shortcut to victory with the game ball inches from the pocket.

He opted to play an ingenious two-rail kiss off the 3 and back up-table for the 9. Using a bit of outside English, he sent the cue ball off the footrail, its angle opening up as it hit the long rail and caught the opposite long rail before knocking the 9 in for the win.

Though he had the option to bank the 3 off the footrail and toward the 3, but Zielinski kept the 3 near the footrail, using the cue ball to do the work. This approach allowed him to potentially play a safety if the 9 didn't drop, with the cue ball hiding behind the 6.

The 9 did drop, obviously, and Zielinski eventually took the match in a hill-hill thriller to advance to single elimination.

(Check out Accu-Stats' full library of great shots and amazing matches at www.accu-stats.com)