I am Lazaro Martinez, and I am a professional pool player. I started at the age of 6 and I’m now 17. My father showed me early on about the game, and I fell in love with it from the start. I played my first ever big tournament in Las Vegas at 8 years old and surprisingly I won. I never thought I would win my first tournament and I won it on my birthday which was the most exciting part about it all. After that, I went to that tournament for the next 2 years and won them all which made me the only junior player to win that event 3 years in a row. 

As I got older, the competition got tougher and I got a little bit better. I went to compete in junior events in many states and did fairly well against older kids and won many of the events for my age. I then was offered the chance to play on a junior team and compete in Cyprus, Greece. I did well but I was only 13 and still had a lot to learn about the game. I managed to place 5th place and learn some new things along the way. After I played, many people were impressed by how young I was and I also played well . I was then offered a sponsorship with one of the best brands at the time. It was a 2-year contract that gave me cues and deals on certain things. Now, at the age of 17, I have a new sponsor, which is a lot better than the previous one that I had and I am very proud to represent them. 

Just last year, I won the biggest event of my life; it was a tournament dedicated to my favorite player Shane Van Boening who is the #1 player in the world currently. When I won the event, he was sitting there watching. After he signed the cue balls after I won, it was a special moment for me to win in front of my idol. I’m sure I can win a lot more in the future. 

With the new year about to start, there’s many events that are going to happen, and I hope to compete in them all and become a professional at pool and continue my journey.