English Billiards World Championships

The English Billiards World Championships or World Billiards Championship is an international tournament in the discipline of English Billiards , often just called "Billiards" for short. First held in 1870, it has been played annually since 1980 and is one of the world's oldest sporting world championships, the history of which goes back to the first half of the 19th century. The event was known as the World Professional Billiards Championship until 2010 .

history

In the early 19th century, the most prominent players in the game of English Billiards were Jack Carr and Edwin Kentfield . Carr challenged Kentfield to a championship game. Ironically, Carr died on the eve of the game and Kentfield received the title without a fight. He then kept this unchallenged for 24 years.

John Roberts Sr. captured the title in 1849 by challenging Kentfield to a game. There was a lot of argument about the table and the bags and Kentfield decided not to run to defend the title. He preferred to be a retired champion rather than a defeated one. In the absence of an opponent, Roberts Sr. was given the title of world champion. He would keep it for the next 21 years.

In the late 1860s made two youths in the pool scene Furore, William Cook and Roberts' son John Roberts Jr . Cook beat Roberts Jr. in a match in 1869 and then challenged Roberts Sr. to the title fight. Because it was the first real game in a World Cup, the players created a series of special rules. Roberts managed to reduce the bag width to 3 inches (= ~ 76mm) (original size 3⅝ inches = ~ 92mm). The "D" and the spots were set to weaken Cook's skill level from the spot. Still, early in the morning at 1:38 a.m., Roberts was defeated. Cook won the title, the newly created trophy, £ 100 and an Order of Malta. Even the Prince of Wales attended the game at St. James' Hall. That match ended Roberts Sr.'s supremacy and a generation of new players took over the game.

That was the initial spark for the World Championship and it led to numerous challenges for the title. Roberts Jr. and Cook were the dominant players of the time. Occasionally there were undisputed games. The rule was that players had to accept a challenge within two months of signing it up. If it was ignored, the challenger became world champion.

However, there was still some disagreement about the rules. Many players preferred the “spot-barred” style, while others preferred the “all-in” rules. The “spot-barred” style prevents repeated sinking of the reds, an “all-in” tactic that made the game boring for spectators. This tactic was a particular strength of William Peall , and of course he voted in favor of the "all-in" game.

There were three "all-in" competitions apart from the title that Roberts still held. Roberts' title was never challenged. Billy Mitchell and Peall were the most successful players in the late 1880s and early 1890s.

In 1892 the Billiards Association tried to get the situation under control. It approved two championships, one "spot-barred" and one "all-in". Roberts ignored both competitions, but the tournaments went on anyway. The "championship table" designed by Roberts Sr. was abandoned and the normal table was used instead. Peall held the "all-in" title unchallenged, while Mitchell dominated the "spot-barred".

In 1899, after 5 years with no challenges, the Billiards Association changed the rules of the game again. After two thrusts from the spot, the red had to be put back on the center to counteract endless repetitions of "all-in" players. Peall accepts this although voting for the new rule was at the expense of his own gambling ability. Overall, this promoted the rise of the modern version of "English Billiards", as it is still played today, with minor differences.

There were many challenger tournaments until 1910, but in 1911 the competition was changed to become an annual tournament to cope with the influx of new professional players.

In 1934 the tournament was won by Walter Lindrum , after which it was the world championship for decades. There were two challenger games for the title over a span of two decades, one in 1951 and the other in 1968.

In the 1970s, the Challenge Championships came back. Rex Williams was the dominant player at the time.

The World Professional Billiards & Snooker Association (WPBSA) was founded in 1980 and tried to control the professional game of billiards on the basis of a tournament. Fred Davis won this world championship at the age of 67.

The tournament has been held almost annually since 1980. Englishman Mike Russell , who played for Qatar in 2009, 2010 and 2012 , was the most successful player at the time, closely followed by Indian Geet Sethi . A small number of Australian players had some success in the 1980s. Above all Robby Foldvari (winner 1986, runner-up 1987) and Eddie Charlton (twice runner-up, 1984 and 1988), and there are now a number of Indian players besides Sethi who take part in the tournaments.

In 2012 the WPBSA and IBSF World Championships merged under the new name "World Billiards Championships". However, this partnership was ended again in 2015 by the IBSF. Since then, separate world championships have been held again, each in the two formats “points” and “time” (timed).

World Championship Results

Beginning - appointed world champions

year	winner	Result	finalist	Result
1825	Edwin Kentfield		appointed champion
1849	John Roberts Sr.		appointed champion

Challenger "Spot-barred" World Championships

date	winner	Result	finalist	Result
February 1870	William Cook	1,200	John Roberts Sr.	1,083
April 1870	John Roberts Jr.	1,000	William Cook	552
May 1870	John Roberts Jr.	1,000	Alfred Bowles	752
November 1870	Joseph Bennett	1,000	John Roberts Jr.	905
January 1871	John Roberts Jr.	1,000	Joseph Bennett	637
May 1871	William Cook	1,000	John Roberts Jr.	985
November 1871	William Cook	1,000	Joseph Bennett	942
April 1872	William Cook	1,000	John Roberts Jr.	799
February 1874	William Cook	1,000	John Roberts Jr.	784
May 1875	John Roberts Jr.	1,000	William Cook	837
December 1875	John Roberts Jr.	1,000	William Cook	865
April 1876	William Cook		appointed champion
May 1877	John Roberts Jr.	1,000	William Cook	779
July 1878	William Cook		appointed champion
November 1880	Joseph Bennett	1,000	William Cook	949
January 1881	Joseph Bennett	1,000	Tom Taylor	910
September 1881	William Cook		appointed champion
February 1885	John Roberts Jr.		appointed champion
March 1885	John Roberts Jr.	3,000	William Cook	2,908
June 1885	John Roberts Jr.	3,000	Joseph Bennett	1,360

Unofficial "All-in" World Championships

date	winner	Result	finalist	Result
October 1887	Billy Mitchell	15,000	William Peall	13,733
March 1888	William Peall	15,000	Billy Mitchell	5,753

"Championship of the World" tournament

date	winner	Result	finalist	Result
January 1889	Billy Mitchell
February 1890	William Peall
March 1891	William Peall

Billiard Association Tournament World Championships

"All-in" tournament

date	winner	Result	finalist	Result
April 1892	William Peall	5,000	Billy Mitchell	1,755

"Spot-barred" tournament

date	winner	Result	finalist	Result
April 1892	Billy Mitchell	3,000	John North	2,697
February 1893	Billy Mitchell	9,000	John North	7,525
January 1894	Billy Mitchell	9,000	Charles Dawson	8,163

Billiard Association Challenger World Championships

date	winner	Result	finalist	Result
January 1899	Charles Dawson	9,000	John North	4,715
April 1900	Charles Dawson	9,000	Harry Stevenson	6,775
January 1901	Harry Stevenson	9,000	Charles Dawson	6,406
April 1901	Charles Dawson	9,000	Harry Stevenson	5,796
November 1901	Harry Stevenson		appointed champion
March 1903	Charles Dawson	9,000	Harry Stevenson	8,700
1908	Melbourne Inman		appointed champion
March 1909	Melbourne Inman	9,000	Albert Williams	7,662
April 1909	Harry Stevenson		appointed champion
October 1910	Harry Stevenson	18,000	Melbourne Inman	16,907

Billiard Association Tournament - World Championships

date	winner	Result	finalist	Result
1911	Harry Stevenson	18,000	Melbourne Inman	16,914
1912	Melbourne Inman	18,000	Tom Reece	9,675
1913	Melbourne Inman	18,000	Tom Reece	16,627
1914	Melbourne Inman	18,000	Tom Reece	12,826
1919	Melbourne Inman	18,000	Harry Stevenson	9,468
1920	Willie Smith	16,000	Claude Falkiner	14,500
1921	Tom Newman	16,000	Tom Reece	10,744
1922	Tom Newman	16,000	Claude Falkiner	15,167
1923	Willie Smith	16,000	Tom Newman	15,180
1924	Tom Newman	16,000	Tom Reece	14,845
1925	Tom Newman	16,000	Tom Reece	10.092
1926	Tom Newman	16,000	Joe Davis	9,505
1927	Tom Newman	16,000	Joe Davis	14,763
1928	Joe Davis	16,000	Tom Newman	14,874
1929	Joe Davis	18,000	Tom Newman	17,219
1930	Joe Davis	20.198	Tom Newman	20,117
1932	Joe Davis	25.161	Clark McConachy	19,259
1933	Walter Lindrum	21,815	Joe Davis	21,121
1934	Walter Lindrum	23,553	Joe Davis	22,678

Post War Challenger World Championships

date	winner	Result	finalist	Result
1951	Clark McConachy	9,274	John Barrie	6,691
1968	Rex Williams	5,499	Clark McConachy	5,234
June 1971	Leslie Driffield	9,029	Jack Karnehm	4,342
1971	Rex Williams	9,250	Bernard Bennett	4,058
January 1973	Leslie Driffield	9,204	Albert Johnson	4,696
September 1973	Rex Williams	8,360	Jack Karnehm	4,336
September 1974	Rex Williams	7,017	Eddie Charlton	4,916
1976	Rex Williams	9,105	Eddie Charlton	5,149

WPBSA World Championships

date	winner	Result	finalist	Result
May 1980	Fred Davis	5,978	Rex Williams	4,452
November 1980	Fred Davis	3,037	Mark Wildman	2,064
1982	Rex Williams	3,000	Mark Wildman	1,785
1983	Rex Williams	1,500	Fred Davis	605
1984	Mark Wildman	1,045	Eddie Charlton	1.012
1985	Ray Edmonds	3	Norman Dagley	1
1986	Robby Foldvari	3	Norman Dagley	1
1987	Norman Dagley	3	Robby Foldvari	1
1988	Norman Dagley	7th	Eddie Charlton	4th
1989	Mike Russell	2,242	Peter Gilchrist	1,347
1991	Mike Russell	1,352	Robby Foldvari	957
1992	Geet Sethi	2,529	Mike Russell	718
1993	Geet Sethi	2.139	Mike Russell	1,140
1994	Peter Gilchrist	1,539	Mike Russell	645
1995	Geet Sethi	1,661	Devendra Joshi	931
1996	Mike Russell	2,534	Geet Sethi	1,848
1998	Geet Sethi	1,400	Mike Russell	1,015
1999	Mike Russell	2,000	Peter Gilchrist	832
2001	Peter Gilchrist	1,287	Mike Russell	863
2002	Mike Russell	2,251	Peter Gilchrist	1,273
2003	Mike Russell	6th	Peter Gilchrist	4th
2004	Mike Russell	2,402	David Causier	1,349
2005	Chris Shutt	1,620	Mike Russell	1,365
2006	Geet Sethi	2,073	Lee Lagan	1,057
2007	Mike Russell	2,166	Chris Shutt	1,710
2008	Mike Russell	1,823	Geet Sethi	1,342
2009	Pankaj Advani	2,030	Mike Russell	1,253
2010	Mike Russell	1,738	Dhruv Sitwala	1,204
2011	Mike Russell	1,500	David Causier	558

World Billiards Championships

year	format	winner	Result	finalist	Ref.
2012	Points	Rupesh Shah	6 : 2	Matthew Bolton
	time	Pankaj Advani	1,895 : 1,216	Mike Russell
2013	Points	David Causier	6 : 1	Alok Kumar
	Long-up	Peter Gilchrist	1,500 : 1.085	David Causier
2014	Points	Pankaj Advani	6 : 2	Peter Gilchrist
	time	Pankaj Advani	1.928 : 893	Robert Hall
2015	Points	David Causier	6 : 1	Robert Hall
	Long-up	David Causier	1501: 1277	Peter Gilchrist
2016	Points	David Causier	8 : 6	Dhruv Sitwala
	time	Mike Russell	2224 : 1115	David Causier
2017	Points	David Causier	8 : 3	Sourav Kothari
	Long-up	David Causier	1,500 : 779	Peter Gilchrist
2018	time	Sourav Kothari	1,134 : 944	Peter Gilchrist
2019	time	Peter Gilchrist	1.307 : 967	Sourav Kothari

See also

• English Women's World Billiards Championship

swell

• List of winners ( memento of December 14, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) on the EABA (English Amateur Billiards Association) website. Retrieved April 12, 2012
• Cue Sporte India: Roll of Honor. Retrieved April 12, 2012

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Pankaj Advani seals World Professional Billiards Championship win on The Guardian -online. Retrieved May 9, 2012.
2. ↑ ^{a b} World Professional Billiards Championship 2010 on Cue Sports India . Retrieved May 9, 2012.
3. ↑ ^{a b} Pankaj Advani wins World Billiards title. The Times of India , accessed April 14, 2013 . 
4. ^ Letter from the Chairman on World-Billiards.com . Retrieved September 24, 2015.
5. ↑ Sunil Subbaiah: Rupesh Shah wins second world title. The Times of India , accessed April 14, 2013 . 
6. ↑ David Causier New World Billiards Champion 2013 ( Memento from April 21, 2014 in the Internet Archive ). on IBSF News of October 25, 2013. Retrieved April 20, 2014.
7. ↑ IBSF Long up Billiards Championships in Leeds, England 2013 on esnooker.pl. Retrieved April 20, 2014.
8. ↑ Advani stuns Gilchrist to clinch World Billiards title. The Times of India , October 24, 2014, accessed October 30, 2014 . 
9. ↑ Advani: first ever player to bag billiards triple double. The Hindu , October 30, 2014, accessed October 30, 2014 . 
10. ↑ World Championships (150-up) in Leeds, England 2015 on www.wbeventsonline.com. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
11. ↑ World Championships (Long up) in Leeds, England 2015 on www.wbeventsonline.com. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
12. ↑ Dave Causier today won his fourth World Billiards Championship on: World-Billiards.com. Retrieved October 23, 2016.
13. ↑ Mike Russell defeated defending champion Dave Causier on: World-Billiards.com. Retrieved November 28, 2016.
14. ↑ The 2017 LITEtask World Billiards Championship has finished at the Northern Snooker Center in Leeds with Dave Causer doing the treble for the second time in three years. On: World-Billiards.com. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
15. ↑ 2018 World Billiards Championship on www.wbeventsonline.com. Accessed December 30, 2018.
16. ↑ 2019 World Billiards Championship ( Memento from October 16, 2019 in the Internet Archive )