Causier and Gilchrist to Contest World Billiards Final
Reigning champion David Causier plays world number one Peter Gilchrist in the 2023 World Billiards Championship final at the Landywood Snooker Club on Thursday afternoon.
The duo will face each other in the sport’s blue riband title match for the fifth time, adding yet another chapter to their fabled career rivalry.
Gilchrist won their first world final meeting a decade ago but the three times since then Causier has prevailed with the title, including last year in Singapore.
Causier on Course
Three-time champion Causier is into his eighth final, but he is looking to successfully defend the crown for the first time in his career.
The 50-year-old Teessider won Group B with a 100% record before eliminating David Gillingham in the last 16.
During Wednesday’s action, Causier hit a trio of 250+ breaks during a 1808-303 quarter-final victory against Steve Brookshaw before top scoring with a 519 – the highest break of the event, so far, bettering his previous benchmark – as he denied former finalist and world number three Rob Hall 2073-816 in the last four.
Glory on Thursday would complete a title double for Causier in Landywood having claimed the English Open – where he defeated Gilchrist in the final – last Sunday evening.
Gilchrist Going for Gold
Getting prepared for his 13th world championship final appearance, the evergreen Gilchrist is aiming to win world title number five.
The 55-year-old featured in his first final in 1989, with his maiden triumph coming in 1994. The Singaporean citizen has already reached world finals in five different decades and success tomorrow would mean titles in four. He has now made the final of the last five editions.
Gilchrist finished top of Group A with a perfect record and then recorded knockout wins against Barry Russell in the last 16 and Martin Goodwill 1156-326 in the last eight.
In the semi-finals, Gilchrist pulled away from world number four Peter Sheehan in their second session, eventually emerging a 1882-735 victor. His performance included breaks of 292, 220, 205 and 250.
Information and Livestream Details
The 2023 World Billiards Championship will be a five-hour match starting at 13:00GMT. There will be two sessions – each lasting two-and-a-half hours – with a one-hour interval in between.
There will be free, livestream coverage of the entire title match on the World Billiards Facebook page and YouTube channel. Esteemed cuesports expert Phil Yates will be commentating and is set to be joined by several special guests, including seven-times World Billiards Championship winner Rex Williams.
