Causier the King in Kirkcaldy
David Causier defeated Peter Gilchrist 645-290 in the final of the World Billiards Scottish Open at Styx in Kirkcaldy.
The final was a repeat of the 2023 World Championship final, won by Gilchrist, and once again saw the games two top-ranked players face off for a ranking title crown.
Fifty-nine players from five countries gathered in the Fife town to compete for the title, which began on the Saturday with a group stage to reduce the field to 32.
Both Causier and Gilchrist advanced through their four-man groups with ease, winning all three games comfortably.
Causier was in rampant form and dominated his first two knockout contests, securing winning margins of over 600 points in each and firing in an impressive break of 452 as he swept aside Korbin Lowe 873-66.
Further victories over Chris Coumbe (874-242) and Robert Hall (613-292) saw Causier book his place in the Scottish Open final in comfortable fashion.
The route to the latter stages wasn’t quite as comfortable for Gilchrist, who was pushed particularly close in the quarter-final meeting with Ryan Mears which saw the defending world champion victorious by just 57 points. He upped his game in the semi-finals, however, and an impressive break of 280 helped Gilchrist secure a 767-223 win over Peter Sheehan to set up a World Championship final rematch.
A break of 84 from Causier in the early stages of the final put him in the ascendancy, but Gilchrist hit back with a run of 163 points to move ahead.
This proved short-lived for the man representing Singapore, however, as Causier dominated the remainder of the final and breaks including 150 and 136 helped him to secure the title in the first ranking event of 2024.
Next up on the World Billiards calendar is the Austrian Open, which takes place 1-3 March in Vienna.
