European Disability Champions Crowned at Historic Event in Portugal
World Disability Billiards and Snooker (WDBS) crowned the first ever European Disability Snooker champions this week following an historic event staged in Albufeira, Portugal.
The 2024 European Disability Snooker Championship was the first staging of the event and ran alongside the European Billiards and Snooker Association (EBSA) European Championships on 19-23 October at the Vidimar Hotel & Resort.
A total of 40 cueists from six nations were represented at the tournament, which was a milestone occasion for disability snooker. You can read about how the week’s action in each of the six classification groups unfolded below.
Fab Four For Beaumont
Dave Beaumont made it four ranking event titles in a row by defeating Tony Southern 3-2 in the final of Group 1+2.
Playing in only his sixth WDBS event since making his debut at the 2023 UK Disability Championship, Beaumont arrived in Portugal as the favourite for the title following an outstanding run of form that had seen him win consecutive ranking events in Bruges, Hull and Northampton.
A dominant group stage performance saw the 56-year-old drop just a single frame in his five matches to finish at the top of the table and set up a semi-final meeting with fellow countryman Darren Taylor.
A break of 37, the highest in the event by a wheelchair competitor, saw Beaumont win the opening frame and he continued his relentless form to complete a 3-0 victory and reach the title match.
Southern, the current world number one and only player who had taken a frame off Beaumont in the competition, was his opponent in the final and was out for revenge after losing in their previous final meeting in Hull back in May.
In a hard-fought final, Beaumont took the opener before Southern hit back by winning frames two and three to move one away from glory in the best-of-five frame contest.
However, the eventual champion dominated the fourth frame to force a decider before getting himself over the line to become his group’s first ever European champion.
Lam Wins Second Ranking Crown
Andy Lam ended a five-year wait for a ranking event title by defeating Nigel Coton 3-1 in the final of Group 3.
Lam, one of two players representing Hong Kong China at the competition, scraped through the six-player group courtesy of his head-to-head record with Peter Hull but saved his best snooker for when it mattered as he defeated Adam Wilk and Coton for the title.
The 2019 Humber Classic winner lost three of his first four matches, but a 2-1 win against world number one Kal Mattu meant that Lam headed into his final group stage match against Hull with hopes of still qualifying for the knockout stages.
He took the opener, but Hull forced a decider on the final black in frame two to set up a tense conclusion. However, it was Lam who took it by a 72-28 scoreline to secure his place in the last four.
Group winner Wilk was his opponent in the semi-finals after the man from Poland had topped the group in dominant fashion by winning all five matches without dropping a frame.
The contest was a marathon affair, lasting over four hours, and it came down to the final black. Wilk, who had led 2-1 earlier in the match, fluffed his lines at the vital moment on the last ball to allow Lam to pot it and reach the third ranking event final of his career.
Five-time ranking event winner Coton was the opponent in the final and he dramatically drew level at 1-1 with a break of 34 to win the second frame by a single point.
Lam kept his cool, however, to take the next two frames and win the second ranking event of his career.
Glory for Gibson in Albufeira
Carl Gibson won his fifth title of 2024 by defeating World Snooker Tour (WST) Hall of Fame inductee Daniel Blunn in the final of Group 4.
Gibson has won all but one of the events in which he has competed this year and increases his WDBS event title count to seven as a result of his success this week in Portugal.
The 52-year old arrived at the event looking to bounce back from last month’s UK Disability Snooker Championship, where David Church had defeated him in the final and replaced him as the world number one.
An impressive group stage performance saw Gibson win five of his six matches, losing out only to Church, as he finished as the group winner to set up a semi-final meeting with Steve Cartwright – who he defeated 3-1 with a high break of 51.
Church looked set to be his opponent in the title match as he moved 2-0 ahead of Blunn in their best-of-five frame semi-final match.
In a truly epic contest that lasted for five hours and 47 minutes in total, the 16-time event winner Blunn fought back to earn a 3-2 victory on the final black and reach a first ranking event final since the 2023 UK Disability Championship.
Gibson kicked off the final with a break of 49 and he ultimately proved too strong against the valiant Blunn as he ran out a 3-0 victor to earn the title of European champion.
Bolton on Cloud Nine
Dave Bolton made it nine consecutive WDBS titles by defeating Dalton Lawrence 3-0 in the Group 5 final.
Bolton also fired in a break of 85, a new record in Group 5 competition, as he continued a dominant run that has now seen him win tournaments in four countries since making his tour debut just over 13 months ago.
The 49-year-old struggled in the early stages of the competition – coming close to defeat at the hands of Lawrence but eventually taking the contest on the colours in a decider, before suffering only his third ever defeat in WDBS competition at the hands of compatriot Dave Waller.
Waller, who reached his maiden final earlier this year at the Belgian Open, has now defeated Bolton on two occasions and performed excellently across the week to win four consecutive matches and reach the semi-finals before succumbing to Lawrence at that stage.
Despite an uncharacteristically slow start from Bolton, a trio of whitewash wins over Jason Ellis, Gerdy Dupont and Robert Marriott ensured that he still advanced as group winner.
Bolton saved his best snooker for the most important time as he stormed into the final in style with breaks of 66 and 85 to defeat Marriott 3-0.
A further break of 40 in the title match against Lawrence saw Bolton move 2-0 ahead and he wrapped up the title in impressive and quick-fire fashion to win 3-0 and become European champion.
European Glory for Haslam
Matthew Haslam continued the stunning form that has seen his rise to world number one in Group 6B to become the European champion in Portugal.
Success in Northampton last month saw 19-year-old Haslam end the previously unbroken streak of Leroy Williams at the top of the world ranking list and he once again proved deserving of the position as he went unbeaten across the week.
The eight-player group stage saw players from Group 6A and 6B competing in a combined event and Haslam finished in first position with a dominant display that saw seven victories and just two frames dropped to James Hart and Aidan Pollitt.
Ireland’s Pollitt, of Group 6A, performed excellently in the event as he earned group stage victories over his brother Niall Pollitt, James Lodge, Oliver Hanson and Hart to reach the semi-finals of a combined Group 6 event for the first time.
Pollitt eventually fell short in the last four against 13-time event winner Williams, who defeated the Irishman 3-0 to set up a final meeting with the relentless Haslam, who had overcome Hague by the same scoreline.
Both players knew that victory who make them both European champion and world number one in Group 6B, but Haslam proved too strong as he rounded off the week with a 3-0 victory to take home the title and maintain his position at the summit.
Dominant Drennan on Top of the World
Luke Drennan moved to the summit of the Group 8 world ranking list for the first time after a dominant display in Portugal.
The 25-year-old Englishman was one of the best performers across the five days as he secured the title in the combined Group 7-8 event with with eight successive victories – dropping just five frames en route to glory.
Drennan made history on the opening morning of the event as a break of 52 in the second frame against 81-year-old Welshman Ronnie Allen saw him complete a 2-0 victory to become the first ever player to win a match at the European Disability Snooker Championship.
Veteran cueist Allen proved to be one of the stories of the week as he defeated top seed Lewis Knowles on the final black in his final group game to qualify for the knockout stages from a seven-player group that featured players with a combined total of 19 ranking titles between them.
The Welshman’s run came to an end at the hands of Drennan in the last four in a result that, coupled with Gary Taylor‘s loss to Colvin O’Brien in the other semi-final, saw Drennan become the world number one for the first time in his career.
Ireland’s O’Brien, who made history earlier this year by making the first century break in WDBS competition, knew he could mirror the feat in Group 7 if he defeated Drennan in the title match and he took an early lead with a break of 39.
The two players finished in the top positions of the initial group stage and went blow-for-blow in a thrilling final that deservedly came down to a final frame shootout.
Ultimately, it was Drennan who completed his unbeaten streak by winning the final frame to lift his fourth ranking title.
De Bruyn Wins Challenge Cup
Kristof De Bruyn defeated his compatriot Gerdy Dupont 3-1 in an all-Belgian final to win the Challenge Cup crown.
The mixed event sees players who do not qualify for the knockout stages competing for glory and 14 competitors from four nations took part in Portugal.
De Bruyn, who just missed out on qualification from the Group 7-8 event, defeated former ranking event winners James Hart and Lewis Knowles to reach the semi-finals where he then overcame Oliver Hanson by a 2-0 scoreline.
Fellow countryman Dupont was his opponent in the final after he defeated Nigel Brasier, Jason Ellis and Peter Hull in the knockout rounds.
De Bruyn took a 2-0 lead in the final before Dupont rallied to take the third. It was too little too late for Dupont, however, as De Bruyn took frame four by a 51-22 scoreline to claim Challenge Cup glory.
Closing Ceremony
Following the conclusion of the action on Wednesday, the closing ceremony of the 2024 European Disability Snooker Championship was held to congratulate and reward the champions and all involved in the milestone competition.
Speeches were given by WDBS Chairman Nigel Mawer QPM, EBSA President Maxime Cassis and Portuguese Billiard Federation (FPB) President Ricardo Salgado before medals and prizes were presented to the players who had been successful at the five-day event.
The winners of each of the six group classifications received a gold medal, the first prize and a cue and case courtesy of Little Monster Cues.
WDBS would like to thank everyone at the EBSA, FPB, the Vidimar Hotel & Resort and Little Monster Cues for their support with the event and all the referees, officials and players who made the tournament a success.
The next stop for the WDBS tour is the 2024 Irish Open in Carlow, Ireland on 29 November to 1 December. Enter now.
