WDBS | 2023/24 Season Review
The 2024 Champion of Champions at the Landywood Snooker Club last month brought the 2023/24 World Disability Billiards & Snooker (WDBS) season to a conclusion.
The campaign saw history made both on and off the table as well as the continued global growth and success of the WDBS tour. As preparations for the new season begin, we take a look back at some of the main talking points of 2023/24.
WDBS Goes Global!
The WDBS tour continues to grow globally and the 2023/24 season saw ranking events held in four different countries.
In addition, the Shanghai Invitational Disability Snooker Cup saw a major breakthrough in China while disability snooker was also involved in the 2023 World Abilitysport Games in Thailand for the first time.
Champions were crowned from seven nations over two continents during the campaign as hundreds of cueists competed across the globe in WDBS events.
The calendar announcement for the remainder of 2024 also includes a brand-new European Disability Championship which will be held in Portugal for the first time in October as the tour continues to spread far and wide.
A memorandum of understanding with the Shanghai Billiards Association (SHBA) was announced in March as the WDBS aims to grow the tour in Asia and this was further backed up by the appointment of China’s Da Chen as a Director on WDBS board and of Andy Lam as an ambassador to Hong Kong China.
History Made at the World Abilitysport Games in Thailand
Disability snooker featured in a multi-sport Games for the first time since the 1988 Paralympic Games when five classification groups competed at the 2023 World Abilitysport Games in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand in December.
The groundbreaking event saw gold, silver and bronze medals awarded to cueists from five different nations as Gary Swift, Tony Southern, Thanapol Seekao, Carl Gibson and Saongkiat Raebankoo were each victorious in their respective groups.
During the World Championship in April, the five gold medalists were honoured as part of World Disability Snooker Day.
Seekao and Raebankoo, champions of the Group 3 and 5 events, travelled outside of Thailand for the first time to visit snooker’s most famous city for the event where they were joined by the trio of English gold medalists. The highlight of the day saw the five champions introduced to the Crucible Theatre crowd by MC Rob Walker prior to play on the morning session.
WDBS is pleased to be working in partnership with World Abilitysport and, in April, announced that a memorandum of understanding has been signed which will see the two bodies work together to increase sporting opportunities for physically impaired athletes and continue to offer snooker on the World Abilitysport Games sport programmes.
Ton Up! O’Brien Makes First Ever WDBS Century Break
Ireland’s Colvin O’Brien made history at the Woking Snooker Centre in January by compiling the first ever century break in a WDBS event, eight years after the tour began.
O’Brien, who is blind in his left eye and competes in Group 7, made the break of exactly 100 in his 2-0 group stage victory over Lee Finbow at the 2024 British Open.
Carl Gibson also set a new record for a break scored by an ambulant player at the 2024 Hull Open with a superb contribution of 99 in his group stage victory over Nigel Brasier.
Gibson, who has been one of the breakthrough stars of the season and remains unbeaten in 2024 on the tour, would go on to defeat Brasier once again in the final and move up to number one in the Group 4 world rankings as a result of this success.
New Champions Crowned on WDBS Tour
The 2023/24 campaign will forever be remembered by four cueists who claimed ranking event titles for the first time in their careers.
Group 5 star Dave Bolton proved to be one of the breakthrough players of the season as he won the 2023 UK Disability Championship on his WDBS debut and went on to win all six events in which he competed, losing just a single match and rising to the top of the world rankings in his first season.
The 2024 Belgian Open saw both Dave Beaumont and Colvin O’Brien pick up their maiden WDBS titles in Group’s 1+2 and 7 respectively, and both players were quick to follow the success up at the 2024 Hull Open to secure back-to-back crowns.
Elsewhere, in Group 6B, James Hart won the first ranking title of his career in January at the 2024 British Open – defeating Leroy Williams 3-1 in the final after falling short at the final hurdle to him a few months earlier at the 2023 UK Disability Championship.
Blunn Inducted into WST Hall of Fame
Group 4 player Daniel Blunn made history in May by becoming the first WDBS cueist to be inducted into the World Snooker Tour Hall of Fame.
Blunn, who is the most decorated WDBS player in history with 16 titles to his name, was inducted alongside 2023 World Championship winner Luca Brecel as part of the 2023/24 WST Awards.
The 32-year-old is just one of 37 people in history to receive the prestigious honour and joins iconic figures in the sport such as Steve Davis, Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O’Sullivan.
Read our full interview with Daniel Blunn after he was inducted into the WST Hall of Fame.
