World Billiards Championship (English billiards)

The World Billiards Championship is an international cue sports tournament in the discipline of English billiards, organised by World Billiards, a subsidiary of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA). In its various forms, and usually as a single competition, the title is one of the oldest sporting world championships, having been contested (though irregularly) since 1870.

From 2012 to 2014 there were separate timed and points divisions, with the tournament held in association with the International Billiards and Snooker Federation. In those years, there was no separate IBSF World Billiards Championship.

The rules adopted by the Billiards Association in 1899 are essentially the rules still used today. The tournament has been played on a regular annual schedule since 1980, when it became administered by the WPBSA. The event was known as the World Professional Billiards Championship until 2010, and has had other names in the past, e.g. Billiards Championship of the World. In addition, the World Ladies Billiards Championship has been played since 1931 (with interruptions) and organized by World Ladies Billiards and Snooker since 1998.^[1]

In the early 19th century, there was no recognised governing body or formal championship for English billiards. Jack Carr and Edwin Kentfield were prominent players when Carr challenged Kentfield to a championship game in 1825. Carr died on the eve of the match, and Kentfield hence assumed the title. He would remain unchallenged for 24 years.^[2]

John Roberts Sr., who had spent years touring and establishing his reputation as a billiards player, challenged Kentfield. There was much controversy over the table and the pockets to be used, and Kentfield declined to play, so Roberts styled himself as champion, a title he held unchallenged until 1870, when he lost to William Cook.^[3]

Cook beat Roberts's son John Roberts Jr. in a match in 1869, and challenged Roberts Sr. for the title. As this was the first actual match for the World Championship, the players themselves drew up a special set of rules for the game. Roberts managed to have the pocket width reduced to 3 inches (from the original 35⁄8 inches), and the "D" and spots were adjusted so that Cook's spot stroke strength, derived from his proficiency at consecutively potting the red ball from its spot, was weakened. Cook was nonetheless considered the favourite, and the 20-year-old had greatly improved since his win over Roberts Jr. the previous year. At 1:38 a.m. on the morning of 12 February 1870, Cook defeated Roberts to win the title, and won a newly created trophy, £100, and a Maltese cross. The match at St. James's Hall in London was attended by Edward VII, the Prince of Wales. This match ended the dominance of Roberts Sr., as a wave of new players took over the game.^[2]

The February 1870 match initiated the World Championship, and led to many challenges for the title. Roberts Jr. and Cook were the dominant players of the era. There were occasional uncontested matches. The rule said that a player had to accept a challenge within two months of it being issued; if the challenge were ignored, the challenger became World Champion.

There was still the issue of the rules, however. Many players preferred the "spot-barred" style with limitations on the number of consecutive pots of the red that were allowed, but some preferred the "all-in" rules that did not include this restriction. Repeated potting of the red was a great strength for William Peall in particular.

There were three all-in competitions held separately from the title held by Roberts, for which he was never challenged. Billy Mitchell and Peall excelled in the late 1880s.

The Billiards Association (later the Billiards Association and Control Council or BA&CC) was formed in February 1885, and produced a new set of rules in September 1885. They sanctioned two championships, one with a "spot-barred" format and the other "all-in". Roberts Jr. showed no interest in the competition, but the tournaments went ahead regardless. The "championship table" that had been created by Roberts Sr. was abandoned, and the normal table was used instead. Peall held the all-in title unchallenged, whereas Mitchell dominated the spot-barred competition.

In 1899, after five years with no challenges to the titles, the Billiards Association changed the rules of the game. After two spot strokes, the red would be replaced on the centre spot, to limit the repetition of "all-in" play. Although detrimental to his personal fortunes, Peall accepted this change and voted for the introduction of the new rule. This gave rise to the modern version of English billiards that is still played (with minor revisions) today.

There were many challenges for the title before 1911, but the competition was then amended to cope with the influx of new professionals and it became an annual tournament. Walter Lindrum won the title in 1934, after which the championship collapsed. Only two challenge matches took place over the next three decades, one in 1951 and another in 1964.

While on a trip to Australia in 1968, Rex Williams decided to travel to Auckland to challenge the reigning champion Clark McConachy for the billiards title. This was the first contest since McConachy's 1951 win and, aged 73 by this time, his play was affected by his Parkinson's disease. In what turned out to be a poor-quality match, Williams won the title.^[4]

Leslie Driffield, a member of the BA&CC, was present at a meeting where the Council nominated him as the challenger to Rex Williams for the professional Billiards Championship. Williams declined to play Driffield within the five-month time limit set by the BA&CC, which expired on 7 July 1970, thus forfeiting the title, which was then contested between Driffield and Jack Karnehm in June 1971. On 1 October 1970, the Professional Billiard Players Association (PBPA)—which had been re-established in 1968 by Williams and seven other players—disaffiliated from the BA&CC. The PBPA then changed its name to the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) on 12 December 1970, and declared itself the governing body for the professional game, recognising Williams as champion. Driffield and Karnehm were, at first, the only two professionals who recognised the BA&CC as having continued authority over the game.^{[5][6][7][8][9][10]}

In the 1970s, there were further challenge matches for the title. Williams was dominant in this period. In 1980, Fred Davis won at the age of 67 to become World Champion. Since the 1980s, the world championship has sometimes been contested as a series of shorter games, for example in 150-up, the first player to win a designated number of games of first-to-150 is the victor.

From 1989 to 2011, Mike Russell was the dominant player, closely followed by Geet Sethi who won five titles. Some Australian players were successful in the 1980s, most notably Robby Foldvari (winner 1986, runner-up 1987) and Eddie Charlton (twice runner-up, 1984 and 1988).

In November 2011, WPBSA formed a subsidiary called World Billiards (Limited), to administer the sport worldwide. As of 2012, the distinction between professional and amateur players was removed and the WPBSA World Professional Championship was merged with the former IBSF World Billiards Championship and simply became the World Billiards Championship. Tournaments were held in both points and timed format.^[11] In 2015, the IBSF withdrew from World Billiards Limited and reinstituted its own championship.^[12]

David Causier (with six titles), Pankaj Advani (three titles), and Peter Gilchrist are other multiple title winners in the modern game.

Main sources: English Amateur Billiards Association,^[2] A History of Billiards (Clive Everton), Cue Sports India^[13]

Date	Champion	Notes	Refs.
1825	Edwin Kentfield	Declared Champion when Jack Carr was unable to play him
1849	John Roberts Sr.	Declared Champion when Kentfield declined his challenge

Additional Source: Billiards (1899) by Joseph Bennett^[14]

As there was no governing body in place, the rules were agreed between players, with representatives of The Sportsman newspaper providing arbitration if required.

Date	Winner	Score	Runner-up	Score	Venue	Refs.
11 February 1870	William Cook	1,200	John Roberts Sr.	1,083	St James's Hall, London
14 April 1870	John Roberts, Jr.	1,000	William Cook	552	St James's Hall, London
30 May 1870	John Roberts, Jr.	1,000	Alfred Bowles	752	St James's Hall, London
28 November 1870	Joseph Bennett	1,000	John Roberts, Jr.	905	St James's Hall, London
30 January 1871	John Roberts, Jr.	1,000	Joseph Bennett	637	St James's Hall, London
25 May 1871	William Cook	1,000	John Roberts, Jr.	985	St James's Hall, London
21 November 1871	William Cook	1,000	Joseph Bennett	942	St James's Hall, London
4 March 1872[a]	William Cook	1,000	John Roberts, Jr.	799	St James's Hall, London
24 February 1874	William Cook	1,000	John Roberts, Jr.	784	St James's Hall, London
24 May 1875	John Roberts, Jr.	1,000	William Cook	837	The Criterion, London
20 December 1875	John Roberts, Jr.	1,000	William Cook	865	St James's Hall, London
April 1876	William Cook		Declared Champion
28 May 1877	John Roberts, Jr.	1,000	William Cook	779	Gaiety Restaurant, Strand, London
July 1878	William Cook		Declared Champion
8 November 1880	Joseph Bennett	1,000	William Cook	949	St James's Hall, London
12–13 January 1881	Joseph Bennett	1,000	Tom Taylor	910	St James's Hall, London
September 1881[b]	William Cook		Declared Champion
February 1885	John Roberts, Jr.		Declared Champion
30 Mar-1 Apr 1885	John Roberts, Jr.	3,000	William Cook	2,908	Billiard Hall, Argyll Street, London
1–4 June 1885	John Roberts, Jr.	3,000	Joseph Bennett	1,360	Royal Aquarium

These matches were arranged between the players, and not recognised by the Billiard Association.

Date	Winner	Score	Runner-up	Score	Venue	Refs.
October 1887	Billy Mitchell	15,000	William Peall	13,733	Royal Aquarium
March 1888	William Peall	15,000	Billy Mitchell	6,753	Royal Aquarium

With the Billiards Association championship in abeyance, the billiard table manufacturers George Wright and Company organised a "Championship of the World" tournament. The tournament was played in heats, with the heat between Mitchell and Peall proving decisive on each occasion.

Date	Winner	Score	Runner-up	Score	Venue	Refs.
January 1889	Billy Mitchell				Royal Aquarium
February 1890	William Peall				Royal Aquarium
March 1891	William Peall				Royal Aquarium

The Billiard Association organised separate championships for "all-in" and "spot barred" formats.

Date	Winner	Score	Runner-up	Score	Venue	Refs.
April 1892	William Peall	5,000	Billy Mitchell	1,755	Orme & Sons Showrooms, Soho Square

Date	Winner	Score	Runner-up	Score	Venue	Refs.
April 1892	Billy Mitchell	3,000	John North	2,697	Thurston's Showrooms, Strand, London
February 1893	Billy Mitchell	9,000	John North	7,525	Egyptian Hall, Piccadilly, London
January 1894	Billy Mitchell	9,000	Charles Dawson	8,163	National Sporting Club, London

The Billiards Association published a new set of rules 1 October 1898 that prohibited the push shot stroke, and promoted one championship rather than two.

Date	Winner	Score	Runner-up	Score	Venue	Refs.
9–14 Jan 1899	Charles Dawson	9,000	John North	4,715	Gaiety Restaurant, Strand, London
April 1900	Charles Dawson	9,000	Harry Stevenson	6,775	Billiard Hall, Argyll Street, London
January 1901	Harry Stevenson	9,000	Charles Dawson	6,406	Gaiety Restaurant, Strand, London	[15]
April 1901	Charles Dawson	9,000	Harry Stevenson	5,796	Billiard Hall, Argyll Street, London	[16]
November 1901	Harry Stevenson		Declared Champion
16–21 Mar 1903	Charles Dawson	9,000	Harry Stevenson	8,700	National Sporting Club, London
September 1908	Melbourne Inman		Declared Champion
March 1909	Melbourne Inman	9,000	Albert Williams	7,662

The Billiard Control Club was established in 1908 as a rival to the Billiard Association and organised a separate championship.

Date	Winner	Score	Runner-up	Score	Refs.
February 1909	Harry Stevenson		Declared Champion
April 1910[c]	Harry Stevenson		Melbourne Inman
October 1910	Harry Stevenson	18,000	Melbourne Inman	16,907
April 1911	Harry Stevenson	18,000	Melbourne Inman	16,914
March 1912	Melbourne Inman	18,000	Tom Reece	9,675
March 1913	Melbourne Inman	18,000	Tom Reece	16,627
March 1914	Melbourne Inman	18,000	Tom Reece	12,826
March 1919	Melbourne Inman	18,000	Harry Stevenson	9,468

After the 1919 Championship, the Billiard Association and the Billiard Control Club amalgamated and, as the Billiards Association and Control Club (later renamed as the Billiards Association and Control Council) organised an annual championship tournament.

Date	Winner	Score	Runner-up	Score	Venue	Refs.
May 1920	Willie Smith	16,000	Claude Falkiner	14,500
March 1921	Tom Newman	16,000	Tom Reece	10,744	Thurston's Hall, London
May 1922	Tom Newman	16,000	Claude Falkiner	15,167	Thurston's Hall, London
May 1923	Willie Smith	16,000	Tom Newman	15,180
May 1924	Tom Newman	16,000	Tom Reece	14,845
April 1925	Tom Newman	16,000	Tom Reece	10,092
May 1926	Tom Newman	16,000	Joe Davis	9,505
May 1927	Tom Newman	16,000	Joe Davis	14,763
May 1928	Joe Davis	16,000	Tom Newman	14,874
April 1929	Joe Davis	18,000	Tom Newman	17,219
May 1930	Joe Davis	20,918	Tom Newman	20,117		[17]
March 1932	Joe Davis	25,161	Clark McConachy	19,259
May 1933	Walter Lindrum	21,815	Joe Davis	21,121
October 1934	Walter Lindrum	23,553	Joe Davis	22,678	Railway Institute, Melbourne	[18]

Date	Winner	Score	Runner-up	Score	Venue	Refs.
September 1951	Clark McConachy	9,274	John Barrie	6,691	London
August 1968	Rex Williams	5,499	Clark McConachy	5,234	YMCA Stadium, Auckland

Date	Association	Winner	Score	Runner-up	Score	Venue	Refs.
June 1971	BACC	Leslie Driffield	9,029	Jack Karnehm	4,342	Middlesbrough Town Hall	[19]
January 1973	B&SCC	Leslie Driffield	9,204	Albert Johnson	4,696	Penrith Rugby League Club	[20]

Date	Association	Winner	Score	Runner-up	Score	Venue	Refs.
1971	WPBSA	Rex Williams	9,250	Bernard Bennett	4,058	Castle Club, Southampton
September 1973	WPBSA	Rex Williams	8,360	Jack Karnehm	4,336	Marconi Athletic Club, Chelmsford
September 1974	WPBSA	Rex Williams	7,017	Eddie Charlton	4,916	Geraldton
1976	WPBSA	Rex Williams	9,105	Eddie Charlton	5,149	Geelong
May 1980	WPBSA	Fred Davis	5,978	Rex Williams	4,452	Northern Snooker Centre, Leeds	[21]

Date	Association	Winner	Score	Runner-up	Score	Venue	Refs.
November 1980	WPBSA	Fred Davis	3,037	Mark Wildman	2,064	Brownsover Hotel, Rugby	[22]
1982	WPBSA	Rex Williams	3,000	Mark Wildman	1,785	Astra La Reserve Club, Sutton Coldfield	[23]
1983	WPBSA	Rex Williams	1,500	Fred Davis	605	Court Snooker Club, Peterborough	[24]
1984	WPBSA	Mark Wildman	1,045	Eddie Charlton	1,012	Majestic Snooker Club, Portsmouth	[25]
1985	WPBSA	Ray Edmonds	3	Norman Dagley	1	Hatton Garden Snooker Centre, London	[26]
1986	WPBSA	Robby Foldvari	3	Norman Dagley	1	Romiley Forum Stockport	[27]
1987	WPBSA	Norman Dagley	3	Robby Foldvari	1	Albert Hall, Bolton	[28]
1988	WPBSA	Norman Dagley	7	Eddie Charlton	4	Albert Hall, Bolton	[29]
1989	WPBSA	Mike Russell	2,242	Peter Gilchrist	1,347	Fairmont Resort, Leura	[30]
1990	No tournament held						[31]
1991	WPBSA	Mike Russell	1,352	Robby Foldvari	957	Hyatt Regency Hotel, New Delhi	[31]
1992	WPBSA	Geet Sethi	2,529	Mike Russell	718	Holiday Inn, Bombay	[32]
1993	WPBSA	Geet Sethi	2,139	Mike Russell	1,140	President Hotel, Bombay	[33]
1994	WPBSA	Peter Gilchrist	1,539	Mike Russell	645	Leela Kempinski Hotel, Bombay	[34]
1995	WPBSA	Geet Sethi	1,661	Devendra Joshi	931	President Hotel, Bombay	[35]
1996	WPBSA	Mike Russell	2,534	Geet Sethi	1,848	Bombay Gymkhana, South Mumbai	[36]
1998	WPBSA	Geet Sethi	1,400	Mike Russell	1,015	Ahmedabad	[37]
1999	WPBSA	Mike Russell	2,000	Peter Gilchrist	832	Chennai	[38]
2000	No tournament held						[39]
2001	WPBSA	Peter Gilchrist	1,287	Mike Russell	863	Cricket Club of India, Mumbai	[38]
2002	WPBSA	Mike Russell	2,251	Peter Gilchrist	1,273	Midsomer Norton	[40]
2003	WPBSA	Mike Russell	6	Peter Gilchrist	4	Jerma Palace Hotel, Marsaskala	[41]
2004	WPBSA	Mike Russell	2,402	David Causier	1,349	Pontins, Prestatyn	[42]
2005	WPBSA	Chris Shutt	1,620	Mike Russell	1,365	Pontins, Prestatyn	[43]
2006	WPBSA	Geet Sethi	2,073	Lee Lagan	1,057	Pontins, Prestatyn	[44]
2007	WPBSA	Mike Russell	2,166	Chris Shutt	1,710	Northern Snooker Centre, Leeds	[39]
2008	WPBSA	Mike Russell	1,823	Geet Sethi	1,342	Northern Snooker Centre, Leeds	[45]
2009	WPBSA	Pankaj Advani	2,030	Mike Russell	1,253	Northern Snooker Centre, Leeds	[46]
2010	WPBSA	Mike Russell	1,738	Dhruv Sitwala	1,204	Northern Snooker Centre, Leeds	[47]
2011	WPBSA	Mike Russell	1,500	David Causier	558	Northern Snooker Centre, Leeds	[48]

Date	Association	Format	Winner	Score	Runner-up	Score	Venue	Refs.
2012	WBL/IBSF	Short	Rupesh Shah	6	Matthew Bolton	2	Northern Snooker Centre, Leeds	[49]
		Timed	Pankaj Advani	1,895	Mike Russell	1,216	Northern Snooker Centre, Leeds	[50]
2013	WBL/IBSF	Short	David Causier	6	Alok Kumar	1	Northern Snooker Centre, Leeds	[51]
		Long	Peter Gilchrist	1,500	David Causier	1,085	Northern Snooker Centre, Leeds	[52]
2014	WBL/IBSF	Short	Pankaj Advani	6	Peter Gilchrist	2	Northern Snooker Centre, Leeds	[53]
		Timed	Pankaj Advani	1,928	Robert Hall	893	Northern Snooker Centre, Leeds	[54]
2015	WBL	Short	David Causier	6	Robert Hall	1	Northern Snooker Centre, Leeds	[55]
		Long	David Causier	1,500	Peter Gilchrist	1,277	Northern Snooker Centre, Leeds	[56]
2016	WBL	Short	David Causier	8	Dhruv Sitwala	6	Northern Snooker Centre, Leeds	[57]
		Timed	Mike Russell	2,224	David Causier	1,115	Northern Snooker Centre, Leeds	[57]
2017	WBL	Short	David Causier	8	Sourav Kothari	4	Northern Snooker Centre, Leeds
		Long	David Causier	1,500	Peter Gilchrist	779	Northern Snooker Centre, Leeds
2018	WBL	Timed	Sourav Kothari	1,134	Peter Gilchrist	944	Northern Snooker Centre, Leeds
2019	WBL	Timed	Peter Gilchrist	1,307	Sourav Kothari	967	RACV Club, Melbourne	[58]
2022	WBL	Timed	David Causier	1,776	Peter Gilchrist	1,092	Ronnie O’Sullivan Snooker Academy, Singapore	[59]
2023	WBL	Timed	Peter Gilchrist	1,824	David Causier	783	Landywood Snooker Club, West Midlands	[60]
2024	WBL	Timed	David Causier	2,088	Robert Hall	1,109	Landywood Snooker Club, West Midlands	[61]

Books

• Everton, Clive (2012). A History of Billiards. englishbilliards.org. ISBN 978-0-9564054-5-6.
• Shamos, Mike (1999). The New Illustrated Encyclopedia of Billiards. New York: The Lyons Press. ISBN 978-1-55821-797-3.

• The Professional Championship, 1800–1899 English Amateur Billiards Association
• World Professional Billiards & Snooker Association (WPBSA) Official website
• World Billiards Official website