Champion of Champions 2024 | Tournament Preview
The 2024 Champion of Champions takes place on Saturday at the Landywood Snooker Club, where winners will be crowned across eight classification groups as the season reaches its conclusion.
The fourth edition of the prestigious season finale event returns to the outstanding West Midlands venue and retains the format from last year, with the top two ranked players from each group competing in a best-of-11 frame contest for the title.
Check out our preview below as we take a look at each of the group finals, which includes a meeting of two World Abilitysport Games gold medalists while two players will be aiming to make history by securing the title for a record-breaking third time.
1+2: TONY SOUTHERN (1) V GARY SWIFT (3)
The two wheelchair gold medalists from the 2023 World Abilitysport Games in Thailand will go head-to-head in the Group 1+2 season finale.
Gary Swift will be a relieved man to make his Champion of Champions debut, as Dave Beaumont actually overtook him into second place at the last moment after victory at the 2024 Hull Open.
However, a prior engagement for Beaumont means that he is unable to attend and so Swift receives the call-up to face Tony Southern on Saturday – coming full circle from last year, when Swift himself was unable to attend despite finishing second in the rankings!
Southern is competing in his third Champion of Champions final, having lost to Daniel Lee in 2018 and Shahab Siddiqui in 2023, and so he will be aiming to make it third time lucky in what is sure to be a close contest between the two history-makers.
3: KAL MATTU (1) V JOE HARDSTAFF (2)
Familiar foes Kal Mattu and Joe Hardstaff will meet in the Champion of Champions final for a second consecutive year.
It was Hardstaff who took the title 12 months ago with a 6-3 victory at the Landywood Snooker Club and the 41-year-old will be aiming to defend the title on Saturday – something that only two players have previously managed to achieve.
The two have met in four previous WDBS finals, with Hardstaff being victorious in three of these, but Mattu has shown strong form in recent months by reaching the final of four consecutive events to cement his position at the top of the Group 3 world rankings.
4: CARL GIBSON (1) V DAVID CHURCH (3)
It has already been a dream season for Carl Gibson and he will be aiming for the perfect ending as he competes in the Champion of Champions for the first time against 2018 winner David Church.
Gibson, who made history as one of five gold medalists for snooker at the 2023 World Abilitysport Games in Thailand in December, has won all three ranking events held this year and reached the summit of the Group 4 world rankings after victory at his home event in Hull last month.
UPDATE: Following the late withdrawal of defending champion William Church, Gibson will face compatriot David Church in a repeat of their contest at the World Abilitysport Games in Thailand last December, which saw Gibson run out a 3-1 winner.
His opponent Thomson will be looking to defend the title he won a year ago against recent WST Hall of Fame inductee Daniel Blunn as he maintains a 100% streak of qualifying for the Champion of Champions final.
5: DAVE BOLTON (1) V DALTON LAWRENCE (2)
Dave Bolton has been one of the stories of the season and will be looking to round his campaign off in style on Saturday against Dalton Lawrence.
Since debuting at the UK Disability Championship in September, Bolton has won all five ranking events titles across England, Germany and Belgium and has suffered just a single defeat in WDBS competition.
Lawrence has faced Bolton in three of the aforementioned finals, but has been unable to take more than a single frame off his opponent on any of those occasions, so he will be determined to finally get one over Bolton at the season finale as both players make their debut in a Champion of Champions title match.
6A: ALAN REYNOLDS (1) V MOHAMMED FAISAL BUTT (2)
The two most dominant players in Group 6A history will go head-to-head at the Champion of Champions for a second consecutive year.
Of the 18 events held solely for Group 6A players since 2018, all but three have been won by either Alan Reynolds or Mohammed Faisal Butt and the rematch between the two was already confirmed long before the final ranking event of the season.
Reynolds was victorious by a stunning 6-0 scoreline twelve months ago but Butt, appearing in a third Champion of Champions final, will head into the match full of confidence after defeating his Scottish opponent 3-1 in the final of the 2024 Hull Open last month.
6B: LEROY WILLIAMS (1) V MATTHEW HASLAM (2)
Leroy Williams is aiming to make history this weekend by becoming the first ever player to win three consecutive Champion of Champions titles.
Williams won the event in the last two stagings in 2019 and 2023, overcoming Matthew Haslam in the most recent final 6-4 to become only the second cueist after Group 7’s Nick Neale to defend the title.
A victory for Williams would see him also become the first player to win the event three times, which is a feat that could be replicated by Group 8’s Lewis Knowles on the same day – although, unlike Williams, he would not achieve this in consecutive editions.
Haslam will be out for revenge, however, having shown fine form in the Hull Open to secure a second ranking event title of the season and set up a rematch with Williams at the Landywood Snooker Club.
7: MIKE GILLESPIE (1) V DYLAN REES (2)
Reigning champion Mike Gillespie will be aiming to do what only two other players have ever been able to do prior to this weekend and successfully defend the Champion of Champions title.
Gillespie defeated Paul Smith 6-4 twelve months ago to lift the prestigious crown for the first time in his career and will be looking to do so once again this weekend to complete a hat-trick of titles this season.
Ireland’s Dylan Rees, who has already won three events this term, will be aiming for his first Champion of Champions title in his maiden appearance in the event.
GROUP 8: GARY TAYLOR (1) V LEWIS KNOWLES (2)
Lewis Knowles arrives at the Landywood Snooker Club on Saturday aiming to do something that no player has managed previously by lifting the Champion of Champions title for a third time – something that could also be achieved by Group 6B’s Leroy Williams on the same day.
The defending champion, who also won the event back in 2018, defeated Shabir Ahmed 6-1 twelve months ago to claim the title for a second time in his career and returns this year to appear in a record-equalling fourth Champion of Champions final.
Standing in Knowles’ way will be Gary Taylor, who secured his place at the season finale for the first time and also returned to the summit of the Group 8 world rankings by winning the final ranking event of the season in Hull last month.
You can follow all the action from the 2024 Champion of Champions at WPBSA SnookerScores.
