Winners Crowned at Historic World Disability Snooker Championship
The inaugural World Disability Snooker Championship held in Nonthaburi, Thailand has now concluded with seven players claiming gold medals in their respective WDBS classification groups.
Organised by World Disability Billiards and Snooker (WDBS) and the Sports Association for the Disabled of Thailand under the Royal Patronage of His Majesty the King (SPADT), the historic event has seen 66 players across wheelchair, ambulant, intellectual, visual and deaf classification groups compete to become the first-ever world champions on the WDBS Tour.
Group 1
England’s Gary Swift made it a Thailand double in the Group 1 classification group for wheelchair users following a 3-1 victory against Thailand’s Numpol Thongpusawan in Sunday’s final.
Having triumphed at the World Abilitysport Games in Nakhon Ratchasima 15 months prior, Swift repeated the feat in Nonthaburi following a hard-fought final with home favourite Thongpusawan, who had previously scored a 3-1 win of his own against Swift during the round robin group stage.
The pair each scored 3-0 victories during the semi-finals against Poramet Boonphak and Ma Wah Keung respectively, before they met in what would prove to be a marathon title decider which lasted over six hours.
Thailand’s Thongpusawan claimed the opener, before Swift responded to take the following two frames to move to within one of gold, ultimately clinching victory on the final pink.
Swift completed a perfect week as he claimed the highest break of the group with a run of 30 during the group stage against compatriot Matthew Lester.
Group 2
Thailand’s Surasit Loisaratrakul defeated Dave Beaumont 3-1 to land his first WDBS title at the World Championship on home soil.
A bronze medallist at the World Abilitysport Games in 2023, Loisratrakul topped his round robin group with a perfect 100% record, before he defeated compatriot Niwat Kongta and England’s Darren Taylor in the knockout rounds to reach the title match.
Awaiting him was the in-form Dave Beaumont of England – winner of his previous four WDBS appearances – who had seen off Tony Southern in a blockbuster semi-final to ensure that he will rise to world number one in the latest world rankings following the tournament.
It was to be Loisratrakul who would triumph in the gold medal match however, winning the final two frames to take home the title.
The highest break of the group was a run of 35 compiled by Italy’s Fabio del Zoppo during the group stage.
Group 3
Home hero Thanapol Seekao made history early in the day as he became the first-ever WDBS world champion following a 3-1 final win against India’s Shayan Shetty.
The talented duo both progressed through Group A during the round robin stage, before they overcame Mohit Gupta and Andy Lam respectively to set up a final rematch with Shetty hoping to turn the tables on the reigning Group 3 World Abilitysport Games champion.
It was to be Seekao’s day again, however, as he clinched a crucial opening frame on the black – having seen Shetty pot the previous five colours before missing the key ball – on his way to a 3-1 success and his first world ranking crown.
The Thai player also hit the highest break in Group 3 with a run of 37.
Group 4
England’s Carl Gibson defeated countryman David Church 3-1 to lift his ninth WDBS title at the World Championship in Thailand.
The Hull player has enjoyed considerable success on the Tour having previously won the Champion of Champions, European Championship and World Abilitysport Games titles during the past 15 months and added the most prestigious title of all to his record with his first world title.
Having topped his group with 12 frames won from 13 played, Gibson whitewashed Steve Cartwright before surviving a deciding-frame finish with record WDBS champion Daniel Blunn in the semi-finals to reach the title match.
There he met friend and rival Church, who himself had seen off Phudis Sukijnoppakun and William Thomson to set up another clash between the top ranked Group 4 players.
It was Gibson who made the faster start as he won the first two frames comfortably and though Church claimed the third to threaten a comeback, Gibson was not to be denied as he closed out a memorable victory in frame four.
Church would take the consolation of having compiled the highest break with his 56 during the group stage.
Group 5
Songkiat Raebankoo was the fourth and final repeat winner from the 2023 World Abilitysport Games as he edged out WDBS debutant Anant Mehta 3-0 to claim his maiden world title.
The pair had in fact both progressed from Group 4 with Mehta winning their opening clash, but in the all-important final it was Raebankoo who turned the tables to claim make it two WDBS titles from two.
The group would prove to be one of the most hotly contested of the event with WDBS debutant Shazad Butt from Pakistan hitting the overall highest break of 86 on the opening day during a 3-2 victory against world number one Dave Bolton.
Both Butt and Bolton would fall at the semi-final stage, before Raebankoo completed victory on Sunday evening.
Groups 6+8
Belgian star Kristof De Bruyn became world champion for the first time in the combined Groups 6+8 tournament for deaf and players with learning disabilities
The 49-year-old was in strong form throughout the event as he progressed through a five player group for the loss of just three frames before seeing off Ireland’s Aidan Pollitt in the last four to reach the title match.
Awaiting him was England’s Lee Hague, who accounted for Niall Pollitt in the semi-finals to earn a match against De Bruyn for the world crown.
It was to be De Bruyn who would emerge victorious and win his fourth main ranking event crown as he dominated the title match to run out a 3-0 winner.
The highest break was made by Hague with a run of 30 – with De Bruyn dramatically missing a difficult final black on 25 with the title already sealed in the last frame of the match.
Group 7
An all-Irish final in Group 7 saw Dylan Rees defeat world number one and compatriot Colvin O’Brien 3-0 to become world champion for the final time.
With six players in the competition, the pair were joined by England’s Mike Gillespie and Welsh veteran Ronnie Allen in the semi-finals following a competitive knockout stage in Thailand.
Having progressed to the decisive match, it was O’Brien who arguably had the momentum having edged out Rees 3-2 in the group stages, but it would prove to be a different story on finals day as Rees largely dominated on his way to claiming a seventh ranking title sealed with an impressed pot on the final pink.
For O’Brien, he would claim the honour of the highest Group 7 break with 80 during the group stage.
Following an outstanding championship WDBS would like to thank everyone who made the event possible including SPADT, the Billiard Sports Association of Thailand and of course each of the 66 players and their carers and supporters.
The inaugural staging of the World Disability Snooker Championship represents another huge step forward for disability snooker and the ongoing quest to restore snooker to the Paralympic Games.
