The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) hosted one of its first ‘sensory snooker’ sessions this week in support of the charity Sense. First announced back in March, the sessions aim to reinvent and create simpler versions of popular sports, including snooker, for people with complex disabilities. One of the pilot ‘sensory snooker’ sessions was held on Monday at Leeds’ Northern Snooker Centre and hosted by qualified WPBSA coaches Andrew Highfield and Mark Peevers. BBC journalist Tom Ingle and his team were also in attendance at the session to cover the scheme for regi ..read more

Former World champion Dennis Taylor and renowned snooker coach Chris Henry were headline speakers at the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association’s (WPBSA) annual coaching seminar held on Friday evening. Hosted at the Leonardo Hotel in Sheffield during the Cazoo World Snooker Championship, the seminar was attended by WPBSA coaches who have qualified across the three levels of the WPBSA Coaching Programme. The evening began with an introduction from the WPBSA’s Head of Coaching and Training Development Manager Chris Lovell, who highlighted the importance of both the Parkinson’s UK ..read more

The draw for the last 32 of the 2024 Cazoo World Championship has been made with defending champion Luca Brecel being pitted against former semi-finalist David Gilbert. The balls were pulled out on BBC Radio Five Live by Rick Edwards and Rachel Burden, who were joined by Rob Walker and world number three Mark Allen. The 16 seeds on the left were picked out at random against the 16 qualifiers. As is tradition, Brecel begins his campaign at 10am on Saturday April 20th, the opening session of the tournament. One of the top performers of the season so far Judd Trump will then take centre stage in ..read more

Frank Dewens, President of Asia Pacific Billiards and Snooker Federation, has announced his retirement after being involved in snooker for more than 60 years. Frank’s time in snooker has seen him become a leading figure of the sport in the Asia Pacific region and help arrange major events including the World Snooker Federation Championship and World Billiards Championship. Boasting a high break of 139, which he proudly shares started incredibly directly from the break off shot, Frank first started playing at the age of 15 in 1959 and took up the game competitively three years later, playing a ..read more

Up to eight players are still in the hunt to finish the 2023/24 season as snooker’s world number one following 17 days of action at the 2024 Cazoo World Snooker Championship in Sheffield. Ronnie O’Sullivan has headed the list since the 2022 Tour Championship but is far from guaranteed to remain there at the end of the season as he will be defending the maximum £500,000 from his record-equalling seventh Crucible victory two years ago. This means that he is provisionally on course to finish the campaign in fifth position, but of course with big money to be won there is every chance that he can ..read more

In the latest episode of the WPBSA Snooker Podcast we recall the story of the 1982 World Snooker Championship – among the best remembered editions of the tournament in its rich and storied history. Host Michael McMullan is joined by former world number two Tony Knowles – who so memorably dethroned the defending champion Steve Davis 10-1 in the opening round – and John Skilbeck, author of Goody Two Shoes, a fantastic new book which chronicles the story of the event in unparalled detail. The duo of course revisit that famous first round win for Knowles, one of a number of first round shocks wh ..read more

David Causier defeated Sourav Kothari 8-2 to win the 2024 Macau Casino World Matchplay in Carlow, Ireland. The title is Causier’s fourth ranking event crown of the year and completed a Carlow double as the 50-year-old Englishman, who compiled 17 century breaks during the event, followed up on his success in last week’s Sammin Engineering Irish Open. Held at the SBI Academy in Carlow, Ireland as part of the annual double-header alongside the aforementioned Irish Open, a total of 45 cueists from eight nations took part in World Billiards’ second-most prestigious event behind only the World Cham ..read more

Whether you’re sat on a thrumming starting grid, moments away from making a move into Turn One, or breaking off at the snooker table in nerve-shredding silence, every sport demands certain attributes to succeed at the highest level. But what are the key ingredients for success that apply across the sporting spectrum? Ahead of the return of the Chinese Grand Prix this weekend, Aston Martin F1 are teaming up with China’s sporting heroes to connect cultures through sport and one of them is snooker sensation and 14-time major ranking winner Ding Junhui. We delve inside the mind of the former worl ..read more

Noppon Saengkham hammered home the second maximum break of his career at Cazoo World Championship qualifying in Sheffield. Saengkham crafted the run in the tenth frame of his third round clash with Andy Hicks. That moved him 7-3 ahead in a match he eventually won 10-5, setting up a Judgement Day clash with Jackson Page. The Thai number one now moves just one further 147 break away from a bumper £147,000 bonus payout. That is on offer for any player who makes two maximums across this season’s Triple Crown events. Mark Allen and Ding Junhui are the other two players currently in the running for ..read more

Following Martin Gould’s withdrawal from the 2024 Cazoo World Snooker Championship, the WPBSA has considered the position in relation to his tour place. This is following an application for a medical exemption which was lodged with the WPBSA earlier in the season, at a time Martin was forced to withdraw from several major ranking events, due to injury. Having considered the all of the facts, the WPBSA, in consultation with WST, has now offered Martin a 12-month extension to his tour place. Martin will retain his current earned prize money points and this decision will not affect other current ..read more