Two WPBSA Level 1 coaching courses have been staged remotely during the Cazoo World Snooker Championship for 30 new coaches in Australia and the Americas.

Led by Head of Coaching Chris Lovell and qualified Level 3 advanced coaches Andrew Highfield and Nigel Bond, the sessions were staged online and at Ding Junhui’s Snooker Academy in Sheffield with participants from the Australian Billiards & Snooker Council (ABSC) and Pan American Billiards and Snooker Association (PABSA) calling in remotely to  attend  the course and question the experts.

WPBSA Chairman Jason Ferguson attended the face-to-face aspect of the course to offer his congratulations and support to those partaking as they take first steps into becoming officially recognised WPBSA Snooker coaches with the governing body.

The Level 1 course is the first of three in the WPBSA coaching programme and aims to increase participation in the sport by offering an introduction on how safeguarding and protecting children, how to coach the basics of the game to players of all abilities while also providing an overview of the how the WPBSA supports grassroots development of the sport globally.

WPBSA’s Head of Coaching and Training Development Manager Lovell said: “We are delighted to continue the WPBSA’s worldwide coaching development programme supporting officially recognised national governing bodies around the world with a blend of online and face-to-face. Congratulations to all of our new coaches!

“I would like to offer my thanks to Andrew and Nigel, the team at Ding Junhui’s Snooker Academy and everyone at both the ABSC and PABSA for their support in ensuring that these sessions go ahead smoothly and successfully.”

Information on further courses across all levels will be released in due course. Learn more about the WPBSA Coaching Programme.

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 regional television news service Look North, capturing the various sensory activities and speaking to some of the participants.

Six participants took part in the session in Leeds, partaking in a number of different activities which have been specifically designed with support from Sense to create a version of ‘sensory snooker’ that all can enjoy.

WPBSA’s Head of Coaching and Training Development Manager Chris Lovell, who awarded the participants with medals at the conclusion of the session, said: “We are delighted to host one of the first ‘sensory snooker’ sessions in support of the charity Sense.

“The participants and coaches alike have spoken highly of the event and it has been a privilege to see everybody enjoying themselves and getting involved in snooker as we continue to prove the inclusivity of our sport.

“I would like to thank Andrew Highfield and Mark Peevers for running the session, our hosts at the Northern Snooker Centre in Leeds, the BBC Look North team for providing vital coverage of the scheme and Sense for their vital support – we look forward to working together to continue to develop the scheme and put on further sessions in the future.”

Further details of future sessions and information on how WPBSA coaches and affiliated clubs can get involved will be release in due course. Sense and WPBSA will work together to provide training for anyone who would like to get involved.

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 ‘Introduction to snooker’ sessions and a similar coaching scheme led by WPBSA coaches in conjunction with Sense UK.

Chris Henry, who coached Mark Selby to World Championship glory in 2021 and has worked with many of the sport’s greatest players, then took to the stage to discuss his methods and highlight the benefits of his technique and aiming feedback product ‘The Balls’.

Following a short interval, 1985 World champion Taylor sat down with Lovell to discuss his life and career – talking the audience through, among other things, his early days as a professional, his memories of the late, great Alex ‘Hurricane’ Higgins and, of course, that iconic black ball final against Steve Davis.

The WPBSA would like to thank guest speakers Dennis Taylor and Chris Henry, Leonardo Hotel in Sheffield for hosting the event and all the WPBSA coaches who attended the evening.

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 the 2:30pm session on Saturday and faces a mouth watering showdown with world number 19 Hossein Vafaei.

Pre-tournament favourite and seven-time Crucible king Ronnie O’Sullivan has an intriguing clash with talented Welshman Jackson Page, while Chinese number one Ding Junhui clashes with Jack Lisowski in one of the ties of the first round.

The draw is as follows:

Luca Brecel v David Gilbert
Robert Milkins v Pang Junxu
Ali Carter v Stephen Maguire
Shaun Murphy v Lyu Haotian
Mark Selby v Joe O’Connor
Kyren Wilson v Dominic Dale
John Higgins v Jamie Jones
Mark Allen v Robbie Williams
Judd Trump v Hossein Vafaei
Tom Ford v Ricky Walden
Zhang Anda v Jak Jones
Mark Williams v Si Jiahui
Ding Junhui v Jack Lisowski
Gary Wilson v Stuart Bingham
Barry Hawkins v Ryan Day
Ronnie O’Sullivan v Jackson Page

The televised stages run from April 20th to May 6th at the Crucible in Sheffield.

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 at a semi-professional level until 1982.

His first steps into the running of the sport came in 1963 when he joined the South Australian body as a committee member.

Twenty-five years later, Frank was appointed a board member of the Australian Billiards & Snooker Council and he would go on to be elected as president of both this both and the Asia Pacific Billiards and Snooker Federation.

A skillful Billiards player with a high break of 328, Frank helped with the arrangement of two World Billiards Championships in the region during his tenure, as well being a leading figure at the 2023 World Snooker Federation Championship, which was won by Ma Hailong in Sydney.

Frank has also helped push forward the growth of Women’s and Disability snooker in the Asia Pacific region, arranged the refurbishment of the Mounties Club in New South Wales which recently hosted the Asia Pacific Open Snooker Championship, and is also an experienced tournament director and certified Class 1 referee.

Jason Ferguson, WPBSA Chairman said: “It has been an honour to work with Frank for many years on the development of our sport in the Asia-Pacific region.

“Frank will be greatly missed by the players in his region and most recently he provided incredible support to the WPBSA Group during the successful staging of the 2023 WSF Championships at the Mounties Club in Sydney, Australia.

“Today we recognise his immense contribution to snooker and I would like to wish him a well-earned retirement. I have no doubt that he will continue to follow our sport as keenly as ever and look forward to seeing him soon.”

We would like to thank Frank for his contribution to the sport and wish him all the best with his retirement.

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 climb back up the list with another strong showing at snooker’s blue riband event.

Below we consider the prospects of the eight who mathematically could finish the season at the head of the pack…

Advantage Allen

Northern Ireland’s Mark Allen heads the provisional world ranking list prior to the World Championship, with five ranking titles won during the current two-year counting period taking his prize money total to £935,000.

A maiden victory at the Crucible would be enough to see Allen become only snooker’s 12th number one ranked player, while a run to the final would be sufficient, unless he were to lose to Judd Trump in the title match.

If Allen were to fall at the semi-finals, quarter-finals or last 16 stage, Trump could take top spot by reaching the final, while the door would also be opened for fifth placed Ronnie O’Sullivan to extend his run at number one by claiming the title.

Defeat for Allen to Robbie Williams on Wednesday afternoon would mean that the semi-finals could be enough for Trump, while Shaun Murphy, Ding Junhui and Mark Williams would all be able to finish number one by winning the tournament – if other results were to go their way.

Top Trump?

With five ranking titles under his belt already this season, England’s Judd Trump is the closest challenger to Allen as he looks to begin what would be a fifth spell at the top of the world rankings.

Starting some £74,000 behind Allen at the start of the tournament, Trump would need to reach at least the semi-finals to bring himself into contention, while any result from the last 16 to the semi-finals for Allen would mean that Trump would have to reach at least the final.

If Allen were to reach the title match from the top half, Trump would have to take him down in the final to reclaim top spot in style.

Brecel Leads Chasing Pack

Reigning world champion Luca Brecel vaulted to second place in the world rankings following his landmark Crucible victory a year ago, but will be hoping to go one better with another strong performance in Sheffield.

For Brecel – and indeed Mark Selby, Ronnie O’Sullivan, Shaun Murphy, Ding Junhui and Mark Williams – only the title will be enough to bring them into contention.

Both Brecel and Selby would be guaranteed to become number one by claiming the title, while O’Sullivan would do so unless Allen were his final opponent.

For Murphy, Ding and Williams, an early exit for Allen would be required, along with other results for the players named above also working in their favour.

Follow the latest provisional end of season rankings through the Cazoo World Championship here at wpbsa.com.

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 which left the draw wide open, as well as that clearance by Alex Higgins against Jimmy White in the semi-finals and much more from the event.

We reflect on snooker’s wider boom period of the 1980s and what it was like for Knowles as one of the key protagonists of the era, whilst he also looks ahead to future opportunities as he continues to battle it out on the baize in 2024.

The WPBSA Snooker Podcast is available now via Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and YouTube.

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 Championship.

The level six world ranking event is played over the short format of multiple games of 100up and saw the field narrowed to 24 following an initial group stage.

A quartet of whitewash victories in the group saw Causier seeded through to the last 16, where he overcame Indian player Dhvaj Haria 5-1.

Causier continued his dominant run by ending the hopes of the host nation, eliminating the last remaining Irishman Aidan Murray with another whitewash victory, before a 7-2 win over world number six Martin Goodwill saw him book his place in the final.

In the title match he would meet Kothari, who had defeated the reigning World champion Peter Gilchrist 6-4 in the quarter-finals to set up an all-Indian semi-final against Dhruv Sitwala.

Sitwala was aiming to reach a third ranking event final of the year, having ended both the Austrian Open and Walter Lindrum Open as runner-up, but proved no match for his fellow countryman as Kothari ran out a 7-3 victor.

There was no stopping Causier in Carlow, however, as he comfortably defeated Kothari 8-2 in the final to secure the 2024 Macau Casino World Matchplay title.

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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 world number one, widely regarded as the greatest Asian player in the history of the sport, and Aston Martin Aramco Driver Ambassador Jessica Hawkins, who is no stranger to competing for top honours in everything from single-seaters to touring cars, to discover the essential attributes needed regardless of whether you’re in a race or at the baize.

Over a game of snooker, Jessica and Ding reveal all…

1 | Precision

Jessica Hawkins: Precision is paramount in racing. You might only have one chance to set a fast lap in Qualifying to set yourself up for a good result in the race. You need to hit every apex, be millimetre perfect on your exits, and use all the track without exceeding the limit because every millimetre counts.

It’s not enough to do this just for one lap, though. You need to be precise every single lap of the race, making sure the car is where it needs to be – you need to be super consistent.

Ding Junhui: The same applies to snooker. You need to be millimetre perfect – if you’re not, it can be the difference between success and failure.

Cue ball control is so important – to succeed, you have to master this aspect of the game. Losing position with the cue ball makes your next shot harder and can lead to mistakes – allowing your opponent to come to the table and seize the initiative.

Precision is also key when potting balls and making safety shots. You need to be accurate and get your angles right to pot the balls, and safety shots are crucial as they can be what decide tight frames and even matches.

2 | Handling pressure

DJ: Snooker is mentally taxing and dealing with pressure is a skill every top player needs. I think about just one shot at a time to manage it. You have to think ahead and plan some shots in advance, but when it comes to executing each shot, you must focus solely on that.

When you manage pressure well, you play well and that’s when you can turn the pressure onto your opponent. If you can’t handle the pressure, your opponent will take advantage.

JH: There’s pressure all the time in racing. In Qualifying, you might have one lap to get it right. There’s a lot of pressure on that lap, and it’s all about how you deal with it. Or you might be going into a race that the championship depends on, and you have to beat your opponents to win. You need to handle pressure whenever it arrives, or you’ll not perform.

3 | Teamwork and performing alone

DJ: When I’m playing a match it’s all on me but in the days before, I work hard with my coaches and friends. They offer advice to help me improve or stay in form. You do all your work with your team before tournaments so when you’re out there alone in a match you’re fully prepared.

I’m the only one that can make the shots and win the match, but I need a team behind me to give me the best chance of winning.

JH: Although a driver is the only person in an F1 car, you can’t make it to the grid without the team of people in the garage and back home. Motorsport is both an individual sport and a team sport. Much of the spotlight is on the driver but success comes down to what you do as a team.

4 | Practice

JH: You have to put in the hours before competing. Without practice and training, you won’t be able to take the opportunities when they present themselves.

In motorsport, you try to prepare as much as you can in the simulator. You also spend lots of time in the gym to ensure you’re in peak physical condition. If your body is not ready for the physical demands, you will never maximise your performance.

You can be as fit as you want in the gym, but being race fit is a different proposition that you only achieve by driving in the heat of competition. It’s the same as any sport, you need match practice, you need game time. There is no substitute for competition.

DJ: Practice really does make perfect. I play by myself for about four or five hours most days. In addition, I might play against someone in a best-of-seven or -nine game just to try to replicate a match scenario.

As Jessica points out, you want that match practice. Nothing compares to a competitive environment, but you can still recreate it as best you can. When alone, I devise games to put some form of pressure on myself to replicate a match scenario. It’s all about staying sharp and being ready.

5 | Endurance

DJ: You normally practice for longer periods of time than you face in a match so that helps build endurance. In snooker, each session takes around four hours so that’s the minimum training you do each time and that helps you prepare.

In terms of the World Snooker Championship, the longest tournament, you take it session by session. If you just focus on each session, you know that you’ve trained for longer than it will last so you feel as though you can handle it.

You need mental endurance and discipline to maintain maximum focus on every shot. Without endurance, you’re going to burn out quickly in a two-week tournament like the World Snooker Championship.

JH: It’s crucial to be as fast on the last lap as it is on lap one and your body has to be prepared for that. You need to make sure you have the stamina and have put the preparation in. You need to be hydrated, to have eaten the right things, and to be physically ready.

You need to have endurance and be hyper-focused for the entire race. If you can’t last the distance, then you’re going to go backwards before the flag.

6 | Staying one step ahead

JH: Although you have to be present and in the moment, you need to be able to think one or even several steps ahead.

Finding and following the perfect racing line is key to a fast lap. The exit of one corner determines your speed down a straight so you’re always thinking about what’s coming next and making sure you’re not going to compromise your speed through the next part of the track. If your racing line is wrong or you make a mistake, you’re slow.

DJ: It’s the same in snooker. Thinking ahead is so important because one error can compromise you for several shots to come and even end your break. When the opportunity arrives to start potting and scoring you want to win the frame and that’s when you start thinking ahead.

When I play a red, I’m also thinking about the colour I want to be on after that and then the next red, so you need to put the cue ball in the right place and follow the route you have in mind. You have to be flexible and you’re always thinking strategically about how best to clear the table.

7 | Balancing attack and defence

JH: You’re constantly calculating when to go for an overtake or whether it’s time to be a bit more conservative and maybe look after the tyres or defend.

It’s about finding that balance. In racing, things happen quickly; if a driver you’re following makes a mistake, you have to attack. Ideally, you want to be on the front foot and not concentrate too much on defending – you want to be dictating things on the track as much as possible. At the start of a race, you should always be focusing more on attacking those in front. The best form of defence is attack.

DJ: Deciding how much to attack or defend can depend on how I feel and how my opponent is playing – we have a bit more time to think about it than racing drivers but it’s still a judgement call. If my opponent seems to be feeling the same as me, I’ll attack at first. But if the scores are still level a while after that, I might start to play more defensively to take the feeling away from them.

Table time is very important in snooker so if I can disrupt my opponent with defensive play or keep them sat down by attacking and scoring, that’s going to benefit me. I have to assess the best way I can make that happen and getting that calculation right can be the difference in a match.

Article and images originally posted by Aston Martin F1.

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 that payout, having both made perfect breaks at the Masters in January.

The break already puts Saengkham in line for a £25,000 prize. There is a £10,000 bonus in place for maximums in qualifying and he is catapulted into pole position for the £15,000 high break prize, which covers the entire event.

It is the 202nd official 147 in snooker history and the 13th to be made this season.