In 2018, championships were held across three continents to determine the best players in major cue sports, including snooker, pool, and English billiards. While these are mostly single player sports, some matches and tournaments are held as either doubles or as team events. The snooker season runs between May and April; the pool and billiards seasons run through the calendar year.
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Four men's adult world championships were held in 2018, Mark Williams won the World Snooker Championship, Joshua Filler holding the WPA World Nine-ball Championship, Sourav Kothari the World Billiards Championship, and Dick Jaspers winning the UMB World Three-cushion Championship. Three women's world championships were also held, with Han Yu winning the WPA Women's World Nine-ball Championship, the World Billiards Championship being won by Emma Bonney and Ng On-yee winning the World Women's Snooker Championship.
The snooker Triple Crown featured Ronnie O'Sullivan winning the UK Championship, while the Masters was won by Mark Allen. In pool, the Mosconi Cup was won by the US team, with Skyler Woodward as the most valuable player.[1] Peter Gilchrist won seven events in billiards, while Reanne Evans won six women's snooker events. The events below are professional and pro-am cue sports tournaments from the year of 2018, as well as select amateur snooker events used for qualification to the World Snooker Tour.
Pool
The cue sport pool encapsulates several disciplines, such as straight pool, eight-ball, and nine-ball.[2]: 182–186 Joshua Filler won the WPA World Nine-ball Championship,[3] while the World Cup of Pool was won by China.[4] In events where there was more than one competition, (m) refers to men, (f) to female, (s) to seniors and (u21) refers to under-21 competitions.
| Date(s) | Tournament | Location | Result | Refs. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 2–4 | World Pool Masters | Gibraltar | Niels Feijen defeated Shane Van Boening, 8–4 | [5][6] |
| May 15–20 | World Cup of Pool | China (Shanghai) | China A defeated Austria, 10–3 | [7][4] |
| July 19–31 | European Pool Championships | Netherlands (Veldhoven) | Germany won 24 medals, ahead of Poland with 12 | [8][9] |
| September 11–15 | Kremlin World Cup | Russia (Moscow) | Niels Feijen defeated Alexander Kazakis 8–7 | [10] |
| December 3–7 | Mosconi Cup | England (London) | Team USA defeated Team Europe 11–9 | [11][12] |
| December 7–10 | WPA Women's World Nine-ball Championship | Qatar (Doha) | Han Yu defeated Wang Xiaotong 5–0 | [13][14] |
| December 14–20 | WPA World Nine-ball Championship | Qatar (Doha) | Joshua Filler defeated Carlo Biado 13–10 | [15][3] |
Euro Tour
The Euro Tour is a professional nine-ball series run across Europe by the European Pocket Billiard Federation. The season featured seven events, with six tournaments for each gender.[16]
| Date(s) | Tournament | Location | Result | Refs. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 1–4 | Dynamic Billiard Treviso Open | Italy (Treviso) |
| [17][18] |
| April 12–15 | Sankt Johann im Pongau Open | Austria (St Johann im Pongau) |
| [19][20] |
| August 2–4 | Veldhoven Open | Netherlands (Veldhoven) |
| [21] |
| September 20–23 | Leende Open | Netherlands (Leende) | Shane Van Boening defeated Eklent Kaçi, 9–8 | [22] |
| September 22–22 | Portugal Open | Portugal (Braga) | Kristina Tkach defeated Marharyta Fefilava 7–0 | [23] |
| October 11–14 | Klagenfurt Open | Austria (Klagenfurt) |
| [24][25] |
| November 15–18 | Treviso Open | Italy (Treviso) |
| [26][27] |
English billiards
The English billiards season ran from August to July.[28] Sourav Kothari and Emma Bonney won the World Billiards Championships for each gender.[28]
| Date(s)[28] | Tournament | Location | Result | Refs. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 21–24 | European Open | Ireland (Carlow) | Peter Gilchrist defeated David Causier 1083–911 | [29] |
| June 2–6 | Asian Grand Prix | Singapore | Peter Gilchrist defeated Robert Hall 6–4 | [30] |
| June 12–15 | ABSC Pacific International | Australia (Melbourne) | Robert Hall defeated Matthew Bolton 6–4 | [31] |
| October 22–26 | World Billiards Championship | England (Leeds) | Sourav Kothari defeated Peter Gilchrist, 1134–944 (m) Emma Bonney defeated Rebecca Kenna 329–209 (f) | [32] |
| November 12–18 | IBSF World Billiards Championship (150-Up) | Myanmar (Yangon) | Pankaj Advani defeated Nay Thway Oo 6–2 | [33][34][35] |
| IBSF World Billiards Championship (Long-Up) | Pankaj Advani defeated Bhaskar Balachandra 1500–299 | [34][35] |
World Billiards Open
| Date(s)[28] | Tournament | Location | Result | Refs. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 27–28 | Scottish Open | Scotland (Kirkcaldy) | Peter Gilchrist defeated Robert Marshall 521–265 | [36] |
| February 10–11 | South Australian Open | Australia (Adelaide) | Peter Gilchrist defeated Steve Mifsud 1179–410 | [37] |
| March 30 – April 2 | UK Open | England (Leeds) | Peter Gilchrist defeated Robert Hall 796–667 | [38] |
| April 6–8 | Sydney Open | Australia (Sydney) | Peter Gilchrist defeated Michael Pearson 987–345 | [39] |
| April 28–29 | English Open | England (Cambridge) | Robert Hall defeated Peter Gilchrist 614–378 | [40] |
| May 19–20 | Irish Open | Ireland (Carlow) | Peter Gilchrist defeated David Causier 811–375 | [41] |
| August 18–19 | NSC Open | England (Leeds) | David Causier defeated Robert Hall 749–198 | [42] |
Carom billiards
Three-cushion billiards competitions overseen by the Union Mondal de Billiard (UMB)
| Date(s)[43] | Tournament | Location | Result | Refs. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 22–25 | World Three-cushion Teams Championship | Germany (Viersen) | Choi Sung-won & Kang Dong-koong defeated Arnim Kahofer & Andreas Efler 40–23 | [44][45] |
| September 18–20 | World Three-cushion Women's Championship | Turkey (İzmir) | Therese Klompenhouwer defeated Orie Hida 30–24 | [44][46] |
| September 21–23 | World Three-cushion Juniors Championship | Turkey (İzmir) | Cho Myung-woo defeated Jang Dae-hyun 35–18 | [47][48] |
| October 2–6 | World Three-cushion Championship | Egypt (Cairo) | Dick Jaspers defeated Jérémy Bury with the best General average | [49][50][51] |
| November 23–25 | Lausanne Billiard Masters | Switzerland (Lausanne) | Eddy Merckx defeated Murat Naci Çoklu 40–33 | [52][53] |
Three-Cushion World Cup
The Three-Cushion World Cup is an annual three-cushion series of tournaments hosted by the UMB.[54] Seven events were held, with the overall winner being Frédéric Caudron.[55]
| Date(s) | Tournament | Location | Result | Refs. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 23–29 | Event one | Turkey (Antalya) | Winner: Frédéric Caudron, 2nd place: Murat Naci Çoklu, 3rd place: Cho Jae-ho & Dani Sánchez | [56][57] |
| May 21–27 | Event two | Viet Nam (Ho Chi Minh City) | Winner: Quyet Chien Tran, 2nd place: Dinh Nai Ngo, 3rd place: Nguyen Quoc Nguyen & Frédéric Caudron | [58][59] |
| June 11–17 | Event three | Belgium (Blankenberge) | Winner: Dick Jaspers, 2nd place: Semih Saygıner, 3rd place: Nikos Polychronopoulos & Eddy Merckx | [60][61] |
| July 2–9 | Event four | Portugal (Porto) | Winner: Frédéric Caudron, 2nd place: Tayfun Taşdemir, 3rd place: Choi Sung-won & Heo Jung-han | [62][63] |
| October 22–28 | Event five | France (La Baule) | Winner: Martin Horn, 2nd place: Cho Jae-ho, 3rd place: Frédéric Caudron & Semih Saygıner | [64][65] |
| November 12–18 | Event six | South Korea (Seoul) | Winner: Eddy Merckx, 2nd place: Filippos Kasidokostas, 3rd place: Dick Jaspers & Kim Bong-Chul | [66][67] |
| December 2–8 | Event seven | Egypt (Hurghada) | Winner: Dick Jaspers, 2nd place: Frédéric Caudron, 3rd place: Kim Haeng-jik & Semih Saygıner | [68][69] |
Snooker
The World Snooker Tour season begins in July and ends in May. Mark Williams won his third World Snooker Championship by defeating John Higgins 18–16 in the final.[70] Ng On-yee also won her third Women's World Snooker Championship with a 5–0 win over Maria Catalano in the final.[71]
World ranking
Non-ranking
| Date(s)[72][73] | Tournament | Location | Result | Refs. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 14–21 | Masters | England (London) | Mark Allen defeated Kyren Wilson 10–7 | [92] |
| March 14–18 | Romanian Masters | Romania (Bucharest) | Ryan Day defeated Stuart Bingham 6–5 | [93] |
| January 22 – March 29 | Championship League | England (Coventry) | John Higgins defeated Zhou Yuelong 3–2 | [94] |
| May 10–13 | Vienna Snooker Open | Italy (Vienna) | Michael Georgiou defeated Ross Muir 5–4 | [95] |
| July 12–15 | Golden Q Cup | Romania (Baia Mare) | Luca Brecel defeated Michael Georgiou 5–1 | [96] |
| July 28–31 | Pink Ribbon | England (Gloucester) | Andrew Norman defeated Harvey Chandler 4–2 | [97] |
| July 31 – August 4 | Haining Open | China (Haining) | Mark Selby defeats Li Hang 5–4 | [98] |
| September 10–16 | Shanghai Masters | China (Shanghai) | Ronnie O'Sullivan defeated Barry Hawkins 11–9 | [99] |
| November 5–11 | Champion of Champions | England (Coventry) | Ronnie O'Sullivan defeated Kyren Wilson 10–9 | [100] |
Challenge Tour
The Challenge Tour is a secondary non-professional snooker tour with events for invited players.[101][102] Eight tournaments were played from the ten events in the 2018–19 season in 2018.[72]
| Date(s)[72][73] | Tournament | Location | Result | Refs. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 3 | Challenge Tour 1 | England (Burton) | Brandon Sargeant defeated Luke Simmonds 3–1 | [103] |
| July 11 | Challenge Tour 2 | England (Preston) | David Grace defeated Mitchell Mann 3–0 | [104] |
| July 28 | Challenge Tour 3 | Latvia (Riga) | Barry Pinches defeated Jackson Page 3–2 | [105] |
| August 28 | Challenge Tour 4 | Germany (Fürth) | Mitchell Mann defeated Dylan Emery 3–0 | [106] |
| September 19 | Challenge Tour 5 | England (Derby) | David Lilley defeated Brandon Sargeant 3–1 | [107] |
| October 5 | Challenge Tour 6 | Belgium (Lommel) | David Grace defeated Ben Hancorn 3–0 | [108] |
| October 14 | Challenge Tour 7 | England (Preston) | Joel Walker defeated Jenson Kendrick 3–0 | [109] |
| November 25 | Challenge Tour 8 | Hungary (Budapest) | Simon Bedford defeated David Lilley 3–1 | [110] |
World Seniors Tour
The World Seniors Tour is an amateur series open to players aged 40 and over.[111] There were four events in the 2018 World Seniors Tour.[111] The World Seniors Championship was won by Aaron Canavan.[112]
| Date(s)[113] | Tournament | Location | Result | Refs. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 6–7 | Seniors Irish Masters | Ireland (Kildare) | Steve Davis defeated Jonathan Bagley 4–0 | [114] |
| March 21–24 | World Seniors Championship | England (Scunthorpe) | Aaron Canavan defeated Patrick Wallace 4–3 | [112] |
| April 12 | Seniors Masters | England (Sheffield) | Cliff Thorburn defeated Jonathan Bagley 2–1 | [115] |
| October 24–25 | UK Seniors Championship | England (Hull) | Ken Doherty defeated Igor Figueiredo 4–1 | [116] |
Women's snooker
| Date(s)[113] | Tournament | Location | Result | Refs. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 17–18 | British Open | England (Stourbridge) | Reanne Evans defeated Nutcharut Wongharuthai 4–0 | [117] |
| March 14–17 | World Women's Snooker Championship | Malta (St. Paul's Bay) | Ng On Yee defeated Maria Catalano 5–0 | [71] |
| April 13–16 | World Women's Under-21 Championship | England (Leeds) | Nutcharut Wongharuthai defeated Emma Parker 3–0 | [118] |
| World Women's Seniors Championship | Jenny Poulter defeated Jackie Ellis 3–0 | |||
| World Women's 10-Red Championship | Reanne Evans defeated Ng On Yee 4–1 | |||
| World Women's 6-Red Championship | Reanne Evans defeated Ng On Yee 4–3 | |||
| World Women's Pairs Championship | Reanne Evans & Maria Catalano defeated Laura Evans & Suzie Opacic 3–0 | |||
| September 15–16 | UK Women's Championship | England (Leeds) | Ng On-yee defeated Rebecca Kenna 4–1 | [119] |
| October 5–7 | European Women's Masters | Belgium (Neerpelt) | Reanne Evans defeated Nutcharut Wongharuthai 4–1 | [120] |
| October 25–28 | Australian Women's Open | Australia (Sydney) | Ng On-yee defeated Katrina Wan 4–2 | [121] |
| November 24–25 | Eden Women's Masters | England (Gloucester) | Reanne Evans defeated Rebecca Kenna 4–0 | [122] |
| December 13–16 | IBSF World Team Championship | Egypt (Marsa Alam) | Waratthanun Sukritthanes and Siripaporn Nuanthakhamjan defeated Amee Kamani and Vidya Pillai 4–2 | [123] |
Amateur snooker championships
| Date(s)[113] | Tournament | Location | Result | Refs. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 2–16 | European Under-18 Championships | Bulgaria (Sofia) | Jackson Page defeated Florian Nüßle 5–3 | [124] |
| European Under-21 Championships | Simon Lichtenberg defeated Tyler Rees 6–3 | [125] | ||
| European Men's Championships | Harvey Chandler defeated Jordan Brown 7–2 | [126] | ||
| February 27 – March 2 | World Snooker Team Cup | Qatar (Doha) | Pankaj Advani & Manan Chandra defeated Muhammad Asif & Babar Masih 3–2 | [127] |
| March 7–17 | Oceania Billiards & Snooker Championships | Australia (Mount Pritchard) |
| [128][129][130] |
| March 14–24 | WSF Championship | Malta (St. Paul's Bay) |
| [131] |
| March 18–24 | ACBS Asian Snooker Championship | Myanmar (Yangon) | Aung Phyo defeated Haris Tahir 6–4 (u21) | [132] |
| Amee Kamani defeated Siripaporn Nuanthakhamjan 3–0 (f) | [133] | |||
| May 4–12 | ABSF African Snooker Championships | Egypt (Cairo) | Mohamed Ibrahim defeated Mostafa Dorgham 6–1 | [134] |
| May 6–12 | ACBS Asian Snooker Championship | Iran (Tabriz) | Amir Sarkhosh defeated Ali Ghareghouzlo 6–1 | [135] |
| July 2–10 | IBSF World Under-21 Snooker Championship | China (Jinan) | Wu Yize defeated Pongsakorn Chongjairak 6–4 (m) Nutcharut Wongharuthai defeated Bai Yulu 4–2 (f) | [136][137][138] |
| IBSF World Under-18 Championship | He Guoqiang defeated Lei Peifan 5–4 | [139] | ||
| November 19–27 | IBSF World Men's Championship | Myanmar (Yangon) | Chang Bingyu defeated He Guoqiang 8–3 (m) | [140] |
| IBSF World Women's Championship | Waratthanun Sukritthanes defeated Wendy Jans 5–2 | [141] | ||
| IBSF World Seniors Championship | Darren Morgan defeated Saleh Mohammed 6–0 (s) | [141] |