Glory for England at EBSA European Championships

England representatives Craig Steadman, Lee Stephens, Rebecca Kenna and Tessa Davidson won titles across four events at the 2024 European Billiards & Snooker Association (EBSA) European Championships in Albufeira, Portugal.

Staged from 10-23 October at the Vidimar Hotel & Resort, the event saw hundreds of competitors embark on the Algarve for Seniors Individual & Team, Women’s Individual & Team, Men’s Team, 6-red and Shoot Out tournaments.

English players, nominated by the English Partnership for Snooker and Billiards (EPSB), were the most successful of any nation at the event as they secured the the European Seniors, European Seniors Team, European Women’s and European Women’s Team titles as well as reaching two further finals.

Seniors Double for Steadman and Stephens

Craig Steadman defeated fellow Englishman Wayne Brown 5-4 in the final of the European Seniors Championship before he and Lee Stephens followed the success up with glory for England in the European Seniors Team Championship.

England were dominant in the individual European Seniors Championship, with three of the four semi-finalists representing the nation, as Steadman defeated compatriot Brown in the title match to secure the trophy and a place in the 2025 World Seniors Championship at the Crucible Theatre – ten years on from facing Ronnie O’Sullivan at snooker’s most iconic venue.

Later that evening, Steadman followed up his individual glory with success in the European Seniors Team Championship alongside former English Seniors champion Lee Stephens.

A whitewash victory over the Wales team of Darren Morgan and Philip Williams saw Steadman and Stephens book their place in the title match, where they were once again in ruthless form as they overcame Northern Ireland’s Sean Gray and Anthony Heaney by the same scoreline to complete a European Seniors double.

Kenna and Davidson Win Women’s Titles

Rebecca Kenna and Tessa Davidson completed a memorable double for England in the European Women’s and European Women’s Team events in Portugal.

In the European Women’s Championship, Kenna dropped just two frames in the knockout stages – defeating Ewelina Piślewska, former World Championship runner-up Wendy Jans and Diana Stateczny to reach the final where she overcame Latvia’s Anna Prysazhnuka 4-1 to win the prestigious trophy.

Kenna had little time to celebrate her individual victory before returning for the European Women’s Team Championship final, where her and Tessa Davidson took on the Portugal team of Vania Franco and Sara Rocha.

It was a hard-fought affair against the home nation, but Kenna and Davidson were ultimately able to get over the line in a deciding frame to complete a memorable double in the European Women’s Championship events.

Finals for Steadman and Watson

Craig Steadman and Stuart Watson reached the finals of the Shoot Out and 6-red events respectively as England came close to adding to their quartet of titles in Albufeira.

In the Shoot Out event, where matches were player over a single timed frame, Steadman defeated Aaron Busuttil, Brian Ochoiski, Andres Petrov and Florian Nuessle before being denied a hat-trick of titles in the final by Iulian Boiko – who won both the Shoot Out and Men’s Team competitions during the event.

Both Watson and Harvey Chandler reached the semi-final of the 6-red tournament, where the two Englishman faced off with Watson coming away a 4-2 victor. Watson, who had also eliminated Steadman in the quarter-finals, lost out to Austrian national champion Nuessle 5-3 in the final having led 2-0 and 3-1 earlier in the match.

EPSB would like to congratulate all the winners at the 2024 EBSA European Championship and than the EBSA and Vidimar Hotel & Resort in Albufeira for hosting the championships.