Success for England at Home International Championships

England lifted four championship titles during a successful week at the 2024 HIBSF Home International Championships in Leeds.

Held at the Northern Snooker Centre in Leeds from 2-9 August, a total of 17 England teams represented their country across seven event categories against opponents from Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, Isle of Man and Jersey.

Four teams lifted their championship titles as England saw success in the Main, Under-16, Over-55’s and Women’s events while there was also Cup glory for England in the Under-21, Under-16 and Over-55’s competitions.

All-England Final in Main Championship

England ‘A’ defeated England ‘B’ 7-4 in the final of the Main Home International Championship as the host nation dominated the event.

The England ‘A’ team of Steven Hallworth, Craig Steadman, Ryan Davies and Peter Lines – plus Daniel Boyes, who had temporarily stepped in for Hallworth in a match during the group phase, were in imperious form as they won all three of their group matches by an aggregate scoreline of 29-7.

A semi-final whitewash victory over Scotland set up a final meeting with an England ‘B’ team featuring Daniel Womersley, Jake Robinson, Gary Milne and Mitchell Travis – who had overcome Northern Ireland 7-3 in the last four.

The title match was a hard-fought contest but England ‘A’ ultimately proved too strong as they ran out 7-4 victors to claim to prestigious title.

England ‘B’ player Womersley did take the consolation of achieving the highest break of the week, a 137, while Steadman proved to be England ‘A’s strongest performer as he secured victory in all nine of the frames he contested during the event.

England Storm to Under-16 Glory

England ‘A’ comfortably overcame Scotland ‘A’ 7-1 in the final of the Under-16 Home International Championship to earn the title in style.

The team of English Under-14 champion Nicholas Ayers, William Hurley, Asten Sahota and Harry Wyatt dropped just five frames in five matches as they dominated their group phase with victories over Northern Ireland, Scotland ‘B’ and Wales by scorelines of 11-1, 11-1 and 10-2.

A 7-1 victory over an England ‘B’ team featuring Ryan Spratt, William Thomson, Jackson Pope and William Chambers then saw England ‘A’ set up a final meeting with Scotland ‘A’.

Hurley proved to be England ‘A’s top competitor during the event as he won all nine frames played and he helped his side to a dominant 7-1 win in the final to secure the crown.

Over-55’s Claim Home Internationals Crown

England ‘A’ lifted the Over-55’s Home International Championship crown by defeating Scotland 7-3 in the title match.

Nick Pearce, Ashley Beal, Gary Miller and Peter Holland made up the England ‘A’ team who won all four of their group matches to set up an all-England semi-final contest against England ‘B’.

The England ‘B’ team of Peter Bardsley, Graham Beardmore, Andy Battams and Ian Desmier put up a strong fight in the last four but were ultimately overcome by a 7-4 scoreline as England ‘A’ set up a final against Scotland.

A strong England ‘A’ side, for whom Beal and Pearce registered five half-centuries between them during the event, proved too good for their scottish opponents as they ran out 7-3 victors to lift the title.

England Women Complete Home Internationals Quartet

A dominant display from the England Women’s team saw them overcome Scotland and lift the Home International Championship title.

Only England and Scotland competed in the event, meaning the two sides faced off on six occasions to decide the champion – with the England side of Hannah Jones, Ellise Scott and Daisy May Oliver coming out victories in each of the contests and secure an impressive aggregate scoreline of 33-3.

Jones and Scott each registered a high break of 49 during the event while team captain Jones won all nine of the frames she contested.

Cup Glory for England

England teams also claimed cup glory across the Under-21, Under-16 and Over-55’s events at the Home Internationals.

The cup events saw teams who did not reach the latter stages of the Championship event at the Northern Snooker Centre compete for the cup title.

In the Under-21 event, England ‘C’ defeated England ‘B’ in a deciding frame of the cup semi-finals before the team of Andrew Robson, Aidan Gallagher, O’Shay Scott and Ethan Llewellyn defeated Northern Ireland 7-3 in the final.

Zain Jeraj, Faiz Majid, Dylan Beer and Logan Hall earned a victory for England ‘C’ over Northern Ireland by a 7-4 scoreline in the final of the Under-16’s cup event, while the England ‘C’ team of David Brock, Colin Mitchell, Andy Booker and Mike Lucas dramatically defeated Republic of Ireland in a deciding frame of the Over-55’s cup final.

EPSB would like to congratulate all the winners and competitors at the 2024 HIBSF Home International Championships and thank everyone who helped to make the event a success.