Team England Win Six Major Titles at the 2025 Home International Championships

Team England enjoyed one of their most dominant campaigns in Home International Billiards and Snooker Championships history as they won six of the seven main team titles on offer.

Steeped in prestige and lineage, this year’s Championships – organised by the Home International Billiards and Snooker Federation (HIBSF) – were held at the Northern Snooker Centre in Leeds.

Teams from seven different nations – England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, Isle of Man, and Jersey – featured in various categories across the eight days of action in Yorkshire.

England retain the Prince of Wales Shield

The England A side consisting of Zachary Richardson, Kayden Brierley, Ryan Davies, Dan Womersley and Daniel Boyes won the main team snooker championship; successfully defending the Prince of Wales Shield.

During the groups phase, the A team won all three of their matches to finish top of their pool and qualify for the knockouts. This was despite captain Richardson – the reigning English Amateur Snooker Champion – having to return home after game two due to illness and being replaced by youngster Boyes.

In the other group, England B (Bradley Cowdroy – captain, Ant Parsons, James Lee, Alex Millington) also progressed to the last four, only narrowly missing out on top spot due to frames won. That meant an all-England semi-final where the A team reached the title match after a 7-2 victory.

In the final, the As defeated Northern Ireland A 7-2 to retain the Home Internationals snooker title and end with a 100% winning record.

During the groups phase, Brierley came top of the individual player averages with eight wins from nine, he also compiled a break of 103 during the event.

English sides have now won this trophy in three of the four most recent editions.

Master-ful England back on top

England won the masters snooker championship for the first time since 2018 as the team of Craig Steadman – captain, Shaun Wilkes, Wayne Brown, and Stuart Watson ended the seven-year wait.

The four-pronged unit dropped just seven frames during the groups phase as they registered wins over Northern Ireland A (8-4), Isle of Man (10-2), and Wales B (11-1) to come top of their pool.

In the semi-finals, England eliminated the Republic of Ireland 7-4 before dethroning defending champions Wales A 7-3 in the final, turning the tables having lost to them in the title match 12 months previously.

Steadman and Brown finished joint-top of the player averages (along with Wales’ Phil Williams) with eight out of nine frame wins. They each also posted a century break during the event.

In the Over-55s Championship, the England A squad of John Hunter – captain, Andy Booker, Ian Desmier, and Gary Miller just missed out on gold after being pipped 7-5 by Northern Ireland in the final.

Having qualified from their group, the As edged out Scotland 7-6 via a one-frame shootout in the semi-finals.

It was fine lines for England B (Mike Lucas – captain, Tony Knowles, Andy Battams, Kevin Wilshire) as a few frames either way would have put them into the knockouts after 7-5 losses to the Republic of Ireland A and Scotland, and a 6-6 draw with Wales A.

Young cueists bring home junior double

Junior stars from the English Partnership for Snooker and Billiards circuit rose to the occasion as they completed the double of winning both the under-16 and under-21 snooker championships in Leeds.

Ethan Llewellyn – captain, Kaylan Patel, Daniel Boyes and Edward Jones regained the under-21 accolade for their country. The team issued a statement of intent in the groups with victories over defending champions Wales A (8-4), Republic of Ireland B (12-0), and Scotland B (12-0) to qualify for the last four. All four cueists ended the initial stage having each won eight out of nine frames.

Proceedings were tighter in the knockouts, but England stayed firm and kept their cool as they denied Scotland A 7-5 in the semis, and then Wales A 7-5 in the final.

There was an all-English final in the under-16s category as the A side defeated the Bs 7-2 for the top prize.

The A team outfit of Adam Abbas – captain, William Thomson, William Hurley, and Nicholas Ayers relinquished just four frames as they won all three of their fixtures to win group one. The B side of Zain Jeraj – captain, Jackson Pope, Matthew Jameson, and William Chambers finished first in the other pool after registering two wins and a draw; Chambers won a playoff frame to secure top spot.

In the semi-finals, England A got the better of the Republic of Ireland A 7-2, while the Bs ousted Northern Ireland 7-5.

A special mention to Hurley, who ended the groups campaign top of the averages with a perfect record of nine wins from nine.

An English side has now won the under-16 championship in each of the last six stagings.

England women win back-to-back gold

England retained the women’s snooker championship following a final between the two EPSB teams.

The B side of Zoe Killington and Lesley Roberts won all six of their fixtures in the group phase, and they were joined in the title contest by the As who finished behind them as runners-up.

However, the A duo of Rose Nicholson and Laura Killington ripped up the form guide in the final as they scored a 3-2 win.

In terms of player averages from the group games, Zoe Killington was the table topper with 10 frame wins from 12.

Billiards brilliance from England

Having lost their grip on the trophy last year, England bounced back in style as they reclaimed the Home International Billiards Championship.

A tournament featuring seven different nations, it was the England A combination of Robert Hall – captain, Peter Sheehan, Nathan Mann, and Jonathan Marwood who shone through, incredibly dropping just one game en route to glory.

The As won all four of their matches to scale group two before dispatching Wales 3-0 in the semi-finals.

In the final, they came up against defending champions the Republic of Ireland A, and with a 3-0 victory they took back the silverware.

Junior stars made up the England B (Riley Ellis -captain, William Chambers, William Thomson, Toby Gotobed) and C (Asten Sahota – captain, Christopher Woodward, Charlie Sutton, Harrison Smith) sides elsewhere in the competition.

Neither team were able to make it into the last four of the main event, although the Bs did reach the final of the plate competition where they were shaded 2-1 by Scotland A.

Article by Michael Day.