Eight World Champions Crowned at 2026 World Disability Snooker Championship
The 2026 World Disability Snooker Championship came to a thrilling conclusion on Sunday at the SPADT Convention Centre, with eight world champions crowned following five days of outstanding competition.
The sport’s premier event welcomed 50 players from across the globe, competing for world titles across eight classification groups. The championship also marked the final ranking event of the 2025/26 World Disability Billiards and Snooker (WDBS) Tour, adding even greater significance to the occasion.
After four days of intense group stage and semi-final action, the tournament culminated with all eight finals taking place simultaneously before a celebratory victory ceremony. The event was capped off with keynote speeches from WDBS Chairman Nigel Mawer QPM and Billiard Sports Association of Thailand President Suntorn Jarumon.
Five of the eight world titles were successfully defended, with several players continuing their dominance on the world stage.
Thailand enjoyed a particularly memorable championship, producing four world champions on home soil. Surasit Loisaratrakul claimed the Group 2 title, while Thanapol Seekao and Songkiat Raebankoo retained their crowns in Groups 3 and 5 respectively. Numpol Thongpusawan added a fourth title for the host nation by defeating England’s Gary Swift 3 1 in the Group 1 final.
Seekao and Raebankoo remain unbeaten in WDBS world championship competition, having also secured gold medals at the 2023 World Abilitysport Games. Their performances in Thailand were especially impressive, with Loisaratrakul and Raebankoo dropping just two frames throughout the event, while Seekao completed the tournament without losing a single frame, winning all 22 contested.
England’s Carl Gibson successfully defended his Group 4 title, maintaining his perfect record in Thailand after also winning in Nakhon Ratchasima three years ago. Gibson’s path to glory, however, was anything but straightforward.
Despite recording the highest number of breaks over 30 during the tournament with 12, Gibson was forced to come from behind in both his semi-final and final. He overturned a 1 2 deficit against Muhammed Ali to reach the final before producing a remarkable comeback from 1 3 down, compiling a superb break of 66 on his way to a dramatic title defence.
Ireland’s Dylan Rees also retained his Group 7 crown, enjoying a more comfortable route to victory. Rees reached the final without dropping a frame and then defeated compatriot Colvin O’Brien 4 1 in a repeat of last year’s final to secure his second world title.
There was a maiden world title for Denmark’s Nicklas Olsen, who captured the Group 6A+8 crown with a 4 2 victory over India’s Pravinkumar Ramkumar. The 23 year old added world glory to the European title he won last year, bouncing back from his only defeat of the week against reigning champion Kristof De Bruyn in the group stages to gain revenge in the semi-finals.
England’s James Hart enjoyed the biggest success of his career to date by winning the inaugural standalone Group 6B title. Hart defeated fellow Englishman Lee Hague 4 2 in the final to claim his first world championship and second WDBS ranking title overall, following his British Open triumph in 2024.
For the second consecutive year, Pakistan’s Shahzad Butt recorded the highest break of the tournament, compiling an excellent 81 during his group stage victory over Kadari Murliraj.
The Challenge Cup, contested by players who did not qualify for the knockout stages, was won by India’s Venkateswaran Subramanian. The two-time ranking event winner defeated Kal Mattu 3 0 in the final to add another title to his growing collection.
WDBS extended its gratitude to everyone who contributed to another successful championship, including the Sports Association for the Disabled of Thailand, the Billiard Sports Association of Thailand, as well as all players, officials and volunteers whose efforts made the event possible.
Images courtesy of WDBS
