There were victory for Lewis Knowles at the Hull Open as World Disability Billiards and Snooker (WDBS) held its first tournament for deaf and visually impaired players since March 2020 at the Tradewell Snooker Club.

The fifth staging of the competition saw players from across the country take part in a two-day competition, which followed a busy Friday Open day at which people from local disability organisations and other guests enjoyed coaching from WPBSA Snooker Coaches.

The event was opened by Councillor Lynn Petrini, the Right Worshipful the Lord Mayor of Kingston upon Hull and Admiral of the Humber on Saturday morning.

Bromsgrove’s Lewis Knowles secured his second WDBS title following a 3-1 success against Shabir Ahmed in the Group 8 final for deaf players.

The group stages saw a number of notable results, with debutant Luke Drennan topping Group B with a 100% record, while Scotland’s David Grant – competing in his first event since he received a kidney transplant last summer – also won five matches from five in Group A.

But as the knockout stages reached their conclusion there was to be a familiar final, as the top two ranked deaf players Ahmed and Knowles progressed to a WDBS record eighth title match between the pair. 

It was Ahmed who held the stronger record prior to the showpiece match, having claimed six of their previous seven finals, but this time it would be Knowles who would prevail with a 3-1 victory to win his first title since the 2018 Champion of Champions.

Knowles also made the highest break of the Group 8 competition with a run of 46 during the group stages.

There was a maiden WDBS title for Manchester’s Gary Taylor, who defeated 2017 champion Blake Munton 2-0 to win the Challenge Cup. Taylor enjoys a strong record at the Hull Open, having also reached the Group final in 2019.

Everyone at WDBS thanks everyone who has helped to make the competition possible, including the referees, players and officials.