World Women's Billiards Championship

The World Women's Billiards Championship is an English billiards tournament, first held in 1931 when organised by the cue sports company Burroughes and Watts then run from 1932 by the Women's Billiards Association (WBA).[1] It is currently run under the auspices of World Billiards Ltd (WBL), a subsidiary company of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association.

World Women's Billiards Championship

Tournament information
Established	1931
Organisation(s)	World Billiards Ltd.
Recent edition	2019
Current champion(s)	Anna Lynch

It should not be confused with the Women's Professional Billiards Championship, which was also run by the WBA, or with the International Billiards and Snooker Federation World Women's Billiards Championship held in 2015.

The reigning champion is Anna Lynch. Emma Bonney has won the title a record 13 times.

History

A Women's Amateur Billiards Championship was organised by cue sports company Burroughes and Watts. 23 players entered, and the highest break made was 28. Ruth Harrison was the champion.[2][1]

The Women's Billiards Association took over responsibility for the tournament in 1932, when there were 41 entries. Thelma Carpenter made the highest break, 45, on her way to winning the title. Capenter won in 1933 and 1934 to complete a hat-trick of victories, before turning professional and going on to compete in the Women's Professional Billiards Championship. Vera Seals, a receptionist from Chesterfield that had learnt the game from Joe Davis,[3] took the 1935 title, and set a new highest break record of 62.[4] The tournament was held regularly until 1940, but then put on hold until after World War II. From 1947 to 1980 the tournament was held most years, with Vera Selby winning eight titles, and Maureen Baynton (Née Barrett) winning seven. Mrs Morland-Smith was another player to win multiple titles. In 1960, at the age of 75, she attempted to defend her title, but was unsuccessful.[5]

After a period of dormancy from 1980, the tournament was revived in 1998, when Karen Corr won the first of two titles. The dominant player since the 1998 revival has been Emma Bonney, who has won the title 13 times.

World Billiards Ltd (WBL), a subsidiary company of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association, currently runs the competition. In June 2019, the International Billiards and Snooker Federation and World Billiards Ltd agreed that the World Billiards Championship would be held by the WBL in 2019 in Australia and by the IBSF in 2020 and to co-operate to avoid tournament dates clashing.[6]

Finals

Main sources: Billiards and Snooker Control Council Handbook and Rules (1978);[7] Guinness Snooker - The Records (1985);[8] World Billiards Ltd: World Ladies Billiards Champions[9]
Additional sources are cited within the table where used. In some cases the information in those differs from the main sources mentioned.

Year	Association	Winner	Runner-up	Final Score	Venue
1931[10]	WBA	Ruth Harrison	Mrs. Eddowes	1,000-581	Burroughes Hall, London
1932[1][11]	WBA	Thelma Carpenter	Ethel Brown	1,000-730	Burroughes Hall, London
1933[12][13]	WBA	Thelma Carpenter	Vera Seals	1,000-552	Burroughes Hall, London
1934[14][15]	WBA	Thelma Carpenter	Vera Seals	1,200–915	Burroughes Hall, London
1935[4]	WBA	Vera Seals	E Morland-Smith	1,000-499	Burroughes Hall, London
February 1936[16][17]	WBA	Vera Seals	Ella Morris	1,000-528	Burroughes Hall, London
December 1936[18]	WBA	Grace Phillips	Vera Seals	1,000-968	Burroughes Hall, London
1937[19][20]	WBA	Victoria McDougall	E Morland-Smith	1,000-991	Burroughes Hall, London
1938[21][22]	WBA	Victoria McDougall	G M Saunders	674–563	Burroughes Hall, London
1939	WBA	Victoria McDougall
1940–46		No tournament
1947[23]	WBA	Sadie Isaacs	Doris Keene	373–355	Empire Club, Shaftesbury Avenue, London
1948[24]	WBA	E Morland-Smith	Gladys Burton	537–399
1949[25]	WBA	Marie Keeton	Gladys Burton	455–398
1950[26]	WBA	Helen Futo	Sadie Isaacs	420–359	Burroughes Hall, London
1951[27]	WBA	E Morland-Smith	Helen Futo	431–408	Burroughes Hall, London
1952	WBA	E Morland-Smith
1953[28]	WBA	E Morland-Smith	Helen Futo	411–388
1954[29]	WBA	Helen Futo	Maureen Barrett	448–430	Burroughes Hall, London
1955[30]	WBA	Maureen Barrett	E Morland-Smith	451–401	Burroughes Hall, London
1956	WBA	Maureen Barrett
1957[31]	WBA	Maureen Barrett	E Morland-Smith	553–334	London
1958		No tournament
1959[32]	WBA	E. Morland-Smith	Mrs. Rae Craven	330–328	London
1960[33]	WBA	Muriel Hazeldene[lower-alpha 1]	Mrs Rae Craven	339–324	Burroughes Hall, London
1961		No tournament
1962[34]	WBA	Thea Hindmarch	Mrs Rae Craven	438–385	Burroughes Hall, London
1963[35]	WBA	Sadie Isaacs	Mrs Rae Craven	485–315	Burroughes Hall, London
1964[36]	WBA	Maureen Baynton (Née Barrett)	Mrs Rae Craven	649–336	London
1965[37]	WBA	Vera Youle	Mrs Rae Craven	393–386
1966[38]	WBA	Maureen Baynton (Née Barrett)	Vera Youle	514–319	Burroughes Hall, London
1967[39]	WBA	Thea Hindmarch	Sally Bartley	416–319
1968[40]	WBA	Maureen Baynton (Née Barrett)	Mrs Rae Craven	434–265	Billiards and Snooker Centre,[lower-alpha 2] London
1969[41]	WBA	Thea Hindmarch	Vera Selby	452–409
1970	WBA	Vera Selby
1971[42]	WBA	Vera Selby	Mrs Rae Craven	506–304
1972	WBA	Vera Selby
1973	WBA	Vera Selby
1974	WBA	Vera Selby	Thea Hindmarch[43]
1975		No tournament
1976[43]	WBA	Vera Selby	Mrs Rae Craven	407–157
1977	WBA	Vera Selby
1978[43]	WBA	Vera Selby	Maureen Baynton (Née Barrett)	366–319
1979[44]	WBA	Maureen Baynton (Née Barrett)	Vera Selby
1980–97		No tournament
1998	WLBSA	Karen Corr	Emma Bonney	403–219
1999	WLBSA	Karen Corr	Kelly Fisher	354–276
2000[45]	WLBSA	Emma Bonney	Caroline Walch	218–50
2001[46]	WLBSA	Kelly Fisher	Emma Bonney	290–219	Jesters Snooker Hall, Swindon
2002[47]	WLBSA	Emma Bonney	Kelly Fisher	227–196	Jesters Snooker Hall, Swindon
2003[48]	WLBSA	Kelly Fisher	Emma Bonney	299–155	Jesters Snooker Hall, Swindon
2004		No tournament
2005[49]	WLBSA	Anuja Thakur	Lynette Horsburgh	243–136	Cambridge Snooker Centre
2006[50]	WLBSA	Chitra Magimairaj	Emma Bonney	193–164	Cambridge Snooker Centre
2007[51]	WLBSA	Chitra Magimairaj	Emma Bonney	187–148	Cambridge Snooker Centre
2008[52]	WLBSA	Emma Bonney	Eva Palmius	216–119
2009[53]	WLBSA	Emma Bonney	Chitra Magimairaj	272–118	Cambridge Snooker Centre
2010[54]	WLBSA	Emma Bonney	Chitra Magimairaj	269–220	Stadium Snooker Club, Birmingham
2011	WLBSA	Emma Bonney	Tina Owen-Sevilton	202–181	Pot Black Sports Bar, Bury St Edmunds
2012[55]	WLBSA	Revanna Umadevi	Emma Bonney	201–143	Cambridge Snooker Centre
2013[56]	WLBSA	Emma Bonney	Eva Palmius	329–207	Cambridge Snooker Centre
Apr-14[57]	WLBSA	Emma Bonney	Revanna Umadevi	226–209	Northern Snooker Centre, Leeds
Oct-14[58]	WLBSA	Emma Bonney	Revanna Umadevi	237–191	Northern Snooker Centre, Leeds
2015[59]	WLBSA	Emma Bonney	Rochy Woods	334–119	Northern Snooker Centre, Leeds
2016[60]	WLBS	Emma Bonney	Revanna Umadevi	239–169	Northern Snooker Centre, Leeds
2017[61]	WLBS	Emma Bonney	Eva Palmius	295–185	Northern Snooker Centre, Leeds
2018[62]	World Billiards	Emma Bonney	Rebecca Kenna	329–209	Northern Snooker Centre, Leeds
2019[63]	World Billiards	Anna Lynch	Judy Dangerfield	244–204	Royal Automobile Club of Victoria, Melbourne

Wins by player

Name	Country	Wins
Emma Bonney	England	13
Vera Selby	England	8
Maureen Baynton (Née Barrett)	England	7
E Morland-Smith	England	5
Thelma Carpenter	England	3
Victoria McDougall	England	3
Thea Hindmarch	England	3
Kelly Fisher	England	2
Sadie Isaacs	England	2
Chitra Magimairaj	India	2
Vera Seals	England	2
Helen Futo	England	2
Karen Corr	Northern Ireland	2
Anuja Thakur	India	1
Marie Keeton	England	1
Muriel Hazeldene^1	England	1
Ruth Harrison	England	1
Vera Youle	England	1
Revanna Umadevi	India	1
Grace Phillips	England	1
Anna Lynch	Australia	1

Notes

1. The spelling Hazeldine is also found in some sources for this player
2. in Great Windmill Street

References

1. "Women's Billiards". The Billiard Player. February 1932. p. 12.
2. "Women's Amateur Billiards Championship". The Billiard Player. No. January 1931. p. 29.
3. "Women's Championship". Aberdeen Press and Journal. 24 January 1933. p. 4 – via British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
4. Carpenter, Thelma (February 1935). "Billiards for women". The Billiard Player. p. 4.
5. "Billiards: First round win for women's champions". Birmingham Daily Post. 15 February 1954. p. 14 – via British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
6. "World Billiards agreement with IBSF". world-billiards.com. World Billiards Ltd. 14 July 2019. Archived from the original on 28 July 2019. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
7. Billiards and Snooker Control Council Handbook and Rules. Billiards and Snooker Control Council. 1978. pp. 106–107.
8. Everton, Clive (1985). Guinness Snooker - The Records. Guinness Superlatives Ltd. pp. 154–156. ISBN 0851124488.
9. "World Ladies Billiards Champions". world-billiards.com. World Billiards Ltd. 22 June 2015. Archived from the original on 16 August 2019. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
10. "Women's Amateur Championship". The Billiard Player. March 1931. p. 27.
11. "Women's Championship". The Manchester Guardian. 18 January 1932. p. 4 – via ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Guardian and The Observer. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
12. "Women's Amateur Championship". The Billiard Player. No. February 1933. p. 23.
13. "Women's title retained". Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer. 30 January 1933. p. 16 – via British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
14. "Women's Amateur Billiard Championship". The Billiard Player. February 1934. p. 5.
15. "Women's Championship final". The Manchester Guardian. 29 January 1934. p. 3 – via ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Guardian and The Observer. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
16. "Women's Amateur Billiard Championship". The Billiard Player. March 1936. p. 27.
17. "Women's amateur billiards championship". The Observer. 16 February 1936. p. 28 – via ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Guardian and The Observer. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
18. "Vera Seals loses title". Nottingham Evening Post. 2 December 1936. p. 10 – via British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
19. Carpenter, Thelma (January 1938). "Billiards for women". The Billiard Player. p. 27.
20. "Women's billiards". The Observer. 28 November 1937. p. 34 – via ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Guardian and The Observer. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
21. "Woman". The Billiard Player. December 1938. p. 14.
22. "Women's amateur billiards". The Observer. 13 November 1938. p. 26 – via ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Guardian and The Observer. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
23. "Women's Amateur Billiards". Kent & Sussex Courier. 18 April 1947. p. 6 – via British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
24. "Harking back (No.3) The year 1948". Billiards and Snooker. No. October 1965. pp. 15–16.
25. "Billiards Champion of Swinton". Star Green 'un. 22 October 1949. p. 4 – via British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
26. "Women's Billiards Champion". Western Daily Press. 20 October 1950. p. 5 – via British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
27. "Women's Billiards Title". Belfast News-Letter. 22 October 1951. p. 7 – via British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
28. "Untitled article". The Billiard Player. No. May 1954. p. 7.
29. "Today's Sports Diary". Daily Herald. 15 February 1954. p. 4 – via British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
30. "Quick Looks". Daily Herald. 22 April 1955. p. 9 – via British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
31. "Quick Looks". Birmingham Daily Post. 11 April 1957. p. 11 – via British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
32. "Billiards". Birmingham Daily Post. 28 May 1959. p. 13 – via British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
33. "Billiards". Birmingham Daily Post. 6 May 1960. p. 13 – via British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
34. "Billiards". Birmingham Daily Post. 24 March 1962. p. 12 – via British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
35. "Women's billiards final". Billiards and Snooker. No. April 1963. p. 16.
36. "Billiards". Birmingham Daily Post. 8 April 1964. p. 15 – via British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
37. "Women's championships 1965". Billiards and Snooker. No. July 1965. p. 12.
38. Bartley, Sally. "Maureen Baynton wins both billiards and snooker titles yet again". Billiards and Snooker. No. May 1966. p. 9.
39. Tabor, Ethel. "Women's Championships: Turnabout". Billiards and Snooker. No. June 1967. p. 8.
40. Tabor, Ethel. "Women's Championships". Billiards and Snooker. No. August 1968. p. 11.
41. Davison, John (22 April 1969). "North woman cueist in splendid form". Newcastle Evening Chronicle. p. 14 – via British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
42. "Vera collects the title". Newcastle Evening Chronicle. 28 May 1971. p. 16 – via British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
43. "List of psychotropic substances under international control". Global Snooker Centre. Archived from the original on 19 November 2005. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
44. "Cue ace Vera to join paid ranks". Newcastle Evening Chronicle. 17 September 1979. p. 20 – via British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
45. "Bonney wins billiards title". Snooker Scene. No. June 2000. Everton's News Agency. p. 37.
46. "Shock defeat halts Fisher record bid". Worcestershire, West Midlands, Herefordshire, and Shropshire Counties Publications. 3 May 2001 – via NewsBank. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
47. "Emma's revenge win over Fisher". Wiltshire County Publications. 22 April 2002 – via NewsBank. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
48. "Fisher regains World crown". Wiltshire County Publications. 18 April 2003 – via NewsBank. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
49. "Anuja wins world crown". The Statesman (India). 8 April 2005 – via NewsBank. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
50. "India's first world champion". Snooker Scene. No. May 2006. Everton's News Agency. p. 5.
51. "Reanne Evans completes world title hat-trick". Snooker Scene. No. May 2007. Everton's News Agency. p. 25.
52. "Evans wins fourth consecutive title". Snooker Scene. No. June 2008. Everton's News Agency. p. 37.
53. "Women's billiards". Snooker Scene. No. May 2009. Everton's News Agency. p. 20.
54. "In pictures: World Ladies Billiards Championship 2010". BBC. 8 April 2010. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
55. Deb Barma, Angshuman (28 April 2012). "Umadevi on top of the world – Indian cueist beats England's Emma Bonney to bag the WLBSA world billiards title". Daily News & Analysis (India) – via NewsBank. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
56. Brawn, David (19 April 2013). "Bonney targets perfect 10 after landing another world title". Evening News (Portsmouth). Archived from the original on 5 October 2019. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
57. "Brilliant Bonney racks up another world title". Evening News (Portsmouth). 26 April 2014. Archived from the original on 5 October 2019. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
58. "Pankaj squeezes past Causier". The Times of India. New Delhi. 30 October 2014. p. 23 – via PressReader. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
59. "Emma Bonney's 10th title". Snooker Scene. No. December 2015. Everton's News Agency. p. 42.
60. "Ladies World Championship". wbeventsonline.com. World Billiards. 25 October 2016. Archived from the original on 4 March 2017. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
61. "2017 LITEtask World Women's Championship". world-billiards.com. World Billiards. 26 October 2017. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
62. Sports Desk (6 December 2018). "Emma Bonney shows her class again to seal 13th World Ladies' Billiards Championships title". The News (Portsmouth). Archived from the original on 6 December 2018. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
63. "2019 World Women's Billiards Championship". wbeventsonline.com. World Billiards. Archived from the original on 16 October 2019. Retrieved 12 October 2019.

External links

• World Billiards Ltd.
• In pictures: World Ladies Billiards Championship 2010 (BBC)

Pictures of Players

• Mrs Eddowes (Getty Images) (Runner-up in 1931)
• Caroline Walch (Shutterstock) (Runner-up in 2000)
• Lynette Horsburgh (BBC News) (Runner-up in 2005)
• Eva Palmius (World Billiards) (Runner-up in 2008, 2013, and 2017)
• Tina Owen-Sevilton (BBC News) – slide 8 (Runner-up in 2011)
• Rochy Woods (World Billiards) (Runner-up in 2015)