Disability Snooker Day 2020 News

World Disability Billiards and Snooker (WDBS) is today delighted to announce that Nick Neale has been selected as this year’s winner of the Vic Hartley WDBS Player of the Season award.

First introduced in 2019, the award recognises the outstanding contribution of one of our players each season, taking into account a wide-range of factors including on-table results, general conduct and contribution to WDBS outside of our tournaments.

Following a highly competitive season which has seen the selected players win no fewer than 24 titles between them over the past 12 months, the WDBS team had an extremely difficult decision to make in respect of this year’s winner – with Neale ultimately emerging victorious.

World Disability Billiards and Snooker (WDBS) has announced the introduction of a new world ranking system for players competing on the 360Fizz WDBS Tour from the start of the 2020/21 season.

• View the inaugural WDBS Rankings

To include individual ranking lists for each of the main WDBS Classification Groups, the system will see players earn ranking points based upon their finishing position at designated ranking tournaments.

For the first time all players with disabilities will have the opportunity to gain a world ranking, adding an intriguing extra element to tournaments where players will battle not only to become champion at that event, but also to progress up their ranking list.

As well as the honour of achieving a high ranking within their respective classification group, there will also be a practical benefit for players to being highly ranked. The system will make it possible for WDBS to seed players at events, helping to lessen the chances of there being a “top-heavy” group under the previous random draw policy.

It is also intended that the ranking list will be used as a future basis for event qualification, such as for the WDBS Champion of Champions.