Disability Snooker Heads to Shanghai
The World Disability Billiards & Snooker (WDBS) Tour will head to Shanghai, China next month for an invitational tournament featuring some of the world’s best players from across the globe.
The event is being run in partnership with Shanghai Billiards Association (SHBA), China Administration of Sports for Persons with Disabilities (CASPD) and the Chinese Billiards & Snooker Association (CBSA) and will take place at Hengshan Park Hotel on 25-27 July.
KEY DATES
- 24th July 2026 – Arrival Day
- 25th July 2026 – Opening Ceremony and start of play.
- 26th to 27th July 2026 – Event days taking place
- 28th July 2026 – Departure Day.
THE PLAYERS
A total of 48 players will compete in the event, with 28 Chinese cueists joined by invited international competitors from four different continents.
Among the line-up will be recently crowned world champions Thanapol Seekao, Songkiat Raebankoo and Dylan Rees as well as current world number ones Dave Beautmont and Peter Hull.
The international invitees can be seen below:
Group 2
- We Tei Cheung (Chinese Taipei)
- Dave Beaumont (England)
- Neville Helou (Australia)
Group 3
- Peter Hull (England)
- Andy Lam (Hong Kong China)
- Thanapol Seekao (Thailand)
- Shayan Shetty (India)
Group 4
- Nigel Brasier (England)
- Yannick Piscador (Belgium)
- Mohammed Ali (Pakistan)
Group 5
- Shahzad Butt (Pakistan)
- Gerdy Dupont (Belgium)
- Dalton Lawrence (England)
- Songkiat Raebankoo (Thailand)
- Brynjar Valdimarsson (Iceland)
Group 6B
- Leroy Williams (England)
Group 7
- Dylan Rees (Ireland)
- Babar Qayyun Raja (Pakistan)
Group 8
- Kristof De Bruyn (Belgium)
- Lewis Knowles (England)
Please note the line-up is subject to change*
FORMAT
The event will be played under standard WDBS rules. The group stages will be best-of-three frames followed by a final in each classification group.
Alongside the invitational competition, CASPD will invite 150 disabled people to the venue to experience snooker through fun activities in a separate hall.
“AN EXCITING OPPORTUNITY”
Nigel Mawer QPM, WDBS Chairman, said: “We are delighted to be staging this event in Shanghai with an exciting field of players from across the globe!
“I would like to thank the Shanghai Billiards Association (SHBA), China Administration of Sports for Persons with Disabilities (CASPD) and the Chinese Billiards & Snooker Association (CBSA) for their support in hosting the event.
“This is an exciting opportunity to showcase the WDBS and disability snooker on the world stage once again to help encourage people with disabilities to play this great sport.”
