World Champions Crowned in Nakhon Ratchasima

Eight world champions were crowned at the SPADT Convention Centre as the 2026 World Disability Snooker Championship reached a spectacular conclusion on Sunday.

• View full tournament information via WPBSA SnookerScores
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The most prestigious tournament in disability snooker saw 50 players from around the world contest titles across eight classification groups, with the event also representing the final world ranking event of the 2025/26 World Disability Billiards and Snooker (WDBS) Tour.

With the group stages and semi-finals having been completed across the first four days, day five saw each of the main finals contested simultaneously, followed by a victory ceremony which featured keynote speeches by WDBS Chairman Nigel Mawer QPM and Billiard Sports Association of Thailand President Suntorn Jarumon.

Fab Five Defend Titles

Five of the eight titles on offer were successfully defended by the player who won the inaugural staging of the competition in February 2025.

Among those to emerge victorious were Thai trio Surasit Loisaratrakul (Group 2), Thanapol Seekao (Group 3) and Songkiat Raebankoo (Group 5), with Seekao and Raebankoo each maintaining a flawless WDBS record having also triumphed at the 2023 World Abilitysport Games.

Each enjoyed a dominant victory this week in Thailand, with Loisaratrakul and Raebankoo dropping just two frames on their way to glory, while Seekao won all 22 of his frames played in the five day event.

There were also repeat wins for England’s Carl Gibson (Group 4) and Dylan Rees (Group 7) of Ireland, with Gibson having also won in Nakhon Ratchasima three years ago to maintain a 100% record on Thai soil.

Gibson did not have it all his own way in 2026, however, as despite being the most consistent scorer across the week with 12 breaks over 30, he had to come back from behind in both his semi-final and final matches. Having trailed Muhammed Ali 1-2 in the semi-finals before winning the final two frames, he then came back from 1-3 down with a top break of 66 in the title match to retain his crown in dramatic fashion.

For Rees, success proved to be more straightforward as he set up a repeat final with compatriot Colvin O’Brien without the loss of a frame, before adding a 4-1 success to claim his second gold on the world stage.

Thongpusawan, Olsen and Hart Claim Maiden Wins

Thailand’s Numpol Thongpusawan (Group 1) ensured that there would be a record four world title wins for Thailand as he defeated England’s Gary Swift 3-1 to win his first WDBS title.

Having lost to Swift by the same scoreline a year ago, as well as at the semi-finals of the 2023 World Abilitysport Games, the home player successfully turned the tables in 2026 to become world champion.

There was a debut win for Denmark’s Nicklas Olsen (Group 6A+8), who added world glory to the European crown that he lifted last year with a 4-2 success against India’s Pravinkumar Ramkumar.

The 23-year-old won five of his six matches played, with his only loss coming against last year’s champion Kristof De Bruyn in the group stages, before he successfully avenged the loss in their semi-final meeting.

In Group 6B it was a week to remember for England’s James Hart (Group 6B), who ran out a 4-2 winner against compatriot Lee Hague to claim a first world title and his second WDBS ranking event successful overall.

Having lifted the British Open crown in 2024, victory for Hart in Thailand represents the biggest success of his career so far and sees him become the first-ever standalone Group 6B champion.

For a second successive year, the overall highest break of the event was compiled by Pakistan’s Shahzad Butt, who hit a break of 81 during his group stage win against Kadari Murliraj.

The Challenge Cup competition, for players who did not qualify for the final stages of the event, was won by two-time world ranking event winner Venkateswaran Subramanian of India, who defeated Kal Mattu 3-0 in the final.

WDBS would like to thank everyone who contributed to a successful competition, including the Sports Association for the Disabled of Thailand, the Billiard Sports Association of Thailand and all of the players and officials without whom the event would not have been possible.