About

Members of the W.B.S.A. have achieved notable worldwide success at snooker over the last five decades and a few have received honours to recognise their contribution to the sport.

After winning six Welsh Championships in the 1950s Tredegar’s Ray Reardon MBE went on to win the same amount of World Professional titles during the seventies.

Terry Griffiths OBE of Llanelli followed his 1975 Welsh Amateur win with a very successful twenty year career as a professional, winning the world crown in 1979. Today he is a leading coach.

Mark Williams MBE of Cwm followed up his 2000 win with another world title in 2003 before taking title number 3 in 2018.

Matthew Stevens of Carmarthen is a winner of seven professional ranking events and was the losing finalist in the 2000 and 2005 World Championships.

Seven W.B.S.A. members have lifted the coveted IBSF World Amateur Championship, the first being Gary Owen (Llanelli) who won the first two events played in 1963 and 1966.

Winning the 1968 and 1976 Welsh Championships and a record 11-1 win in the final of the 1976 World Amateur was the amateur path that led Doug Mountjoy (Cross Keys) to a successful professional career which included back-to-back ranking event wins, a Masters title and a World final.

Cliff Wilson of Caldicot followed his 1977 Welsh Amateur win with success in the 1978 World Amateur in Malta. The following year he was again Welsh Champion before turning professional.

Terry Parsons had a brilliant record as an amateur winning five Welsh Championships and the 1982 World Championship in Canada.

In 1987 Darren Morgan followed up his Welsh Championship win by lifting the World Amateur title. Despite never winning a professional ranking event he rose to number eight in the world rankings. Having retired from the circuit and now a regular in the Masters, Darren lifted the Welsh Championship again in 2015 and 2019.

Ian Preece was the youngest player to do so when he lifted the World Amateur Championship in 1999.

Michael White of Neath became the youngest to win the event when he won the World Amateur Championship in 2006.