WPBSA International Round-Up | Spring 2026
In the latest WPBSA International Round-Up, we take a look at the national championships which have taken place across April and May – featuring snooker’s longest-running competition, record-breaking champions, historic breaks and more.
Belgium
Kevin Hanssens won a record seventh Belgian national snooker title by defeating Jesse Schelfhaut 6-1 in Zele, Belgium.
The victory saw Hanssens become the outright record holder, breaking the previous three-way tie with six-time champions Bjorn Haneveer and Mario Lannoye.
Hanssens first lifted the title, which boasts 2023 world champion Luca Brecel among its roll of honour, in 2016 and has won the event on six successive occasions.
Channel Islands
Adam Shorto defeated former World Seniors champion Aaron Canavan to win the Channel Islands crown for the third time – 11 years after his previous success.
It was a title match between the Guernsey champion (Shorto) and the Jersey champion (Canavan), as Canavan looked win a fifth consecutive Channel Islands Championship and 13th in total.
However, Shorto was able to deny him on this occasion to win the event for the first time since 2015.
Photo: Český snooker
Czech Republic
Aleš Herout claimed his eight Czech Republic national championship title by overcoming Rosta Bovonenko 5-2.
The Czech number one continued his dominance in the region and got the better of Bovonenko, who registered the tournament high break of 83, to secure another crown. Third place in the event was taken by Dan Milý and Jiří Stehlík.
Photo: EPSB
England
Ashley Carty beat Vladislav Gradinari 6-0 at the Landywood Snooker Club to win the 105th staging of the English Amateur Championship.
Snooker longest-running competition boasts a roll of honour featuring multiple former world champions and Carty added his name to that list to round off a successful season on the amateur circuit which has seen him regain a two-year World Snooker Tour (WST) tour card from the start of the 2026/27 season.
Having come through regional qualifiers earlier in the season, Carty beat Peter Lines, Oliver Sykes, Jeff Cundy and finally Gradinari to win the title.
Finland
Robin Hull secured a record-extending 17th national title in Finland by defeating Antti Mannila 4-1 in Valkeakoski, Finland.
This year’s event attracted 80 entries but it was the nations greatest ever player who once again secured the glory as the former WST Shoot Out champion last defeated Mannila.
Malta
Aaron Busuttil defeated Brian Cini 10-6 to win the Malta national snooker championship for the third time in his career.
The last six finals of the championship have seen Busuttil face Cini, with former World Snooker Federation (WSF) Championship finalist Cini coming out victorious in 2025.
Cini led overnight in the best-of-19 frame final by a 5-4 scoreline, but Busuttil stepped up a gear on the final day to win 10-6.
Netherlands
Teenager Hugo Van Houten won his maiden Dutch national snooker title by downing Ameer Baksh 6-1.
An impressive 145 entries competed in Zaandam and it was the 19-year-old who won through the field – firing in breaks of 90 and a match-winning 99 in the title match.
Photo: NIBSA
Northern Ireland
Patrick Wallace won his 10th Northern Ireland Amateur Championship title by overcoming Joel Connolly 10-6.
The event took place at the Antrim Sports Club with 79 players competing for glory.
Former World Championship quarter-finalist Wallace, who first won the event back in 1993, beat Connolly in the best-of-19 frames final to make it 10 titles for the 56-year-old cueist.
Photo: Oslo Snooker
Norway
Nassim Sekat beat Umar Hayat Ali 4-3 to win the Norwegian national title in Oslo.
The two finalists had shared the previous three titles between them, with Sekat coming into the event as the defending champion.
Sekat, who had also won the crown in 2024, beat Ali in a dramatic deciding frame to secure the third national title of his career.
Photo: Federação Portuguesa de Bilhar
Portugal
Diogo Lourenco Badalo made history for Portuguese snooker en route to lifting the national championship title.
Badalo, who last won the title in 2024, compiled a break of 103 against Guilherme Lemos in Curia – the first century made in the Portuguese National Snooker Championship, which uses the 10-red format.
The eventual champion defeated Andre Carmo 3-1 in the title to regain the title.
Photo: Scottish Snooker
Scotland
Rhys Clark beat Dean Young 7-3 to win the Scottish Amateur Snooker Championship title.
The two former professionals met in the title match in Edinburgh and it was Clark who dominated with breaks of 105, 73, 60 and 59 to win the national championship crown.
South Africa
Charl Jonck defeated Kiashan Moodley 6-2 in Cape Town to win the South African Amateur Snooker Championship.
Jonck, who is a former African Seniors Championship winner and World Seniors Championship quarter-finalist, came through the field of 64 cueists to earn national glory once again.
Sweden
Belan Sharif beat Nils Ritenius Manjer 6-3 to win the 2026 Swedish Amateur Snooker Championship.
Sharif had been beaten by the eventual champion in each of the last two years, losing out to Suleman Kukka Salam 12 months ago. This time, however, he was able to win through a field of 54 entries at the Snookerhallen in Stockholm to last defeat Majer and become the national champion.
Wales
Darren Morgan won his fifth Welsh Amateur Snooker Championship title, 39 years after first winning the title in 1987.
The 60-year-old, who reached a career high ranking of eight during the 1990s, eliminated defending champion Alfie Davies in a semi-final decider before overcoming Riley Powell 8-4 to come away from Aberaman victorious.
