by Dylan Stone
Broken Hill’s Glenn Williams has just returned from the Nations Cup of Pool 8-Ball tournament in the UK’s Bridlington, with his team, The Grand Masters, coming in an impressive fourth against the world’s top competitors.
The event was hosted by the European Blackball Association (EBA) and supported by the International Blackball Federation (IBF).
The Nations Cup sees players from across Europe and the UK fighting it out, and in 2019, Australia was invited to take part for the first time. This year, invitations were extended to South Africa and Mexico, so 14 nations in total played in this year’s tournament.
Mr Williams was Captain of the Australian side in the grand master’s division, which is reserved for players over 60 years of age. Mr Williams was also the team manager, and Australia’s representative at the AGM of the IBF.
“In this years’ Nation’s Cup, they had divisions for mens open, seniors, masters, grand masters, and ladies, and they have a section for those with physical and learning disabilities as well,” Mr Williams told us. “My team, the Grand Masters, finished fourth overall, and there were eight teams in my division.”
Mr Williams also made it to the last 16 in the singles competition.
“In my last round I was 3-1 down and I bought the game back to 4-all,” Mr Williams said.
“I had a shot on black ball (to win the game), but (I) jawed the black in the corner pocket and then I lost the frame.”
During the team games he won a frame against Harris Alli, who won the singles competition.
“While it’s only one game, and you can win one game in a race to five but lose the rest, it was still good to know that I could win against a very skilled player,” Mr Williams said.
“It was a really good experience, and it is the second time I’ve played in the Nations Cup. It was great to meet all the friends I met in 2019 when I played in Cyprus, as well as make new friends.”
One of Mr Williams’ friends is a promoter of 8-Ball in South Africa, and he said there are now discussions on a potential tournament between Australia and South Africa in the future.
That would further increase the number of international competitions on offer, with another Nations Cup already slated to be held in Gibraltar near the end of this year.
