Fired-up Peter Gilchrist clinches fifth World Billiards Championship title

SINGAPORE – At 55, Singaporean Peter Gilchrist’s back may be creaky, but there was no extinguishing the ex-firefighter’s son’s passion and drive as he claimed his fifth World Billiards Championship on Thursday.

Competing at the Landywood Snooker Club in Walsall, he defeated England’s world No. 2 David Causier 1,824-783 in the final to clinch the coveted trophy.

He told The Straits Times: “The first one is always the special one, but they are all nice to win. Losing to David in the final last year at home was disappointing, and ever since, winning this one was always on my mind.”

Incredibly, along with previous triumphs in 1994, 2001, 2013 and 2019, he now has five world titles from 13 finals across four decades.

He also won two long-format (2016 and 2019) and one short-format (2015) world championship golds under the International Billiards and Snooker Federation, and was world matchplay champion in 2000.

After winning three out of five finals in the 2023 season and posting a remarkable win-rate of 40 out of 42 matches, the world No. 1 is showing few signs of slowing down.

In fact, he is aiming for the next world title and wants to be the first since Mike Russell in 2011 to retain the John Roberts Trophy.

He said: “I’m very fortunate to be involved in a sport that allows me to play at the top level at this age.

“Touch wood, my eyes still see okay, I’ve had a few niggling injuries with my back because I’m 1.90m and have to stand for long hours and bend down at the table, but there’s no reason why I cannot go on for another four, five years or more. I think I can still improve.”

While Gilchrist used to be able to train for 10 hours a day, he now cuts back to six before a major tournament. He also swims, cycles and goes to the gym.

At the world championship in England, he was fired up when he saw his 85-year-old father Frank and 62-year-old brother Colin – both former firemen – among the crowd. They had made a surprise 3.5-hour trip from Middlesbrough to support him.

“They told me they were just going to watch from the live stream, so it was nice to have them here,” said Gilchrist, who became a Singapore citizen in 2006.

“I still remember how as a 12-year-old I started playing on the full-size table at the fire station after school from 4 to 7pm. That was my homework, and I was lucky to have that facility.”

This solid background helped him navigate through the group stage unbeaten, and he also stood tall after a seven-hour marathon on Wednesday when he beat the fifth-ranked Martin Goodwill 1,156-326 in the three-hour quarter-final.

He then accounted for another Englishman and world No. 3 Peter Sheehan 1,882-735 in the last four.

Thursday’s final, the fifth between Gilchrist and Causier, was a more cagey affair. But the Singaporean was more composed and he never looked back after compiling the first century with a 193, while his opponent could not muster a single three-figure break across five hours.

Gilchrist was up by 300 points at the interval and put the result beyond doubt with runs of 210, 104, 106 and 132 to claim the £5,000 (S$8,300) winner’s cheque.

He plans to celebrate with a nice dinner with his wife Dorothy and daughter Ysabel before heading off for the Nov 3-5 Sydney Open and Dec 2-3 British Open.

In a turbulent time for Singapore cue sports with players facing a ban from major Games owing to the

World Pool-Billiard Association’s ultimatum

, Gilchrist’s victory has given the fraternity cause for celebration.

Cuesports Singapore president Christopher Chuah said: “This is a testament to his consistency and longevity in the sport. He has made the nation and the association proud and continues to serve as an excellent role model for our athletes to aspire to.

“Cuesports Singapore has also embarked on a billiards development programme to develop and cultivate the next generation of billiards players to follow in Peter’s footsteps.”