Singapore's billiards player Peter Gilchrist wins European Open, eyes world No. 1 spot
Singapore's world No. 2 Peter Gilchrist won the European Open on May 21 after beating England's top-ranked David Causier. PHOTO: ST FILE
SINGAPORE – Even at 57 and boasting a trophy collection that includes five World Billiards Championship crowns, Singapore's Peter Gilchrist is still chasing perfection.
On May 21, he beat England's world No. 1 David Causier 938-618 in the European Open final for his third title of the year, but the second-ranked player insists that he is 'still a work in progress'.
In a phone interview from Belgium, where the tournament was held, Gilchrist said: 'At the moment, I'm turning down the more difficult shots for an easier shot.
'There are a few shots I'm not comfortable with, and if I can get that right, I'll be tough to beat.'
At The Trickshot in Bruges, Gilchrist was certainly hard to crack. After easing through the group stage, he beat 29th-ranked Phil Johnson 784-327 in the last 16, and world No. 7 Jonathan Marwood 990-418 in the quarter-finals.
He then had to summon his best billiards in the semi-final to edge world No. 3 Robert Hall 630-624, before riding the momentum to overcome Causier.
World No. 2 Gilchrist said: 'Rob played well in the first two hours and I was losing by about 500 points, when I managed to make an unfinished break of 320 to win. It's nice to be able to make a break when you really need it. That's when all the practice comes in.
'I also played quite solid against David. I had a good run, made a 300-plus break to go about 700 ahead, so it was all over and I could relax in the last hour.
'Any win against David is a good win because he's been playing so well and been so consistent over the year, and this will give me confidence going into the next one.'
While Causier has dominated the scene and beaten Gilchrist at the World Matchplay Championship semi-final, as well as the UK Championship and Belgian Open finals, the Singaporean has three titles to his name in 2025 with the European Open, World Billiards Club 200 Open and Sydney Open.
This sets him up nicely for the season-ending Australian Open from June 10 to 13, which could send him back to the top of the world rankings if he wins. Also on his calendar are the World Billiards Championship (Oct 13-16) and SEA Games (Dec 9-20) in Thailand, where the eight-gold champion is gunning for his first singles title since 2021.
He said: 'This time, I was good in patches, whereas for the Club 200 Open in Manchester, I was really consistent all the way and won every game by 300 to 400 points. I'm looking to get back to that when I'm back on the practice table in Singapore for about 10 days.
'Obviously, I want to get back to world No. 1, I want to win the World Billiards Championship in October and I want to get the SEA Games gold medal back in December. It's going to be tough because there's a lot of good players, but I'm in it to win it.'
Cuesports Singapore president Christopher Chuah hailed the recent performances of the local athletes in Europe, which include pool star Aloysius Yapp's UK Open victory and Nicholas Tan's last-16 finish at the World Nineball Tour major event.
He said: 'Peter has once again done Singapore proud. Winning his third title of the season is a remarkable feat and testimony to his consistency and dedication to the sport at the highest level.
'This result comes in the wake of Aloysius' win at the UK Open and their achievements will no doubt spur our cuesports athletes to greater heights.'
David Lee is senior sports correspondent at The Straits Times focusing on aquatics, badminton, basketball, cue sports, football and table tennis.
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