Williams Wins Canadian Snooker Championship

Jason Williams defeated Floyd Ziegler 5-1 in the final at the Master Q Snooker & Billiards Lounge in Markham, Ontario to win his first Canadian National Snooker Championship. 

Williams’ maiden triumph in 2023 comes a decade on from his other final appearance in the event when Ziegler came out on top in Toronto. 

The country’s most prestigious domestic snooker tournament was again organised by the Canadian Billiards and Snooker Association which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Several of the nation’s all-time greatest players have lifted the trophy including record seven-time winner Alain Robidoux and 1980 World Professional Champion Cliff Thorburn.

Williams won all five of his round robin matches as he qualified for the knockout phase of the tournament. He then eliminated Charlie Brown 4-1 in the last 16 and Amar Sadeg 4-0 in the quarter-finals before needing to claim the final two frames to oust Edward Ling 4-3 in the semi-finals, where he made a 56 break in the decider. In the previous round, Ling ended the challenge of defending champion Vito Puopolo 4-0. 

Three-time champion Ziegler emerged from the other side of the draw to reach the final for the eighth time. 

Fresh from securing his third Canadian Seniors Snooker Championship at the same venue a few days earlier after defeating Fernand Loyer 3-0 in the final, experienced Ziegler (pictured below, left) also made the title match with a 100% record, dispatching Derrick Claus 4-2 in the other last four tie.

Williams established a 2-0 lead in the final along with breaks of 36 and 45 before Ziegler registered a run of 39 in the third frame as he got on the board. However, Williams was not to be denied the title on this occasion as he took the frame before the mid-session interval and the two following it. 

The new champion also went home with the highest break accolade for an effort of 97 he compiled earlier in the week.