Exeter Pool player pots championship

The Student Home Internationals, which took place in Glasgow, bring together the finest University pool players from across the UK and Ireland to compete both individually and in national representative teams.

Thomas, who went into the competition as a tournament favourite having placed runner up in the 2011-2012 BUCS-UPC Eight-ball Pool Championships, did not disappoint. Back to back 3-1 victories over Northern Ireland’s Aaron Mullen, and Ireland captain Conor Brady saw the fourth year Law student sail through to the quarter finals, before holding his nerve to defeat Welshman Ifan Williams 3-2 in a tight match.

This was followed by an almost flawless victory in the semis in which saw Ireland’s Kevin O’Riordan suffer a 3-0 defeat and Thomas through to the final round against Irish inter-varsity individual champion Brendan Traynor.

An intriguing contest between the two saw the scores move back and forth as each player sought to get over the finishing line. In the end Thomas emerged triumphant, capitalising on a mistake from Brendan in the deciding frame, and taking the match 4-3.

Thomas also enjoyed success with the England team who finished a brilliant third, despite the team losing two incredibly close games 11-10 against Ireland and Northern Ireland.

The University of Exeter Snooker and Pool club welcomes members of all levels offering members a change to learn Snooker, English Eight-ball pool and American pool. Despite the club frequently competing for medal positions this result marks the first time a University of Exeter player has ever been crowned Masters Champion.

Athletic Union president Joe Batten was thrilled with the result and highlighted the AU’s commitment to more knish sports. He said “A huge congratulations has to be said for Thomas for this brilliant result. At Exeter we strive to compete at the highest level in all sports that we compete in; Thomas’ result is testament to all of the hard work put in by those clubs who may not always receive the same level of attention as the more main-stream sports, but provide so many students with an important platform, both competitively and socially.”