Pool: Eight Ball Championships 2025-26

Dates:

Saturday 28 February 2026 to Tuesday 3 March 2026

Venue:

Plaza Snooker & Pool Club: 147 King Street, Fenton, Stoke-on-Trent, ST4 3NA (Google Maps link)

Longton Snooker & Pool Club: 37 Normacot Road, Longton, Stoke-on-Trent, ST3 1PL (Google Maps link)

Players Pool & Snooker Lounge: 10 Queens Court, Newcastle-under-Lyme, ST5 1RW (Google Maps link)

Times for registering for the individual competition on Saturday 28 February 2026 for each competitor will be published on the UPC website. Any competitor not registering by the time stated on the draw will be scratched from the individual competition. All competitors in the team competition must register before they play, although players only need to register once during the whole event.

A more detailed timetable will be published on the UPC website. If any players are uncertain to the schedule for the event, they should ask the UPC officials who will be able to advise. The timetable is subject to change during the event.

• Saturday 28 February: Open and Women’s Individual Championships up to the first main round; and Open Individual Trophy up to the second main round (stages and rounds to be confirmed in the UPC published schedule).
• Sunday 1 March: The first two rounds of all team competition group-stages; followed by all individual competitions down to the last four competitors in each competition.
• Monday 2 March: Final matches in all team competition group-stages; Completion of all individual competitions, followed by individual presentations.
• Tuesday 3 March: Completion of the knock-out stages of all team competitions, followed by team presentations.

The detailed set of rules and regulations for the event can be found on the UPC website. By entering the event, competitors have agreed to abide by these rules and regulations.

The entry fee provides competitors entry into both the individual competition, as well as the team competition if they enter as part of an institution team.

There are BUCS medals and BUCS points (see Appendix 1 here) applicable to this event. There will also be prize money as detailed in the competition rules and regulations on the UPC website.

The competition dress code is detailed on the UPC website in the rules and regulations for the event. All players must conform to this dress code while playing.

The Championships will be split into two separate categories. Both categories consist of an individual event, and a team event if entering as part of a team. The two categories in the Championships are:

1. The ‘Open’ category, where all eligible players can participate in this category, and
2. The ‘Womens’ category, where only eligible women players as per the BUCS eligibility criteria can participate in this category.

While individuals assigned female at birth are eligible for either Open or Womens categories, they cannot enter a mix of these at the same Championships. For example, an individual will not be permitted to enter both the Womens Individual competition and the Open Individual and/or Team competition at the same Championships.

Team competition: Team Championship & Trophy

• The competition begins with a round-robin group-stage where all teams play each other in their group to determine the final placings. For the Women’s competition, this group-stage will consist of all teams who enter the championships. For the Open competition, this group-stage will consist of 48 teams based on the performance at the last season’s championships (see the Open Team Shield & Vase for teams not playing at the Open Team Championship/Trophy level).
• Subject to not finishing bottom of the group, the top two institution first teams from each group will progress to the Team Championship knock-out stage. Note that only institution first teams can participate in the Team Championship.
• The two highest ranked teams who have not already qualified for the Team Championship will qualify for the Team Trophy knock-out stage.
• All knock-out stages will be single-elimination to determine the champions of both competitions.
• For the Open competition, each match will consist of a maximum of ten frames. Each player will play one frame against a maximum of two different opponents as indicated on the team matchsheet. Once a team reaches six frames, they are declared the winners and the match is over. Two points will be awarded for a win whilst one point will be awarded to each team in the event of a drawn match in the group-stage. Should a match in the second phase end in a draw after the completion of ten frames, the winner shall be determined by shoot-out by the two respective captains nominating three players who will play a single opponent over one frame. Once a team wins two of these frames, they are deemed to be the winners.
• For the Women’s competition, each match will consist of a maximum of six frames. Each player will play one frame against a maximum of two different opponents as indicated on the team matchsheet. Once a team reaches four frames, they are declared the winners and the match is over. Two points will be awarded for a win whilst one point will be awarded to each team in the event of a drawn match in the group-stage. Should a match in the second phase end in a draw after the completion of six frames, the winner shall be determined by shoot-out by the two respective captains nominating one player who will play each other over one frame. The team who wins this frame are deemed to be the winners of the match.

Team Competition: Open Team Shield & Vase

• For the Open team competition, there is a lower Shield/Vase tier for teams who are either not playing at Championship/Trophy level based on their performance last season, or did not participate in last season’s championships.
• The format for each match is the same as the above for the Open Team Championship/Trophy. The top two teams from each group will progress to the Team Shield knock-out stage. The third placed team from each group with progress to the Team Vase knock-out stage, where the Team Vase is not an official BUCS event.

Individual competition: Individual Championship & Trophy

• There are both Open and Women’s individual competitions for this event.
• Both the Individual Championship and Individual Trophy will be single-elimination throughout.
• The match distances for each competition will vary, with all matches being races to at least three frames, with distances increasing as the competition progresses. Lag for first break then alternate breaks through to the end of the match.
• All players in institution first teams, as well as unattached individuals, will play in the Individual Championship.
• All non-first team players will by default play in the Individual Trophy, unless the Team Details Form sent to the UPC states they would like to play in the Individual Championship instead. Any previous winner of the Individual Trophy cannot play in that event again in subsequent seasons.
• The Individual Trophy is subject to the field being at least a fifth of the total number of individual entrants with a minimum number of sixteen entrants in the Individual Trophy; if these criteria are not met there will be no Individual Trophy for that event and all entrants will play in the Individual Championship.

All competitors that an Institution Administrator has approved on BUCS Play by 11:59pm on Thursday 5 February 2026 and is later approved by both BUCS and the UPC will be charged the entry fee. If a competitor later withdraws then a reserve from that institution can be promoted into a team to ensure the number of competitors remain the same. Player changes will only be accepted if the proposed replacement has been added as a reserve on the BUCS Play entry system in ‘Stage 2’ entries. This ‘Stage 2’ BUCS Play entry system will go live when ‘Stage 1’ entries have closed. These reserves will only play at the event if they are replacing withdrawn players and can only be entered into the bottom ranking team from that institution.

The institution main contact will also need to message the Tournament Director, Daniel Turner, via e-mail detailing the replacement. The UPC will then confirm the replacement as well as the detail the amendments made to the individual competition draw following this change.

Any replacements after the entry deadline on Thursday 5 February 2026 but before the publication of the draw, which is usually the Sunday before the event, attracts a surcharge.

There are either free residential spaces or pay-to-park car parks within close walking distance of all venues. Please allow extra time in the morning to find suitable parking in case of issues as the schedule will not be delayed due to such issues.

There are no changing facilities on site apart from standard toilet facilities. Some venues involve steps or staircases, so it may not be possible for some physically disabled participants to play in the event. If this pertains to any student, we recommend they contact the venue to check disabled access.

Food and drink are sold by the venue.

Players must not under any circumstances, in any event venue, consume food or drink bought outwith that venue. Regular checks on this will be undertaken by event staff and by venue staff and, while something such as food/drink items in a shopping bag intended for later on at an ‘AirBnB’ or similar will not be penalised per se, anyone found in any event venue consuming food or drink bought outwith that venue will have the offending food and drink confiscated and destroyed immediately without further discussion on the matter.

There will be both an individual presentation on Monday evening and a team presentation on Tuesday evening for those who have won BUCS medals shortly after the close of play for that day.

All players finishing in medal positions must attend the presentations in full UPC dress code for the official event photographs.

During this event, various filming, photography, and broadcasting may take place. By your presence at this event, you grant your permission for your likeness and voice to be included in pictures and/or on film and their advertising without compensation or credit. All questions should be communicated to your Institution Administrator in the first instance, who can subsequently get in touch with BUCS if necessary.

Anyone wishing to take photos or video at this event must complete the BUCS Media Accreditation Form prior to the event.

BUCS reserves the right to prohibit photography equipment being used at a BUCS event. BUCS reserves the right to request that the individual ceases to take photographs, deletes any images and, if considered necessary, leaves the venue.

Please see Appendix 1 for the BUCS Points available at this event.

All event information is provided online and can be accessed on a phone – There will be no paper copies of information which is in the public domain online, which minimises paper use.

We suggest all participate bring refillable bottles if they wish to drink tap water from the venue, which saves helps sustainability by reducing glasses being washed on site.

Getting here:

Plaza Snooker & Pool Club

From Stoke-on-Trent Train Station

Car - It is an 8 minute drive (1.9 miles) to the venue

Walk - It is approximately a 36 minute walk (1.6 miles) to the venue

Cycle - It is approximately a 10 minute cycle (1.5 miles) to the venue

Bus - 

• Board the D&G Bus 9 towards Clayton at Stoke-on-Trent Railway Station and travel 2 stops to Lytton Street (3 minutes)
• Board the First 11 Bus towards Hanley and travel 5 stops (6 minutes) to Duke of Wellington
• Walk for 3 minutes (200 yards) to venue

Longton Snooker & Pool Club

From Stoke-on-Trent Train Station

Car - It is a 9 minute drive (3.8 miles) to the venue

Cycle - It is approximately an 18 minute cycle (2.7 miles) to the venue

Bus -

• Board the D&G Bus 9 towards Clayton at Stoke-on-Trent Railway Station and travel 2 stops to Lytton Street (3 minutes)
• Board the First 11 Bus towards Hanley and travel 11 stops (12 minutes) to Sutherland Road
• Walk for 7 minutes (0.3 miles) to venue

Players Pool & Snooker Lounge

From Stoke-on-Trent Train Station

Car - It is a 9 minute drive (2.2 miles) to the venue

Cycle - It is approximately a 14 minute cycle (2.2 miles) to the venue

Bus -

• Board the D&G Bus 9 towards Clayton at Stoke-on-Trent Railway Station and travel 24 stops (23 minutes) to Newcastle Bus Station
• Walk 0.2 miles (6 minutes) to venue

BUCS’ mission is to provide exceptional student sporting experiences that inspire, develop and unite. 

Critical to our success is our commitment to always providing safe, friendly and enjoyable environments for all participants. Whether competing, coaching, officiating, volunteering, working or spectating at these events, the welfare of all is critical to our mission. 

To find out more or report a concern, please click here.