Pool: Eight Ball Championships 2025-26

Dates:

Saturday 28th February 2026 - Tuesday 3rd March 2026

Venues:

Plaza Snooker & Pool Club - Stoke-on-Trent

Longton Snooker & Pool Club - Stoke-on-Trent

Players Pool & Snooker Lounge - Newcastle-under-Lyme

Addresses:

Plaza Snooker & Pool Club

147 King Street

Fenton

Stoke-on Trent

ST4 3NA

Longton Snooker & Pool Club

37 Normacot Road

Longton

Stoke-on-Trent

ST3 1PL

Players Pool & Snooker Lounge

10 Queens Court

Newcastle-under-Lyme

Newcastle

ST5 1RW

Entry Opening Dates

Tuesday 16 December 2025

Stage 1 Entry Closing Date

“Stage 1” is for the submission of entries ONLY – no reserves should be entered in Stage 1

11:59pm on Tuesday 3 February 2026 – Student/Competitor Deadline (Students/Competitors must apply by this deadline)

11:59pm on Thursday 5 February 2026 – Institution Administrator Approval Deadline (Institutional Administrators are given 48 hours after the student/competitor deadline to approve entries – no reserves should be approved in Stage 1)

Entry Costs

£37.50 per competitor (This provides entry into the individual competition, as well as the team competition if they enter as part of an institution team)

There will be no accommodation or travel included in this entry fee. It is strongly advised that competitors ensure any accommodation or travel they book has a free-cancellation option to cover the eventuality that their entries are either not accepted due to the ‘team cap limit’, or an emergency means the event cannot complete on these dates.

This competition will NOT operate a staged entry process. As such, please ensure all entries are submitted through BUCS Play prior to the closing date listed above.

“Stage 2” will be opened on Friday 6 February 2026 for the addition of reserves ONLY and will remain open until Tuesday 3 March 2026.  Note that this deadline is different to the usual Thursday closing of BUCS Play events to enable institutions to add reserve players, and then use them to replace withdrawn entries.

There are BUCS medals applicable to all events. There are BUCS points (see Appendix 1 here) applicable to all events apart from the Individual Trophy. 

The event 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. These categories 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.

Open teams are to be made up of either five or six competitors, with five to play in any given match. Womens teams are to be made up of either three or four competitors, with three to play in any given match.

An institution unable to raise the minimum number of competitors needed for an open team may enter a maximum of two competitors into the Open Individual Championship. An institution unable to raise the minimum number of competitors needed for a womens team may enter a single competitor into the event to play in the Womens Individual Championship.

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.

The team limit cap is yet to be determined and will be announced by the UPC in their entry documents when they are published.

All institutions need to send the Tournament Director, Daniel Turner, a Team Details Form, which can be found on the UPC website when uploaded. This form details the composition of each team and provides the strength of all competitors which are required to rank players for their entry into the Individual competition. The Team Details Form should be supplied to the UPC by Sunday 8 February 2026 where a surcharge will be payable for missing this deadline. There is a separate form for both the Open and Womens competition.

If your institution enters multiple teams then, other than in exceptional circumstances, competitors ascribed to a particular team on the Team Details Form will be unable to play for any lower-ranked team in the tournament. In case of a change/substitution, competitors may be shuffled up from lower- to higher-ranked teams (e.g. seconds to firsts) or from the reserve list into the lowest-ranked team, but no player (including a reserve) can leapfrog a competitor named above them on the Team Details Form supplied to UPC by the institution’s main contact.

There is no maximum number of individuals who can play in the individual competition, but all competitors must either be part of an institution team, or be individual-only entrants as detailed above, to play at the event. For example, an institution with exactly nine open competitors may only enter a team of a maximum of six players; for this player to play at the event, the institution must enter a tenth player so they can play on a second team. Similarly, an institution with exactly five womens competitors may only enter a team of a maximum of four players; for the fifth player to play at the event, the institution must find at least another player so they can play on a second team.

Entry Process  – Individual Events

To apply for the Individual competition all eligible competitors must follow these steps:

1. Competitor to apply to the event on BUCS Play (Instructions on how to do this can be found here).
2. Institution administrator approves entry (Instructions on how to do this can be found here).
3. BUCS approves/denies entry into competition and publishes confirmed entry list.

Any data will be handled in accordance with BUCS Privacy Policy.

Please ensure you enter the correct category, either the Open category or the Womens category, when entering on BUCS Play.

Each institution must also appoint one of its attendees to be the institution’s “main contact” for the event. The main contact will be required to email a Team Details form to the UPC Tournament Director, Daniel Turner. This form will include which of their institution’s competitors are ascribed to which of its teams, who the team captains are, whether any competitors require reasonable adjustment, and who will serve as the main point of contact between UPC and their institution’s delegation at the event in case of any matters that are not applicable to the team captain(s).

By participating in this event you agree to adhere to BUCS General Event Disclaimer.

To check whether you are eligible to compete in BUCS competitions, please visit REG 4 Individual Eligibility.

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Entry Process – Team Events

All competitors who are playing as part of a team will enter using the previous process for individual events. If that player is part of an institution team as detailed on the institution Team Details Form, then that competitor will be entered into the team competition as well. Players do not need to detail on BUCS Play which institution team they are playing for, this information is collected using the Team Details Form sent directly to the UPC.

A complete 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.

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 Womens 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.
• Subject to having won at least one match, 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.
• Both 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 additional frames, they are deemed to be the winners.
• For the Womens 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 additional 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, noting the Team Vase is not an official BUCS event.

Individual competition: Individual Championship & Trophy

• There are both Open and Womens 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.
• 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.

Some of the playing arenas, especially Players Pool & Snooker Lounge, involves navigating steps or staircases. If disability access pertains to any competitor, we recommend they get in touch with the venue to check disabled access.

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

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. 

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