Lancashire’s Jack Crank delivered the title-winning frame as England B Under-23s beat South Africa 8–6 to become IEPF World Eightball champions in Marrakech on Saturday 26 September.
Crank won four of his five frames in the final, repeating the four-from-five return he produced in England B’s 8–6 semi-final victory over Australia. Across the semi-final and final, the Lancashire player won eight of ten frames when the world title was on the line.
Four wins from Crank seal the semi-final
Australia led 2–0 and 3–1 before England B fought back. Crank’s victories over Sean Dempsey, Jack Green and Xavier Daw helped his side build a 7–4 advantage.
Australia then took two frames to close the gap to 7–6. Crank returned against Green in frame 14 and delivered his fourth win of the match, securing England B’s place in the final without needing a deciding frame.
The official frame record gives Crank four wins from five appearances, with his only defeat coming against Joshua Hands. Charlie Gordon and Lewis Walker contributed two wins each to England B’s eight-frame total.
It was another important contribution from Lancashire’s confirmed representative, following England B’s narrow playoff win over Malta on Friday. Jack’s Lancashire affiliation is recorded in both his EPA profile and the 2026 intercounty records.
Jack thanks his sponsors
Writing before the final, Jack thanked the sponsors who helped make his England campaign possible: KC’s Pool & Sports Club, Newheights Ltd, Champ’s Tips, Jackie Moon, Becky’s Little Butterflies, SAANRO International Ltd and Atkinson Jewellers.
Crank seals the world title against South Africa
England B defeated South Africa 8–6 in a final lasting just over an hour. The official record shows play beginning at 7.50pm and finishing at 8.53pm on Table 7.
Crank opened his account by beating Rushin Daniels, then defeated Taufeeq Murray to put England B 4–2 ahead. His only defeat came against Isma-Eel Gertson before he beat Daniels for a second time, taking England to the hill at 7–5.
South Africa closed to 7–6, but Crank responded by defeating Murray again in the final completed frame. It was his fourth victory of the match and the frame that made England B world champions. Charlie Gordon supplied three wins and Lewis Walker added the other.
Across England B’s three knockout matches, Crank recorded 11 wins from 15 frames. He contributed half of England B’s eight winning frames in the world final. The full AllScores team record lists 35 wins from his 52 completed frames during the championship.
| Stage | Opponent | England B result | Jack Crank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Playoff | Malta | Won 8–7 | 3 wins from 5 |
| Semi-final | Australia | Won 8–6 | 4 wins from 5 |
| Final | South Africa | Won 8–6 | 4 wins from 5 |
| Knockout total | — | Three victories | 11 wins from 15 |
England complete a strong team campaign
England added another team world title through England B Over-60s, who defeated Scotland A 8–3 in their final. England’s Over-50s took silver after an 8–6 final defeat by Northern Ireland, having beaten Malta 8–1 in the semi-final.
Elsewhere, England’s Men lost 11–9 to Northern Ireland in the semi-finals, the Ladies were beaten 8–5 by Northern Ireland, and England A Under-18s lost 8–4 to New Zealand. The Ladies’ earlier Shootout world title was a separate competition.
The other team world champions were Morocco, who beat Northern Ireland 11–9 in the Men’s final; France, 8–2 winners over Northern Ireland in the Ladies; and Ireland A, who defeated New Zealand 8–4 in the Under-18 final.
Declan Brennan crowned Men’s Singles world champion
Northern Ireland’s Declan Brennan won the Men’s Singles world title on Sunday 27 September 2026, defeating Morocco’s Abderrahmane Chorfy 11–5 in the final. Brennan had reached the final with a 10–4 semi-final victory over Shaun Sharkey, before securing the individual men’s crown with a six-frame winning margin.
England claim two singles world titles
England’s Barbara Taylor became Ladies Singles world champion with an 8–5 victory over Northern Ireland’s Emma Cunningham. Jaden Billingham added the Under-23 Singles crown, beating Australia’s Joshua Hands 8–2.
England’s Lee Kendall finished runner-up in the Over-50 Singles after Northern Ireland’s Dylan Leary won the final 8–4. Giuseppe D’Imperio and James Goldsmith also reached the Men’s and Under-23 semi-finals respectively.
Ireland’s Paul Tierney edged Phil Connolly 7–6 in the Over-60 final, while Malta’s Denzel Falzon beat Ireland’s Denny Bookle 8–4 for the Under-18 title.
Watch: Lancashire interest, England semi-finals and finals
Watch the 2026 World Championships — select a recording below, then press play in the player. Use full-screen for a larger view. English captions are requested by default where available. If only another language is offered, select Settings → Subtitles/CC → Auto-translate → English, where YouTube provides that option.
The player opens with England B v South Africa in the Under-23 team world final. English auto-generated captions are requested by default for this recording. Allow YouTube through the site’s cookie controls if prompted. Each selection replaces the recording in this same player. If YouTube requests sign-in or the embed does not play, use the recording’s “Open on YouTube” link.
Lancashire interest
- England B v South AfricaUnder-23 team world final · England B won 8–6 · 26 September · Lancashire’s Jack Crank won four of his five frames, including the title-winning frame.Load final Open on YouTube ↗Channel: Western Cape Pool Union · Recording length: 1:11:17Captions: English (automatically generated) · English captions requested by default.
- England B v AustraliaUnder-23 team semi-final · Jack Crank’s Lancashire interest · 26 SeptemberLoad recording Open on YouTube ↗Channel: Joshua HandsCaptions: none currently available from YouTube.
- South Africa v England BUnder-23 league recording · 24 September · This is not the finalLoad recording Open on YouTube ↗Channel: Western Cape Pool UnionCaptions: English (automatically generated) · English captions requested by default.
England finals
- Jaden Billingham v Joshua HandsUnder-23 singles final · England v AustraliaLoad recording Open on YouTube ↗Channel: Joshua HandsCaptions: none currently available from YouTube.
- Barbara Taylor v Emma CunninghamLadies singles final · England v Northern IrelandLoad recording Open on YouTube ↗Channel: Ultimate Pool AssociationCaptions: English (automatically generated) · English captions requested by default.
- England v Northern Ireland — Ladies Shootout final openingMatch section: 11:44:32–11:54:59 · 10 minutes 27 secondsDay 4 · 11:44:32–11:54:59 · Opening only: the recording ends at 1–1. Former Lancashire player Megan Proctor was in England’s winning squad; her appearance in this excerpt is not confirmed.Play match section Open on YouTube ↗Channel: Ultimate Pool Association · Section identified from time-coded commentary captions.Captions: English (automatically generated) · English captions requested by default.
- Beckie Watkins v Savanah LoweFull Day 5 TV1 broadcast · Ladies Masters final start/end times not yet verifiedLoad full broadcast Open on YouTube ↗Channel: Ultimate Pool AssociationCaptions: none currently available from YouTube.
England semi-finals
- England v Northern IrelandMatch section: 00:20:43–01:48:26 · 1 hour 27 minutes 43 secondsMen’s team semi-final · 20:43–1:48:26 · England v Northern Ireland section only · Timings identified from commentary captionsPlay match section Open on YouTube ↗Channel: Ultimate Pool AssociationCaptions: English (automatically generated) · English captions requested by default.
- Jaden Billingham v Taha ZouineUnder-23 singles semi-final · England v MoroccoLoad recording Open on YouTube ↗Channel: ByblosCaptions: none currently available from YouTube.
- Giuseppe D’Imperio v Abderrahmane ChorfyMen’s singles semi-final · England v MoroccoLoad recording Open on YouTube ↗Channel: ByblosCaptions: Arabic (automatically generated) · English auto-translation is available via YouTube’s Settings → Subtitles/CC → Auto-translate → English.
Coverage note: These links passed YouTube’s public embed check on 27 September 2026. Recording lengths vary; a broadcast link may include other matches. The England B v South Africa final is a 1:11:17 YouTube recording with English auto-generated captions. The Ladies Shootout selection shows only the opening of England’s final, not the complete match. Time-bounded selections use caption-derived timings; other broadcast entries remain untrimmed where match boundaries are unverified.
England’s world champions in pictures
England’s winners by category
England secured 12 category titles across the team, singles, Scotch Doubles, Masters and Shootout competitions. The complete list of England’s title winners and their confirmed final scores is below. Lancashire’s Jack Crank was part of the victorious England B Under-23 team.
| Category | England winner(s) | Final result |
|---|---|---|
| Under-23 Teams | England B — including Jack Crank (Lancashire) | 8–6 v South Africa |
| Over-60 Teams | England B | 8–3 v Scotland A |
| Ladies Singles | Barbara Taylor | 8–5 v Emma Cunningham |
| Under-23 Singles | Jaden Billingham | 8–2 v Joshua Hands |
| Ladies Scotch Doubles | Savanah Lowe & Barbara Taylor | 7–2 v Anaïs Dehan & Collette Henriksen |
| Over-50 Scotch Doubles | Pat Ward & Adey Young | 7–5 v Inderasen Devraj & Alvin Naidoo |
| Over-60 Scotch Doubles | Alfie Powley & Derek Tolliday | 6–4 v John Falconer & Dave Styles |
| Under-18 Scotch Doubles | Daniel McGowan & Logan Robinson | 7–4 v Tristan Owens & Taygon Yanez |
| Ladies Masters | Beckie Watkins | 6–4 v Savanah Lowe |
| Over-60 Masters | Guy Garrett | 6–3 v Will Doidge |
| Under-23 Masters | Jaden Billingham | 6–2 v Xavier Daw |
| Ladies World Team Shootout | England | 6–3 v Northern Ireland |
England B Under-23 winning squad: Jack Crank (Lancashire), Charlie Gordon, Olly Mitchell and Lewis Walker. Jack won four of five frames in both the semi-final and final, including the title-winning frame, and finished with 11 wins from 15 knockout frames.
England B Over-60 winning squad: Dale Greenwood, Dave Neary, Andy Pollard, Andy Redsull and Derek Tolliday.
England Ladies Shootout winning squad: Sophie Gibbs-Nicholls, Savanah Lowe, Megan Proctor, Casey Ranford-Norrey, Barbara Taylor and Sarah Taylor.
Former Lancashire success: Megan Proctor also celebrated the Ladies Shootout title. She played for Lancashire until this year and is recognised here as a former county player.
The featured group scene is an AI-generated illustrative composite; the winners were not photographed together as one combined group.
Lancashire celebrates a world champion
With every team and singles final now officially complete, Lancashire’s confirmed representative leaves Marrakech as a world champion. Jack Crank’s four wins from five in both the semi-final and final—and his title-winning frame against South Africa—provided the county’s defining contribution to England B Under-23s’ triumph.
Official sources
IEPF AllScores Live: fixtures, results and frame records · England B v South Africa final stream · EPA: Jack Crank’s player profile · EPA ICR26: Lancashire Under-23 records · English Pool Association
Final report updated at 5.10pm on Sunday 27 September, including all 12 England category titles, the winning team squads and Lancashire’s confirmed successes.