Ashley Lord was Lancashire’s best finisher at the 2026 EPA National Open Singles, reaching the last 64 before losing 6–5 to eventual champion Shaun Chipperfield. Twenty-seven Lancashire-registered players were identified across the main draw and preliminary round, with Ryan Helm and Jordan Kellett also reaching the last 128.
The 512-player main draw was played under International Rules at Richardson’s Holiday Park from 24–26 September 2026. Chipperfield completed the tournament by beating Joe Nulty 8–7 in the final.
How far did Ashley Lord go in the 2026 National Open?
Lord produced Lancashire’s deepest run of the tournament. He beat Sam Bartrop 6–3 in Round 1, Luke Looker 6–2 in Round 2 and Michael Llewellyn 6–3 in the last 128.
That put him into the last 64 against Shaun Chipperfield. Lord pushed the reigning EPA National Champion all the way before Chipperfield edged the deciding frame for a 6–5 victory.
The result gained further significance as the tournament progressed. Chipperfield went on to beat Jamie Clements 6–4 in the last 32, Steve Singh 6–1 in the last 16, Evan Plummer 7–5 in the quarter-final and Phil Harrison 7–4 in the semi-final. He then defeated Joe Nulty 8–7 in the final to win the 2026 National Open.
Chipperfield also has a substantial wider pedigree in the sport, including previous world-level success and Ultimate Pool competition, making Lord’s hill-hill defeat to the eventual champion the standout Lancashire performance of the event.
Ryan Helm and Jordan Kellett reach the last 128
Ryan Helm opened with a 6–1 win over Jason Sidaway and then came through a deciding frame against Daniel Brace, winning 6–5. His run ended in the last 128 with a 6–4 defeat to Nathan Ellis. Ellis subsequently reached the last 16, where Carl Morris beat him 6–5.
Jordan Kellett also reached the last 128. He defeated Matthew Jaques 6–0 and Robert Holt 6–4 before losing 6–5 to Scott Anderson. Anderson continued to the last 16 before Phil Harrison ended his run 6–2.
More Lancashire wins in the main draw
Thom Fielding started strongly with a 6–1 victory over Tony Williams before meeting Chipperfield in Round 2, where the eventual champion won 6–1.
Chris Mulcahy beat Teige Dillon 6–1 before losing 6–2 to Ryan Francis in Round 2. Francis went on to reach the last 32.
Connor Crawshaw-Collins defeated Brian McLellan 6–2 before Adam Wheller ended his run 6–0 in Round 2.
Martin Halleron progressed from his opening tie via a walkover before losing 6–3 to Jack Mason in Round 2.
Complete Lancashire results
The Lancashire players below were matched against the county’s 2026 EPA registration records. Scores and progression are taken from the official EPA National Open draw and CueScore tournament data.
Last 64
- Ashley Lord — beat Sam Bartrop 6–3; beat Luke Looker 6–2; beat Michael Llewellyn 6–3; lost 5–6 to Shaun Chipperfield.
Last 128
- Ryan Helm — beat Jason Sidaway 6–1; beat Daniel Brace 6–5; lost 4–6 to Nathan Ellis.
- Jordan Kellett — beat Matthew Jaques 6–0; beat Robert Holt 6–4; lost 5–6 to Scott Anderson.
Round 2
- Thom Fielding — beat Tony Williams 6–1; lost 1–6 to Shaun Chipperfield.
- Martin Halleron — opening-round walkover; lost 3–6 to Jack Mason.
- Chris Mulcahy — beat Teige Dillon 6–1; lost 2–6 to Ryan Francis.
- Connor Crawshaw-Collins — beat Brian McLellan 6–2; lost 0–6 to Adam Wheller.
Round 1
- Connor Fitzpatrick — lost 4–6 to Ryan Norris.
- Michael Logan — lost 2–6 to Scott Anderson.
- Danny Mullen — lost 1–6 to Peter Armitage.
- Lee C Murray — lost 0–6 to Danny Riley.
- John Tompkins — lost 5–6 to Wayne Geoghegan.
- Andrew Warburton — lost 3–6 to Adam Holmes.
- David Kirkpatrick — lost 1–6 to Michael Hope.
- James Buckley — lost 0–6 to Reece Arkley.
- Jason Bubbins — lost 5–6 to Craig McMorran.
- Adrian Dugdale — lost 5–6 to Alpesh Mistry.
- Tahir Amin — lost 2–6 to Matthew Read.
- Paul Lord — walkover defeat to Luke Looker.
- David Allewell — lost 5–6 to Dan Stein.
Preliminary round
- Steven Blackburn — lost 0–6 to Gavin Preskey.
- Andrew Cawkwell — lost 0–6 to Calum Boyd.
- Jan Howorth — lost 1–6 to Curtis Bradley.
- Peter Pinder — lost 0–6 to Eric Main.
- Lewis Smith — lost 1–6 to Neil Rezamand.
- Richard Standen — lost 1–6 to Craig McMorran.
- Daniel Wilkinson — lost 1–6 to Dave Curran.
What was Lancashire’s best result?
Ashley Lord’s last-64 finish was Lancashire’s best result. His 5–6 defeat came against Shaun Chipperfield, who went on to win the tournament 8–7 against Joe Nulty.
How many Lancashire players competed?
Twenty-seven Lancashire-registered players were identified across the National Open main draw and preliminary round using the 2026 Lancashire EPA registration records.
Who won the 2026 EPA National Open Singles?
Shaun Chipperfield won the 2026 National Open Singles, beating Joe Nulty 8–7 in the final after a 7–4 semi-final victory over Phil Harrison.
Sources
Results were checked against the official EPA National Open draw and the CueScore National Open tournament page.