The 2025 Four Nations Billiards International, a traditional team contest between record winners England, Ireland, Northern Ireland and Austria, was staged for the first time at the Coach Club in Royal Hillsborough, Northern Ireland.

England lived up to its role as the clear favourite, securing the trophy once again with a total of 58 points. Northern Ireland took advantage of the home venue to finish in second place with 46 points, ahead of Ireland on 29. Austria, as in previous years, played kind of a role of a “deciding factor,” picking up scattered points that helped shape the battle for the tournament victory.


Team Northern Ireland; front row from left: Kenny Campbell, Paul Lindsay, Gerard Catney, Eugene Rogan, Christian Kirk, Dom Halligan (C); back row from left: Alastair McDonald, Tommy Hunter; © Gordon Boomer


Team Ireland: Aidan Murray, John Kehoe, John Downey, Larry Drennan, Robert McCrum, Jason Dowling (C); © Gordon Boomer

The standout player for Austria was Carl Walter Steiner, currently ranked 43rd in the World Billiards rankings. Delivering an excellent international performance, Steiner contributed seven of Austria’s 11 team points. He also produced the team’s highest break—a run of 93—narrowly missing what would have been his first tournament century.


Team Austria: Josef Wimmer, Patrick Stegmeier (C), Christian Pleschko, Carl Walter Steiner, Patrick Russ; © Gordon Boomer

The remaining four points for Austria were earned by Four Nations debutant Patrick Russ and current Austrian No. 2 Patrick Stegmeier, who secured two points each. Josef Wimmer, this season’s regional ranking winner in the Central Region, and Christian Pleschko (both Upper Austria) were unfortunate to miss out on points despite several very close matches.

With national champion Martin Schmidt absent, the Austrian squad competed one player short and finished just two points below last year’s total of 13. The team can now look ahead with optimism to next year’s event, where—hopefully at full strength—reaching the 20-point mark will once again be the realistic minimum target.

England’s team captain Rob Hall, WBL No. 3, produced the tournament’s highest break with an outstanding 550 against Patrick Russ. The effort not only provided a major highlight of the event but also offered the Austrian a masterclass in world-class Billiards construction and precision.


Rob Hall; © Bill Lindsay, world-billiards.com

A warm thank-you goes to tournament director legend Clive Scott (ENG) and his equally legendary assistant Brendan Devlin (IRL) for their tireless work in running this long-standing event. The dedication of the referees from England, together with numerous volunteers, also deserves recognition—thanks to their effort, every match throughout the weekend was fully officiated.


Chris Ellis (referee), Clive Scott (TD), Steve Harrison (referee), Brendan Devlin (Assistant TD), Martin O’Reilly (referee); © Gordon Boomer

Gratitude is extended as well to the Northern Ireland association for its hospitality and organization. The event will now move to Ireland for the 2026 edition.

Results:

Title photograph: Team England; front row from left: Chris Achilles, Darren Kell, Rob Hall (C), Gary Norman, Martin Gawthrop; back row from left: Terry McAdam, Nathan Mann; © Gordon Boomer