SNOOKER and pool rule the roost these days when it comes to cue sports – but one man from Gwent is trying his best to put billiards back on the map in South Wales.

Alex Donne represented Wales earlier this month then went on to win his first World Billiards event, the Northern Snooker Centre Billiards Challenge Cup in Leeds.

The 34-year-old runs a Facebook page dedicated to the sport and wants more people to give it a go in the hope that some will enjoy the experience and keep playing.

“There is a distinct lack of billiards players in South Wales, so I am on the lookout for people who play the game to come forward,” he said.

“I also run a page on Facebook called South Wales Billiards which posts videos and articles of interest in relation to the billiards world.

“Believe it or not, English billiards is a relatively simple game and played on a snooker table.

“Each player uses a separate cue ball (white or yellow) and the aim is to score more points than your opponent.

“You score points by potting the red ball, which returns to the table, making a cannon (hitting your cue ball onto the two others with the same shot), and making your cue ball go into the pocket after hitting another ball.

“You can replace the cue ball inside the ‘D’ and only play down the table, not backwards into the baulk area.

“Scoring can be singular with three or two points and combinations of these (potting the red and making a cannon in the same shot is three points plus two points).

“I would love for players to try this game.

“I have played snooker from the age of six and since playing billiards my snooker has improved, but I also have the enjoyment of playing billiards.

“It’s a new challenge which I think all snooker players should have a go at.”

Donne’s recent success started when he played alongside Paul Harris, Peter Stanyer and Eddie Duggan at the Home International Billiards and Snooker Federation Championships.

The Welsh quartet finished fifth out of eight teams and Donne had the ninth best statistics of the 27 players involved.

This was only the second time in 12 years that Wales had participated in the billiards event.

Donne then entered the Northern Snooker Centre Open, a tournament on the World Billiards calendar.

One of 56 entrants, Donne finished third in his pool of five and went into the Plate competition for those who didn’t make it through to the main knockout phase.

A 166-134 victory over Ireland’s world number 87 Aonghas McAnally was followed by a 200-58 defeat of England’s world number 182 Jason Devanney.

English world number 31 Gary Norman was beaten 187-106 in the semi-finals and, after a titanic tussle with England’s world number 80 Bernard French, Donne took the title 133-132.

Donne’s win on his World Billiards debut has also seen him enter the global rankings at number 222.

Meanwhile, Newport’s Ian Preece and Cwmbran’s Jak Jones both reached the fifth round of the Paul Hunter Classic.

Preece eventually lost 4-1 to former world champion Ken Doherty, while Jones was knocked out 4-2 by Peter Lines.

Neath cueman Michael White got the better of Shaun Murphy in the final at the Stadthalle in Furth, Germany.

There will be Welsh representation at the next major snooker event, the World Six Red Championship in Thailand, which starts on September 4.