Bailey Scott At Loughborough University

The first trophies of the third Ultimate Pool Series weekend of the 2026 season were handed out on Saturday night in Loughborough, as two of the biggest names in the game continued their excellent seasons.

Jaden Billingham shines bright to complete hat trick of Ultimate Pool Pro Series victories.

19 Year old Jaden ‘The Jewel’ Billingham took down the Ultimate Pool Pro Series Event 5 title last night in Loughborough, defeating Neil Raybone 8-5 in the final.

It’s Jaden’s third Pro Series title already in his short pro career, as he further cements his status as one of the very best players in the world.

Wins over James Nesbitt and Josh Kane took Jaden to the quarter finals, where he triumphed in a box office clash with UP No.2 Declan Brennan before defeating Stevie Dempsey in a nervy semi final.

In the final itself, Jaden made a flying start, heading 4-0 in front before a late rally from Neil brought the score from 7-2 to 7-5, before The Jewel calmly look his chance to triumph 8-5.

It propels him up to 4th in the rankings and he isn’t planning on stopping there: “Number one would be nice but I’m just taking it step by step, I’ve got time.”

Jaden only promoted to the Pro Series at the beginning of 2025, and with the rankings operating on a two year list, he has a fantastic opportunity to do something special by the end of this season.

Full Men’s Pro Series report below.

Beckie Watkins Snaps Final Losing Streak to Claim 2nd UP Women’s Pro Series Title

Beckie ‘Bexstar’ Watkins took down the Ultimate Pool Women’s Pro Series 5 title with a 5-3 victory over maiden UP finalist Adrienne Flitcroft-Hurst in Loughborough.

It ends a recent trend of being on the wrong side of finals for Beckie, who has lost her last 3 finals this season following her breakout wins in the Women’s Pro Series and 36Vegas Women’s Champions League.

Beckie said: “After the first tour this season when I lost to Vicki in the final I just felt like it wasn’t going to come again. I’ve got to two finals after that and lost - [then] quarter finals, semi finals and I just said “come on” - and i’m really really buzzing to take the win today.”

Beckie took down tough competition to get to the final which included wins against Sophie Gibbs-Nicholls, Savannah Lowe and Danielle Randle on her way to the title.

In the final, Bexstar met debut finalist Adrienne Flitcroft-Hurst, who had an incredible run through the tournament, beating two UP Women’s Pro Series title winners in Amy Beauchamp and Emma Parker.

Adrienne said: “It’s been a great weekend - I’ve felt like I’ve been in flow state. I want to say congratulations to Beckie she’s played well there - but I feel like she’s had to play really well to beat me I’ve taken some beating I think. And although I’ve lost and it stings, there’s a lot to learn and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed today. I am proud, I’m really gutted but I am proud as well.”

Beckie added: “Adrienne is a tough opponent and I have had to play at my very best, being number one for a little bit longer, I am really proud of that!”

This win marked Watkins’ third ranking title and keeps her cemented as No. 1 in the UP Women’s Pro Series rankings.

Full Women’s Pro Series Report follows below.

Men’s Pro Series 5 Report

The Ultimate Pool Series returned with its third weekend of the season, as the UP roadshow rolled into Loughborough for the first time.

The day kicked off with the men’s Pro Series with No.1 Top Cat Tom Cousins starting things off with a 7-5 win over Darrell Whitworth.

UP No.2 Declan Brennan followed in similar fashion with an 8-4 victory over Simon Fitzmaurice.

The last 64 also saw the exit of European Open finalist Shaun Storry after an 8-3 loss to Scott Pope.

Pro Series 4 champion Ben Doyle’s event ended early too, as Aaron Davies took the game 7-4.

The Round of 32 began with Tom Cousins securing an 8-4 win over familiar foe Josh Juhasz.

A big crowd watched on as Luke Gilbert dispatched of Shaun Chipperfield in an 8-6 thriller which was entertaining from start to finish.

Two-time British open winner Cole Bedford was the next big name to fall, departing to Kris Hampson 8-4.

After missing the last weekend in Bolton, ‘The Magician’ Chris Melling brought his spark back to the table with an 8-5 win over David McQuillan.

Another noteworthy performance came from Tom Jones, whose 8-3 win over Aaron Davies ensured he made the Round of 16 for the fourth tour running.

The biggest shock of the tournament came in the round of 16 where Greg Batten thrashed UP No.1 Tom Cousins 8-1 with a spectacular performance.

Batten had already dispatched Rob Dagnall 8-1 and Rob Wharne 8-5, and said after the Cousins victory “That’s the best I’ve felt over a whole day in a really long time.”

Other favourites that progressed to the quarters included Declan Brennan who defeated Chris Day 8-1, and Craig Waddingham who beat Phil Harrison in a final frame decider.

Jaden Billingham also progressed through and was searching for his fourth consecutive appearance in a final during an Ultimate Pool Series weekend.

Also in the men’s quarters was Neil Raybone, who had quietly been establishing himself as a title contender with wins over Callum Singleton and Scott Pope, and the Razor was the first one through to the last four as he beat Greg Batten 7-6 in the first quarter final.

Craig Waddingham then beat Chris Melling in a decider after a late rally from ‘The Magician’, who took out three quick clearances including one just inside a minute.

In the other quarter-finals, Stevie Dempsey whitewashed Tom Jones 8-0 in the performance of the tournament, before Jaden Billingham eliminated world number two Declan Brennan in an 8-4 thriller.

The men’s finalists were decided firstly with Neil Raybone, who came out on top of a back-and-forth duel against Craig Waddingham finishing 7-6, and secured his first UP final since 2022.

Jaden ‘The Jewel’ Billingham shone brightly and edged out Stevie Dempsey with an 8-5 win, which confirmed his place in yet another final.

In the final, it was all about Jaden Billingham took home the win after an 8-5 win against Neil Raybone.

At the start of the match, Jaden was on fire: 4-0 turned into a 7-2 lead with only ten minutes to go.

This was The Razor’s first final since 2022 and it was clear he wasn’t going down without a fight as he racked off three consecutive frames, making everyone in the arena wonder If he could pull off a miracle comeback.

However, it was Jaden who showed his class to take out a calm and composed finish to claim his third UP Pro Series title. It’s Jaden’s fourth Series weekend in a row where he has reached a final, and he’s won three of them.

It was ultimately disappointment for Neil Raybone - who had the pleasure of having family in the crowd alongside him at this event - but his performance throughout the tournament should give him plenty of encouragement.

After the match Raybone said: “I started off poorly and it set the tone for the game, when I started to pick up some momentum it was just too late, but all credit goes to Jaden.”

When asked about his recent form, Jaden said: “When I started as a pro, I set my goal to win at least one title, now it’s the aim to just keep going up step by step.”

Women’s Pro Series 5 Report

In the Women’s Pro Series, Event 3 winner Emma Parker started her weekend off with a convincing 6-2 win against Alexandra Cunha in front of a big crowd in Loughborough.

Performance of the round went to new pro Amy Price, who topped the challengers tour last year, as she beat Women’s British Open Champion Casey Ranford-Norrey 7-0.

In the last 16, Beckie Watkins and Amy Beauchamp both qualified safely through to the Quarter Finals as Amy continued to hunt down Beckie’s No.1 ranking.

Alongside them, dark horse of the tournament Adrienne ‘Ade’ Flitcroft-Hurst defeated Emma Parker in the deciding frame, ending Emma’s dreams of another title.

Moving onto the quarters, Adrienne kept up her form with a hugely impressive performance, winning 7-5 against Amy Beauchamp in fine style.

In the semi-finals, Flitcroft-Hurst outclassed her opponent Sarah Wait with a 7-2 win, which marked personal history as she reached her first ever UP final.

In the other semi-final, Beckie Watkins and Danielle Randle took it down to the last minute where it was ‘Bexstar’ who won with a match defining cut shot to the right centre pocket which set her up for the deciding 8 ball.

After the match, Beckie said: “I just thought I have got to go for it.” Which proved to be the boldest but most important decision of her entire tournament.

The women’s final was the first the first Ultimate Pool trophy available this weekend and it was Beckie Watkins who took home the title.

A back-and-forth game was decided with conviction by Beckie, who led in the latter stages after a strong start from Adrienne. With the match clock winding down, Bexstar secured her second Pro Series title with a 5-3 win, ending her recent streak of final defeats and cementing her status as the Women’s No.1.