Gary Nicholson from Guisborough became the first ever wheelchair World pool champion after the inaugural championships were held in Blackpool.

He has won numerous trophies in the past in local leagues in both snooker and pool, but this is his proudest achievement so far.

Gary said: "It was great to be the first winner.

"To be honest, I was probably the favourite because I play more eight-ball pool than the rest of the others who were taking part.

"But in the final I was 4-2 down and came back to win 6-4 so I did it the hard way.

As one of the UK's top four wheelchair snooker players he was invited to the tournament where he competed against the other three high-ranking players.

Taking place at the Blackpool Hilton Hotel, Gary was never in trouble in his semi-final, winning 6-2 with a couple of great clearances on the way.

The other semi-final was between number two seed Aslam Abbubaker and Roy Kimberley, seeded number three. Abbubaker took the first frame after mistakes from both players, but after that Kimberley took control having an easy 6-1 win to take him onto the final against Gary.

In the final against Kimberley, Gary gained control of the table and went one frame up immediately and he looked set to double that advantage lead when he potted all the reds. But on the last one he potted the white as he adjusted to a very fast table which allowed Kimberley in to pot the black and level scores.

The frame scores went to two each, then in the fifth frame Kimberley made an unbelievable clearance to take the lead before Gary missed a good chance to make it 3-3 which let in Kimberley to go ahead at 4-2.

With the match played on a first to six frames basis, at this point Gary knew he needed to win the next frame to have any chance of winning the crown

This he did as he clinched the next two frames to level the scores at 4-4.

In the ninth, Gary took control after potting a red off the break, gaining advantage of the table and winning the frame knowing he needed only one more to become the first ever world pool wheelchair champion.

Although not a formality, Gary did the business without too much trouble to clinch the title.

And since his success on the smaller table, Gary admits pool is becoming his preferred game.

He said: "I'm favouring pool a bit more now. I've got more chance of beating a pro at pool than at snooker."

He's gaining valuable experience while competing on the IPA tour against the top professionals in the country and is now looking forward to playing in the European Championships in Dublin next year as well as many other snooker and pool tournaments.

Gary would like to thank his sponsors Tables of Thornaby and the Three Fiddles of Guisborough