Snooker competition law battle: Analysing NST’s claim against World Snooker Tour at the CAT
The landscape of professional sports continues to evolve as breakaway competitions challenge established governance structures through competition law. This trend, which gained significant attention following football's European Super League controversy in April 2021, has now reached the world of snooker.
In January 2025, NST Worldwide Limited (NST Worldwide) launched a competition damages claim in the UK's Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) against the World Snooker Tour (WST) and the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA), marking the sport's latest encounter with competition law scrutiny.[1]
The WPBSA is the world governing body for the sports of snooker and billiards. The WST is the main professional snooker tour, which is administered by the WPBSA. To participate in the WST, a player must be a WPBSA member.
NST Worldwide is claiming that contracts between World Snooker and players prevent players from participating in events organised by competing promoters.
This article examines the legal foundations of NST Worldwide's challenge, draws lessons from snooker's pioneering 2002 competition law case, and explores the broader implications for sports governing bodies navigating an increasingly complex regulatory environment.
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- Tags: Anti-Trust | Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) | Competition Law | Dispute Resolution | Snooker | United Kingdom (UK) | World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) | World Snooker Tour (WST)
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Written by
Jason Shardlow-Wrest
Jason is an English law-qualified dispute resolution lawyer and Managing Associate at Linklaters. He has a broad practice in litigation matters, including advising domestic and international clients on complex and high value commercial and competition litigation issues. His experience in sports includes advising a number of different sporting stakeholders on wide-ranging issues, including matters of competition law, as well as the application and interpretation of broadcasting contracts in the context of COVID-19.
