History
Prior to 1951, when the first "world amateur" championship was held under the auspices of the Billiards Association and Control Council (based in London),''Northern Ireland Billiards Association Minutes'', p. 133, 5 July 1951 this event was called the ritishEmpire Billiards Championship.''Northern Ireland Billiards Association Minutes'', 1926-50 In 1971, after many years' discussion,''NIBA Minutes'', p. 198, 1959 (Billiards Association of India and BACC discussions on formation of a world body) the World Billiards & Snooker Council was formed, changing its name in 1973 to the International Billiards & Snooker Federation. The name change came about because of the disquiet of many overseas national associations that the same body should oversee both the English domestic game and the game at international level. Consequently, the IBSF took control of the organisation of the non-professional championships of both snooker and billiards. The first winner from outside the British Commonwealth did not occur until 1999. From 2012 to 2015, the IBSF World Billiards Championship was merged with the World Professional Billiards Championship. Under the name ''World Billiards Championship'', tournaments were held in both points and timed format.Champions
References