Former England international Craig Brown claimed pool gold in Serbia before reaching a darts final playing left-handed following shoulder surgery.
The 32-year-old Newport sportsman enjoyed a successful weekend in the northeastern Serbian town of Kikinda, winning all 6 matches in a pool tournament, including an emphatic victory over a former Serbian amateur billiards champion, before narrowly missing out on a second title in a darts pairs competition.
Brown had travelled to Serbia to visit friends Petar and Milan Reljić, whom he met at a World Darts Federation ranking event in Romania 2 years earlier. The brothers arranged pool and darts tournaments to coincide with his visit, giving the former England darts and snooker international an opportunity to test himself against Serbian opposition.
The pool competition took place on Friday at the Bilijar Art venue, where Brown made an impressive start with 3 convincing victories. He opened with a 5-1 win before following up with 5-2 and 5-3 successes to reach the quarter-finals without being taken to a deciding frame.
His next opponent was Milan Čubrilo, the 2023 Serbian amateur billiards champion, who presented one of the toughest challenges of Brown’s campaign. However, the Newport player produced an outstanding performance to defeat Čubrilo 5-1 and book his place in the semi-finals.
Brown maintained his excellent form against Nikola Pećanac, recording another comprehensive 5-1 victory to advance to the final, where he faced Jovan Gligorin. With the gold medal at stake, the Islander delivered another commanding display, defeating Gligorin 5-2 to complete an unbeaten tournament and secure the title shortly before 01:00.
Across his 6 matches, Brown won 30 frames while conceding just 10, underlining the consistency of his performances throughout the competition.
There was further success the following day when Brown returned to competitive darts for the first time in approximately 10 months, partnering his Serbian friend Petar Reljić in a pairs tournament.
The competition represented a significant challenge for Brown, who had undergone shoulder surgery and switched to throwing with his left hand. Despite his lengthy absence from tournament action and the difficulties of adapting to a different throwing technique, the former England international progressed through the competition with his Serbian partner.
Brown and Reljić won 5 matches to reach the semi-finals, where they defeated Duća and Kele 4-0 to secure a place in the final against Igi and Pepa.
The championship match went all the way to a deciding leg, with Brown and Reljić narrowly losing 5-4 to miss out on completing a Serbian double. Nevertheless, the runners-up finish represented an encouraging return to competitive darts for the Islander after almost a year away from tournament action.
The experience has rekindled Brown’s enthusiasm for darts, with the former England international now keen to return to regular practice and develop his left-handed game. Having concentrated on pool in recent times, his success in Serbia has provided fresh motivation to compete at a higher level once again.
Brown also thanked Petar, Milan, Ina, Gradimir, Nikša, Andjelka and Don Reljić for organising the tournaments and looking after him during his 5-day visit, promising to return to Serbia in the future.
