Shaun Ellis successfully retained the Halifax Closed Championships to secure his third singles title during an enthralling tournament.

Ellis lived up to his billing as top seed to secure the crown but had to do it the hard way, coming back from the brink in three successive matches to eventually bring home the title.

It's a competition that has become notorious for the thrills and spills, and this year was no different as players of all abilities produced some eye-catching results that threw the draws wide open.

In the end, Ellis beat Fraser Riley in the final and saved three championship points to eventually win 13-11 in the fifth and final end of an absorbing contest. 

WTT commentator Riley hadn't had the run to the final he had expected. He was billed to play two-time champion Ben Fillingham in the last sixteen but instead played Ross McFadyen, who produced a sublime performance to win his group after a 3-0 win over Fillingham, whose win over Phil Bell wasn't enough as the group went to countback.

Riley proved too strong for McFadyen on the day, winning in straight ends, and then overcame Cameron Sandhu, who is having a fantastic season, 3-1 to reach the semis.

There he played Simon Rix, who reached the last four for a second successive season. Rix had defeated Josh Poulsen and Djordje Cupac to advance. Cupac went through as group winner following a deuce in the fifth win over Alex Shaw while Poulsen had defeated Matt Fittock to reach the quarters. Fittock had won group two, with Mohamed Bekkaye forced to pull out after doubles. Jake Clarke also had to withdraw after suffering a back injury.

Riley was in good form though and dispatched Rix in three ends to secure his place in the final against Ellis, whose route had been much more complicated. Defeating Muhammad Chishti in the last 16, Ellis then had to show real resilience to fight back from two ends down to defeat Marcus Reynolds, who had two match points at one stage.

After surviving that, Ellis had to craft another comeback against Liam Chipman, who had staged his own return from the brink to beat Matthew Shaw from two games down in the quarters. Chipman established a 2-1, 9-7 lead but once again, Ellis rallied to win and then did so again against Riley to secure his third title.

Ellis had already won the vets earlier in the day, having to stage another, and perhaps his most impressive, comeback in the semis. Trailing 2-0 and 6-0 to Rix, he appeared to be in a world of trouble. But he somehow found a way to pinch the third and then run out victorious in the fifth. The final was more convincing as Ellis beat second seed Phil Bell in straight ends.

Matthew Shaw is still in search of a maiden singles title but the doubles isn't an issue as he won the event for the fifth time, this time with long-term friend James Foster, who picked up his first-ever Closed title.

They beat Mohamed Bekkaye and Fraser Riley 3-1 in the final. Seeded at four, they beat pairings of Ross McFadyen & Matt Curran, Simon Rix & Ben Davies then Nadeem Ahmed & Phil Mann, who produced a shock result to beat top seeds Cameron Sandhu & Marcus Reynolds.

Bekkaye and Riley had knocked out defending champions Alex Shaw and Ben Fillingham convincingly in the semis and fired back well to level the final at one apiece. But Foster's control proved to be the key factor as he stifled Bekkaye & Riley, allowing his pair to take the final two ends comfortably. For Shaw, he now has one eye on Alan Dickinson's Closed Championships record of nine doubles titles.

Foster did come close to winning two titles as he reached the final of the Division One banded event but lost in the final to Bell, who lived up to his top-seed title.

Funnily enough, both players advanced through their groups as runners-up. Bell had lost to rising youngster Muhammad Chishti in what was a very impressive result, backing up winning the Juniors final over Alfie Mawson earlier in the day. Foster had lost to Ahmed, who came so close to a win over Bell in the quarter-finals before Bell showed steel to save match point. He then defeated Ben Davies in the semis to advance.

Foster beat Phil Mann and then Chishti to reach the final, but Bell proved the better of the two in the final, winning in straight ends.

Another rising youngster is Dhruvan Khartik and he won the Division 2 banded competition, defeating the top two seeds along the way. Rapidly improving Khartik produced an impressive display to beat Phil Gatehouse in the semis before defeating Ed Bowen in the final, who had made the championship match by defeating Keith Hudson. 

Khartik had come so close to producing a big shock in the singles, leading 2-1 against seasoned Division 1 player Phil Mann before losing 11-8 in the fifth. Fellow junior Humphrey Hall also produced an excellent performance to take an end off Marcus Reynolds in the afternoon.

The Division 3 final was won by Lee Richardson, who responded to a group-stage defeat to Dominic Hodgson to earn revenge in the final. Hodgson had defeated Jackie Wood to reach the final while Richardson overcame Leigh Bulgacs.

Halifax Closed Championships 2025 results

Singles
Winner: Shaun Ellis
Runner up: Fraser Riley 

Doubles 
Winner: Matthew Shaw & James Foster
Runner up: Mohamed Bekkaye & Fraser Riley 

Vets
Winner: Shaun Ellis
Runner up: Phil Bell

Juniors
Winner: Muhammad Chishti 
Runner up: Alfie Mawson 

Div 1
Winner: Phil Bell
Runner up: Foster 

Div 2
Winner: Dhruvan Khartik
Runner up: Ed Bowen

Div 3
Winner: Lee Richardson 
Runner up: Dominic Hodgson