Former World Masters Champion Josh Kane is fast becoming one of the most consistent and respected competitors on the 8-Ball Pool scene.

It didn’t take the Coventry cueist long to adapt to the senior ranks of the sport after plenty of success and silverware in the junior divisions, and he is now proving himself on the Ultimate Pool scene.

An English under-18 finalist in 2012, two years later he became the Home Internationals Under-21 Singles Champion in Aberdeen after defeating England youth squad teammate Craig Lauder in the final. In this age group, he was also a member of two World Team Championship winning England sides.

At under-23 level he reached the final of the European Championship in 2016 where he lost in a deciding frame but scooped another Home Internationals prize in 2017 after he once again denied Lauder in the title match.

Kane’s transition into big senior events was seamless and he first triumphed at that degree in 2016 when he got the better of David McQuillan 6-4 in the final of the Nations Cup.

The biggest accolade of his career so far, though, came in the summer of 2017 as he recovered from 4-2 down to see off Lee Kendall 10-5 in the final of the 2017 World Masters – a prestigious event that features hundreds of international entrants.

He has since continued to bolster his CV; a World Championship semi-final came in 2018, whilst in 2019 he won an EPA Tour event and was runner-up in the EPA Tour Premier League. During the short spell of competitive action possible in 2020 Kane made the final of the UK Amateur Championship.

In 2021, Kane reached the final of a World Rules Pool Tour Main Event where he was pipped in a deciding frame by Arfan Dad. However, at the same venue in Daventry a fortnight later, Kane defeated Steve Petty 6-1 in the title match to win the fifth and final Jason Owen Open event of the WRPT season.

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Best UPG Tournament Results

Professional Series: 2x Event Quarter-Finalist (2021 Events 2 & 3)
Professional Cup: Last 48 (2021)
Champions League: Group A winner - had to subsequently withdraw due to Covid (2020/21)
Professional Grand Slam: Joint 25th (2022)
Masters: Semi-Finalist (2021)
Champion of Champions: N/A
Pairs Cup: Joint 9th (2021/22)

Kane is already proving to be one of Ultimate Pool’s most solid performers.

He won the opening group in the Champions League but was unable to take up his place in the last eight of the competition due to a positive coronavirus test result.

At the subsequent Masters tournament, Kane defeated Tony Blount, Jordan Church, Declan Brennan and Karl Sutton before his impressive run was ended by eventual champion Phil Harrison in the semi-finals.

Kane also picked up several wins on the inaugural Professional Series, winning at least a match in each of the first four events - highlighted by two quarter-final runs.

Alongside fellow Coventry resident Jon McAllister, Kane won Group 2 of the Eative Ultimate Pool Pairs Cup and the duo eventually finished the tournament joint ninth.

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