Two transgender players compete in women’s pool final (2025)

Two transgender players compete in women’s pool final (1)

A professional women’s pool tournament has been hit by protests after the final was contested by two transgender players.

Harriet Haynes and Lucy Smith faced off in the Ultimate Pool Women’s Pro Series Event 2 at Robin Park Leisure Centre in Wigan on Sunday, having each beaten four female-born opponents.

Broadcaster Piers Morgan labelled the event “preposterous” before accusing the sport of “cheating bulls---” on social media. Former Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies called it “b----- ridiculous and grossly wrong in every way”.

Protesters inside the venue shouted, “He’s a man and we stand with Lynne Pinches”, and held up banners saying, “Save women’s sport”, and, “He’s a man”, as Haynes walked past.

Pinches is the player who forfeited a 2023 final in protest at the participation of Haynes and claimed on Monday she was told to leave Sunday’s event by Ultimate Pool.

Credit: X / @JeanHatchet

Jean Hatchet, one of the protesters, wrote on social media: “A man beside us today watching the pool when we stood up to support [Lynne Pinches] shouted, ‘can’t someone throw them out?’ as though we were the misguided pr---s.

“I challenged him and said: ‘Why are you OK with a man playing in the women’s comp?’

“He said: ‘Well she’s earned it, no one’s bothered, they’ve accepted it.’

“I said “women haven’t b----- accepted it!” Ffs men. You KNOW this is wrong. Any decent man would have a word with the lying t--t and tell him to do one.

“Meanwhile women had to console Lynne for being thrown out of watching the sport she loves. If this pic doesn’t break your heart...”

Two transgender players compete in women’s pool final (2)

Pinches claimed on social media: “After a complaint by Harriet Haynes’s partner, I was told to leave the Ultimate Pool [UP] event yesterday. I was wearing my body-cam for my own protection. I removed it upon request after being told no filming in the rooms. To then be told by UP I wasn’t allowed in with or without it.”

Replying to a post by Reduxx Magazine on X, which claimed “two men” were facing each other for a championship title, Morgan wrote: “Why anyone supports this cheating bulls--- is utterly beyond me.”

Haynes won the competition, her path to the title including victories over Megan Proctor and Mary Talbot, while Smith reached the final by knocking out Kirsty-Lee Davies and Danielle Randle along the way.

Two transgender players compete in women’s pool final (3)

The latest controversy comes almost a year and a half after Pinches pulled out of the Women’s Champion of Champions final against Haynes, who was awarded the title.

Pinches later told TalkTV: “Whenever you play a transgender player, even if you win, it doesn’t make any difference because, in your heart, you know it’s unfair.

“This is a category advantage. Being biologically male and playing against females gives you a clear category advantage.

“Every time I play a transgender player, I think about it before, during and after the match, about how unfair it is and how this is a level I can’t reach.

“I watch some of the shots they play, and I think females don’t play these shots down the rails like this and they don’t clear up like this. They [trans women] have a longer reach and a lot of them are taller than us.

“Women have been silenced because of fear of being transphobic. That is why people don’t speak out about this subject. It’s not a gender issue. This is a fairness issue.”

In December 2023, Telegraph Sport revealed that Pinches was among a number of women pool players who had taken the first step towards launching a landmark lawsuit over rules forcing them to play against trans opponents.

Lawyers acting for four complainants submitted a “letter before claim” to the World Eightball Pool Federation (WEPF) and Ultimate Pool Group, accusing the governing bodies of subjecting those born female to “direct sex discrimination and harassment on the grounds of sex”.

Haynes has previously defended her right to compete in the female category, telling the BBC: “Trans women are not a threat to pool. We’re not coming over in droves…there’s nothing to fear.”

The English Pool Association (EPA) and WEPF currently permit transgender athletes to compete without restriction, as stated on the EPA website. However, the EPA’s by-laws regarding transgender athletes have been under review since December 2023.

An Ultimate Pool statement read: “Due to ongoing legal proceedings, Ultimate Pool is currently unable to comment on this specific matter. We hope that we are soon able to clarify our position publicly.

“In short: We love women’s pool. Therefore, we are determined to continue to try our best for the future of the game.

“We understand the need for reasons, sensible debate around this issue but we also stress that Ultimate Pool will not tolerate abuse of any of its hundreds of players on our social platforms.”

Separately, in the United States last weekend, a woman’s disc golfer refused to play against a transgender opponent, instead walking off the course and telling spectators: “Females must be protected in our division. This is unfair. I refuse to play.”

Why do men have an advantage in cue sports?

Men are believed to have an advantage because of factors like body strength and reach, which help in creating a more powerful break. Their larger frame also allows them to hit more difficult shots across the table while having a bigger bridge hand also allows for more room to produce different type of shots.

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