Olivier Chauveau, Patron of Ball in Mind

Olivier Chauveau is not an ambassador who joined along the way.

He is one of the very first players to have believed in the Ball in Mind project, and he is today its patron.

An experienced competitor and a blackball enthusiast, registered with Billard Club Rochelais in La Rochelle, he has been playing on the national and international circuits for many years.

An attacking, spectacular player, Olivier likes to take risks and to find a way out of the toughest positions.

It is a style you can spot from a distance: a player who would rather attempt the right shot than the safe one, and who owns that choice.

A style we have had the pleasure of sharing several times through the Ball in Mind demonstrations.

At the 2022 World Championships, Olivier and Corentin Noury reached the semi-finals of the men’s doubles. Their run then ended in the bronze medal match.

In 2023, he was selected for the France over-40s team at the European Championships in Malta. The team took the bronze medal, after a semi-final of rare intensity, lost 13-12 to England.

One point. Sometimes that is all that separates a disappointment from a great memory.

What defines Olivier is not a pile of world titles. It is a presence, season after season, in the closing stages of the major French competitions.

At the 2025 French Championships, he reached the semi-finals of the National Mixed event, finishing joint third. He also finished second at the Boé National Tournament, and tenth in the national rankings for the 2024-2025 season.

Add to that a Champions League win at an FBEP National Open in Sennecey-le-Grand, and the Maen-Roch individual Grand Prix.

Olivier is one of the first players to have believed in the Ball in Mind project, and he holds a special place in our story as our patron.

With us, patronage is not a contract. It is an honorary title, with no obligation attached, reflecting a bond built over the years.

Since then, he has regularly worn our colours in competition — notably at the 2023 European Championships in Malta — and joins us for demonstrations and blackball events.

His experience, his knowledge of the game and his taste for technical positions make him an excellent ambassador for our vision of billiards: demanding, enjoyable and spectacular all at once.

At trade shows as at tournaments, Olivier takes the time to explain, to let people try, to make them want more. That is probably where he does the game its greatest service.

Bronze medallist with the France over-40s team at the 2023 European Championships in Malta
Semi-finalist in the men’s doubles at the 2022 World Championships, with Corentin Noury

Third at the 2025 French National Mixed Championship
Second at the Boé National Tournament
Tenth in the 2024-2025 national blackball rankings

Winner of the Champions League at an FBEP National Open in Sennecey-le-Grand
Winner of the Maen-Roch individual Grand Prix