Yet although the Jersey star secured the open singles crown against 2022 world champion of champions Sam Tolchard, who more recently has been ranked as highly as 16th internationally, he felt his best bowls came in the semi-final against Guernsey great Ali Merrien.
The three-time British Isles gold medallist triumphed 6-5, 6-4 against Merrien, whose status and connections in the top levels of bowls had been pivotal in bringing this high-level competition to the Hougue du Pommier.
‘She’s done loads in Guernsey and she’s won so much internationally as well, and to beat her on her own carpet was an incredible feeling,’ the 34-year-old said.
‘That’s probably the best game I’ve played in a long time.’
With a ‘Worlds’ place at Potters on the line, a classy field of 46 took to Guernsey Indoor Bowls Stadium for a history-making singles competition on Saturday.
Kris Bichard went the joint-furthest from a Sarnian perspective, also reaching the semis.
But his great run ended there as Torquay’s Tolchard defeated him 11-4, 6-5 to make the final.
By that point it had already been a long day. Having already fought out five matches beforehand, de Sousa seemed to be running out of steam, and he lagged 7-0 in the first set.
He battled back valiantly only to lose the set 8-4, though a comeback from three shots down in the second earned him a 6-4 win and a chance to clinch the title on a three-end tie-break.
De Sousa did exactly that. He won that tie-break 2-0 against a bowler he further described as ‘one of the best players that England have ever produced’.
‘The game wasn’t as close as Ali’s game in the level of bowls being played, but still after five games, the sixth game is a bit draining,’ he added.
‘I rate him as the best player in the UK, so to beat him was a special feeling.’
De Sousa had gone in well-prepared, fresh from the Champion of Champions in Australia, where he played on a similar-speed carpet and identical format.
But the successful international had to pay compliment to the Guernsey Indoor Bowling Association’s organisational skills.
‘Everyone’s been amazing – the umpires, all the markers, you know, it’s run like clockwork.
‘There’s been no mistakes. It’s just like they’ve been hosting it for 20 years, not like it’s their first year.
‘Ali Merrien’s obviously done a great job to secure the qualifier.
‘Fingers crossed it was a success and the Channel Islands can host more to come.’
You need to be logged in to comment. If you had an account on our previous site, you can migrate your old account and comment profile to this site by visiting this page and entering the email address for your old account. We'll then send you an email with a link to follow to complete the process.