The WPA World Nine-ball Championship is an annual professional nine-ball pool tournament contested since 1990. The championship is sanctioned by the World Pool Association (WPA) and principally sponsored and organized by Matchroom Sport, who promote the event as the World Pool Championship. The championship has men's, women's, youth and wheelchair divisions.

History

In the summer of 1989, the World Pool-Billiard Association (now the World Pool Association or WPA) began plans for a world championship tournament. They created a provisional Board to oversee the creation of a tournament. The event was one of the first time the world's top nine-ball players met in a competition. The inaugural WPA World Nine-ball Championship was held in Bergheim, Germany. A men's event contested between 32 players was won by Earl Strickland and a 16-player women's event won by Robin Bell. A junior's event was first played in 1992, won by Hsia Hui-kai and a wheelchair event was created in 1999 first won by Bob Calderon. The event was organised solely by the WPA from this inauguration through 1999.

In July 1999, Matchroom Sport attempted to get involved with the organisation of the event, but their bid failed. The 1999 event was played in Alicante, Spain, and won by Nick Varner. Broadcast on ESPN, it was the first pro nine-ball championship to be televised. Matchroom Sport, meanwhile, instead organised a new tournament called the "World Professional Pool Championship", a competing event in Cardiff, Wales, which was won by Efren Reyes and broadcast on Sky Sports.Reyes is world 9-ball champion! Philippine Balita Today – July 26, 1999 With the World Professional Pool Championship being successful, the WPA and Matchroom agreed to merge their two tournaments, with both 1999 events being considered as official world championships. Matchroom continued to promote and organise the event until 2007 when it was not held after they were unable to fund it due to the 2008 financial crisis.

For the 2001 event, the number of competitors in the men's division was increased to 128 and a men's division first prize raised to $65,000 from $17,500. The event stayed in Wales until 2003. The prize money continued to increase. The 2004 and 2005 events were held in Taiwan, with a men's division first prize of $75,000. The on the tables were narrowed, to make the game more difficult. The tournament moved to the Philippines in 2006 and 2007. the event ran from November 3–11, and Daryl Peach of the England was the victor.

After a two-year hiatus, the tournament returned being organised by the WPA as the 2010 WPA World Nine-ball Championship in Doha, Qatar. The event was then held annually in Doha through 2019. Prize money had reduced, with the winner's prize being $36,000, only rising to $40,000 by 2018. After not being contested in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the championship resumed in 2021 in Milton Keynes, England. The 2022 edition was April 6–10 in Milton Keynes.

Winners

YearDatesLocationWinnerRunner-upFinal score1990March 3–7Bergheim, West Germany Earl Strickland Jeff Carter3–1 (sets)1991May 29 – June 5Las Vegas, United States Earl Strickland Nick Varner9–71992April 1–5Taipei, Taiwan Johnny Archer Bobby Hunter13–121993December 7–12Königswinter, Germany Chao Fong-pang Thomas Hasch2–0 (sets)1994November 2–6Chicago, United States Takeshi Okumura Yasunari Itsuzaki9–61995November 15–19Taipei, Taiwan Oliver Ortmann Dallas West11–91996October 23–27Borlänge, Sweden Ralf Souquet Tom Storm11–11997October 1–5 Chicago, United States Johnny Archer Lee Kun-fang9–31998November 11–15Taipei, Taiwan Kunihiko Takahashi Johnny Archer13–31999 July 18–26Cardiff, Wales Efren Reyes Chang Hao-ping17–81999 December 5–12Alicante, Spain Nick Varner Jeremy Jones13–82000July 1–9Cardiff, Wales Chao Fong-pang Ismael Páez17–62001July 14–22 Mika Immonen Ralf Souquet17–102002July 13–21 Earl Strickland Francisco Bustamante17–152003July 12–20 Thorsten Hohmann Alex Pagulayan17–102004July 10–18Taipei, Taiwan Alex Pagulayan Chang Pei-wei17–132005July 2–10Kaohsiung, Taiwan Wu Jia-qing Kuo Po-cheng17–162006November 4–12 Pasay, Philippines Ronato Alcano Ralf Souquet17–112007November 3–11 Quezon City, Philippines Daryl Peach Roberto Gomez17–152008Not held due to the 2008 financial crisis20092010June 29 – July 5Doha, Qatar Francisco Bustamante Kuo Po-cheng 13–72011June 25 – July 1 Yukio Akakariyama Ronato Alcano 13–112012June 22–29 Darren Appleton Li Hewen13–122013September 2–13 Thorsten Hohmann Antonio Gabica13–72014June 16–27 Niels Feijen Albin Ouschan13–102015September 7–18 Ko Pin-yi Shane Van Boening13–112016August 1–4 Albin Ouschan Shane Van Boening13–62017December 5–14 Carlo Biado Roland Garcia13–52018December 10–20 Joshua Filler Carlo Biado13–102019December 13–17 Fedor Gorst Chang Jung-lin13–112020Not held due to the COVID-19 pandemic2021June 6–10Milton Keynes, England Albin Ouschan Omar Al-Shaheen13–92022April 6–10 Shane Van Boening Albin Ouschan13–62023February 1–5Kielce, Poland Francisco Sánchez Ruiz Mohammad Soufi13–102024June 3–8Jeddah, Saudi Arabia Fedor Gorst Eklent Kaçi15–142025July 21–26 Carlo Biado Fedor Gorst15–13

Records Earl Strickland holds the record for winning the WPA World Nine-ball Championship the most times with three. (1990, 1991, 2002). He also holds the record for the most consecutive wins with two. (1990, 1991). Albin Ouschan holds the record for the most final appearances with four. (2014, 2016, 2021, 2022). The oldest pool player to ever win the tournament to date is Nick Varner of the United States, at 51 years old at the time of his victory, The youngest is Wu Jia-qing of Chinese Taipei, aged 16 years old at the time of his victory.

Top performers

Name Nationality Winner Runner-up Finals or better appearances Earl Strickland 3 0 3 5 6 Albin Ouschan 2 2 4 4 8 Johnny Archer 1 3 5 10 Carlo Biado 4 7 Fedor Gorst 2 3 3 Chao Fong-pang 0 5 Thorsten Hohmann 2 6 Ralf Souquet 1 2 3 6 11 Shane Van Boening 4 9 Alex Pagulayan 1 2 3 7 Francisco Bustamante Nick Varner 3 Ronato Alcano 2 Efren Reyes 0 1 7 Takeshi Okumura 5 Wu Jia-qing Francisco Sánchez Ruiz 4 Ko Pin-yi 1 9 Mika Immonen Oliver Ortmann 6 Kunihiko Takahashi 5 Niels Feijen Darren Appleton 4 Joshua Filler Daryl Peach 3 Yukio Akakariyama 1 Kuo Po-cheng 0 2 2 3 5 Lee Kun-fang 1 1 2 4 Eklent Kaçi 2 Tom Storm 4 Chang Jung-lin 1 Dallas West Jeremy Jones Antonio Gabica 3 Omar Al-Shaheen Chang Hao-ping 2 Mohammad Soufi Li Hewen Roberto Gomez Bobby Hunter 1 Chang Pei-wei Ismael Páez Jeff Carter Roland Garcia Thomas Hasch Yasunari Itsuzaki

Active participants are shown in bold. Only players who reached the final are included. Final stage appearances relates to players who reach the last 16 players of the event. In the event of identical records, players are sorted in alphabetical order by first name.

See also

References

External links World Pool-Billiard Association