The World Pool Masters is an annual international nine-ball tournament. Formerly, it was called the European Pool Masters (until 1995) until players from other parts of the globe were invited.
History Throughout much of its history, the tournament has featured sixteen world-class pool players, competing in single-elimination format. In 2010, the number of players was doubled to 32. The first round of the event was played in double elimination with the second round in single-elimination.
In 2011, the tournament reverted to the original 16-player single-elimination format, with each match a race-to-8, winner breaks. The 2011 edition was held in SM North EDSA Mall in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines. Ralf Souquet of Germany won the said tournament for the record-setting sixth time, beating defending champion Dennis Orcollo of the Philippines, 8–5.
For the 2019 World Pool Masters, the field was changed to accommodate 24 players, with seeded players being given a bye through the first round. The 2022 World Pool Masters went back to its original format, inviting 16 players, with 8 seeded players meeting the other 8 in the first round of the single-elimination tournament.
Winners DateLocation WinnerRunner-upFinal score1993Plymouth, England Werner Duregger Ralf Souquet2–1 (sets)1994Doncaster, England Ralf Souquet Jimmy White2–1 (sets)1995Blackpool, England Daryl Peach Lee Kendall2–0 (sets)1996Blackpool, England Ralf Souquet Vincent Facquet2–1 (sets)1997Thurrock, England Earl Strickland Tommy Donlon2–1 (sets)1998Thurrock, England Francisco Bustamante Ralf Souquet11–91999Thurrock, England Alex Lely Efren Reyes7–52000Thurrock, England Ralf Souquet Alex Lely7–32001Thurrock, England Francisco Bustamante Earl Strickland7–62002Milton Keynes, England Ralf Souquet Efren Reyes9–42003Egmond, Netherlands Tony Drago Hsia Hui-kai8–62004Egmond, Netherlands Thomas Engert Oliver Ortmann8–62005Doncaster, England Raj Hundal Rodney Morris8–72006Egmond, Netherlands Ralf Souquet Alex Pagulayan8–42007Egmond, Netherlands Thomas Engert David Alcaide8–52008Las Vegas, United States Alex Pagulayan Mika Immonen8–62009Las Vegas, United States Darren Appleton Nick van den Berg8–42010 Las Vegas, United States Dennis Orcollo Toru Kuribayashi8–32011 Quezon City, Philippines Ralf Souquet Dennis Orcollo8–52012 Kielce, Poland Karol Skowerski Mateusz Śniegocki8–62013Barnsley, England Niels Feijen Darren Appleton8–62014Nottingham, England Shane Van Boening Nikos Ekonomopoulos8–22015Manchester, England Shane Van Boening Darren Appleton8–22017Victoria Stadium, Gibraltar David Alcaide Jayson Shaw8–72018Victoria Stadium, Gibraltar Niels Feijen Shane Van Boening8–42019Victoria Stadium, Gibraltar David Alcaide Alexander Kazakis9–82020Not held due to the COVID-19 pandemic2021Europa Sports Park, Gibraltar Alexander Kazakis Shane Van Boening9–02022Europa Sports Park, Gibraltar Joshua Filler Lo Ho Sum9–62023Brentwood, England Ko Pin-yi Eklent Kaçi13–52024Hildesheim, Germany Fedor Gorst Joshua Filler13–12
Records Ralf Souquet holds the record for winning the World Pool Masters the most times: six. (1994, 1996, 2000, 2002, 2006, 2011). Shane Van Boening holds the record for the most consecutive wins: two. (2014, 2015). The oldest pool player to ever win the tournament to date is Ralf Souquet of Germany, at 42 years old at the time of his victory. The youngest is Daryl Peach of United Kingdom, aged 23 years old at the time of his victory.
Top Performers
Name Nationality Winner Runner-up Finals or better Ralf Souquet6288 Shane Van Boening245 David Alcaide133 Francisco Bustamante02 Niels Feijen4 Thomas Engert3 Darren Appleton1234 Alex Pagulayan125 Earl Strickland4 Alex Lely3 Dennis Orcollo Alexander Kazakis2 Ko Pin-yi13 Fedor Gorst11Joshua Filler22
Active participants are shown in bold. In the event of identical records, players are sorted in alphabetical order by first name.
References
External links Official site Tournament History of the World Pool Masters Pictures from the 2011 World Pool Masters Pictures from the 2010 World Pool Masters World Pool Masters News