The WPA World Nine-ball Championship is an annual professional
nine-ballpool tournament contested since 1990. The championship is sanctioned by the
World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA) and principally sponsored and organised by
Matchroom Sport, who provide the event's official website branded as World Pool Championship. The championship is divided into men's, women's and wheelchair divisions.
History
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In the summer of 1989, the
World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA) began plans for a world championship tournament. The group sent invitations, rules, sports regulations and by-laws. Reception was positive, and a provisional Board was created.[1]
In March 1990, the inaugural WPA World Nine-ball Championship was held in
Bergheim, Germany. The playing field included 32 men and 16 women in separate divisions, and has since become an annual event. The event was organised solely by the WPA from this inauguration through 1999.[2]
In July 1999,
Matchroom Sport attempted to get involved with the organisation of the event, but their bid failed. The WPA event was played in
Alicante,
Spain, and won by
Nick Varner of the
United States. Broadcast on
ESPN, it was the first pro nine-ball championship to be televised. Matchroom Sport, meanwhile, instead organised tournament called the "World Professional Pool Championship", a competing and non-WPA-sanctioned event in
Cardiff,
Wales, which was won by
Efren Reyes of the
Philippines.[3]
In 2000, Matchroom and the WPA agreed that tournaments would merge into a single official world championship. The WPA also agreed to recognise the results of the 1999 Matchroom event, meaning that official listings show both Varner and Reyes as 1999 world champions. Matchroom changed its promotional name for the event to the "World Pool Championship", dropping the word "professional" from the title. The event remained in Cardiff through 2003.[2]
In 2001, the number of competitors in the men's division was increased to 128 and a men's division first prize raised to
$65,000.[2][4]
The
2004 and
2005 events were held in
Taiwan, with a men's division first prize of $75,000 as of 2004.[2] The 2005 tournament saw two rules changes: last 64 and last 32 matches were extended to
race-to-10 format, and the
pockets on the tables were narrowed, to make the game more difficult.[5]
In
the 2006 event, the Philippines became the host country for two years. All matches became alternating-
break all the way from the group stages to the finals. Men's division first prize escalated to $100,000. In
2007, the event ran from November 3–11, and
Daryl Peach of the
England was the victor. Because of the global
late-2000s recession the championship did not reappear on the calendar in 2008. For some time neither Matchroom nor the WPA released any predictions regarding its reinstatement, and no 2009 event was held, either.[6]
After a two-year hiatus, the tournament returned as the
2010 WPA World Nine-ball Championship in
Doha,
Qatar.
Francisco Bustamante of the Philippines won the 2010 title.[7] The event was then held annually in Doha through 2019.[8] After not being contested in 2020 due to the
COVID-19 pandemic, the championship resumed in 2021 in
Milton Keynes, England. The 2022 edition is scheduled for April 6–10 in Milton Keynes.[9]
Earl Strickland holds the record for winning the WPA World Nine-ball Championship the most times: three. (1990, 1991, 2002).
Earl Strickland holds the record for the most consecutive wins: two. (1990, 1991).
Albin Ouschan holds the record for the most final appearances: 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 Jiaqing of
Chinese Taipei, aged 16 years old at the time of his victory.