Pool’s most prestigious title up for grabs once again in Doha, Qatar
By Ted Lerner / WPA Press Officer
The professional pool year will close out in style for 2017 as the WPA World 9-ball Championship kicks off December 9th at the Al Arabi Sports Club in Doha, Qatar.
This will be the 8th straight year that the tiny Gulf country, through the government sanctioned Qatar Billiards and Snooker Federation(QBSF), has put its full backing behind the sport of pool’s biggest and most important event. Once again 128 players from over 40 countries will clash to see who will be crowned the king of 9-ball pool.
As usual the tournament will be run in two brutally difficult parts. The Group stages will run from Dec. 9-11. The players will be broken up into 16 groups of 8 playing a race-to-9, alternate break, double elimination format. Four players from each group will make up the final 64, which marks the start of the always tense and dramatic single elimination phase of the tournament. Matches will then become race to 11, alternate break. The final, which takes place on December 14, will be a race to 13.
In 25 previous editions dating back to 1990, the World 9-ball Championship has always provided the kind of nerve rattling drama that has captured the imagination of pool fans around the globe. It’s that kind of pressure cooker atmosphere that has always weeded out the pretenders to pool’s ultimate crown, and produced a veritable pantheon of pool greats.
These greats make up a who’s who of the sport of pool. Multiple winners of the World 9-ball Championship include the legendary Earl Strickland (1990, ’91, ’02), Johnny Archer (’92, ’97), Taiwan’s Fong Pang Chao (’93, 2000), and Thorsten Hohmann (2003, ’13).
Germany’s Ralf Souquet (’96) and Oliver Ortmann (’95), Finland’s Mika Immonen (’01), the Netherlands Niels Feijen (’14), the Philippines Efren Reyes (’99) Alex Pagulayan (’04), Ronnie Alcano (’06), Francisco Bustamante (’10), England’s Darren Appleton (’12) and Daryl Peach (’07), Taiwan’s Ko Pin Yi (’15) all cemented their status as giants of the game by winning the World 9-ball Championship.
In 2016 Austria’s Albin Ouschan added his name to the illustrious list of champions with a 13-6 drubbing of American Shane Van Boening. It was the second straight year that the talented American star had lost in the finals. In 2015 Van Boening lost out to Taiwan’s Ko.
Who will reign supreme in 2017? Look for players from the Philippines, Taiwan, China, and several European countries to make the biggest impact and likely make a run at the crown. Of course it’s always a crap shoot trying to determine who will rule a field filled with pool giants, newcomers and possible contenders. And as always in pool, the tense and dramatic nature of the format and the event itself.
**The 2017 WPA World 9-ball Championship takes place at the Al Arabi Sports Club Sports Club in Doha, Qatar from December 5-15,2017 The qualifying stages run from Dec. 5-7, while the main draw of 128 players runs from Dec 9-15.
The winner of the 2015 World 9-ball Championship will receive $30,000. The runner up will receive $15,000. The total prize fund is $200,000.
Fans around the world will be able to view many of the matches via the QBSF’s free live streaming platform. Multiple tables will be available to view online at no charge to the public. The WPA will provide more information regarding the live stream in the coming days.
The players will compete on Wiraka DYNASTY Tables with Simonis 860 Cloth, Electric Blue Color and using Aramith Tournament Pro cup TV Pool Balls featuring the new Duramith Technology.
The 2017 World 9-ball Championship is hosted by The Qatar Billiard and Snooker Federation(QBSF), and was sanctioned by the The World Pool Billiard Association, the governing body of the sport of pool.
Fans can interact with us through the WPA’s official Facebook Page for the event at this link;https://www.facebook.com/
The WPA is also on Twitter; @poolwpa
Visit the official website of the WPA at www.wpapool.com