The Predator 2021 WPA World Junior 9-Ball Championship is being relocated from Las Vegas to the Sportpark in Klagenfurt, Austria. Their event will be held in conjunction with the Predator Austria Open which will take place October 6-10, 2021, with juniors able to play alongside top professional players.
With travel restrictions to the United-States being a constraint for a number of foreign junior participants, it made it difficult for families to organize travel in early September and therefore impacted the decision to move the event.
“The current reality is that the United States has Covid-related travel restrictions that make it impossible for this event to take place on US soil,” said BCA Communications Manager Shane Tyree. “We wish all competitors good luck in Austria as they compete in the 2021 Predator WPA World Junior 9-Ball Championship.”
“Predator is very excited to bring this event back after its one-year hiatus due to the pandemic and is dedicated to making this event take place for all of our young talented pool players,” said CEO of Predator Group Karim Belhaj. “Juniors are the future of the sport and we want to inspire more young players to play our beloved game.”
“The WPA is excited to partner with Predator to bring the World Junior 9-Ball Championship to the world stage after missing out in 2020 through the global problems of Covid-19,” said WPA President Ian Anderson. “This event is often regarded as our most important world championship as it is all about the next generation of players and the future of our sport.”
The field will consist of a max of 96 players in three categories: boys under 19, boys under 17, and girls under 19. Junior players will be competing next to professional players during the Austria Open under the same professional conditions. The juniors will take the stage with the finals being livestreamed on Kozoom in the same arena as the Predator Austria Open.
The event will be played on the new Predator Pro Table, Arcadia Reserve cloth and using Predator’s Arcos II Reserve balls which are the official table, cloth and balls of the 2021 Predator WPA Junior World 9-Ball Championship. For more information on the official equipment, visit www.predatorcues.com.
Predator Group’s mission is to inspire billiard fans by providing innovative experiences and products that deliver high-performance, with unsurpassed class and style. Predator, Poison and Uni-Loc are Predator Group brands that focus on performance pool cues, billiard balls, cloth, and accessories. For more information regarding Predator Group’s products, visit predatorcues.com, poison
原預定於9月在美國舉辦的 Predator 世界青少年9號球錦標賽，受目前前往美國的旅行限制規定影響，使許多參賽的青少年球員家庭難以在9月初安排旅行，因此決定將賽事從拉斯維加斯移師至奧地利克拉根福的 Sportpark Klagenfurt 舉行，比賽日期並改期到10月6-10日與歐巡賽奧地利公開賽同時進行，小球員們也將與職業球員們比鄰作戰。
BCA傳訊經理 Shane Tyree 說道: “目前的現況是美國有 Covid 相關的旅行限制，這也致使賽事不可能在美國本土舉行。我們祝願所有參賽者在奧地利取得好成績。”
美洲豹 (Predator) 集團執行長 Karim Belhaj 表示: “美洲豹很高興能在因疫情而中斷一年後重新舉辦世界青少年9號球錦標賽，並致力於為我們所有的年輕球員舉辦這項賽事。青少年是這項運動的未來，我們希望能激勵更多的年輕球員一同加入到我們所鍾愛的這項運動中。”
“2020年賽事因全球疫情影響而停辦，如今 WPA 很高興與美洲豹攜手合作將世界青少年9號球錦標賽推向世界舞台。這項賽事通常被視為我們最重要的世界錦標賽，因為它關乎到我們一代球員以及這項運動的未來。” WPA 主席 Ian Anderson 說道。
包含U19 男子、U17男子與U19女子 三個組別在內的至多有96名球員參加。屆時，奧地利公開賽期間，青少年球員們將在相同的專業準平下與職業球員們比鄰並肩作戰，奧地利公開的主桌也將成為青少年世錦賽決賽的場地，並於 Kozoom 上進行直播。
美洲豹的撞球桌 (Predator Pro Table)、球台布 (Arcadia Reserve cloth) 以及 Arcos II Reserve 將為2021年世界青少年9號球錦標賽的官方指定用球、球桌、球台布。
CN/Alison