WPA World Nine-ball Championship

The WPA World Nine-ball Championship is an annual, international, professional nine-ball pool (pocket billiards) tournament, founded in 1990, sanctioned by the World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA), and principally sponsored and organised by Matchroom Sport (who provide the event's official website, under the less specific name World Pool Championship). It is divided into Men's, Women's and Wheelchair Divisions, and is presently held in Doha, Qatar.

History

The first World Nine-ball Championship was held in 1990. 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 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, meanwhile, instead organised what it 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. The WPA was impressed by the professionalism of Matchroom's event organising and promotion, and the two parties agreed that, starting in 2000, the Matchroom and WPA tournaments would merge into a single official world championship, organised by Matchroom. The WPA also agreed to recognise the results of the 1999 Matchroon event, meaning that official listings show both Varner and Reyes as 1999 world...
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