World Pool Championships 2025, July 21-26, Jeddah

[sjm]

The rowdy is fueled by alcohol, which you are not going to find in SA.

My experience is different. I've attended both the UK Open and the Mosconi in London. Although much alcohol was consumed by attendees at both events, the crowd was super-rowdy at the Mosconi but quite tame at the UK Open. I think the difference is that the fans care much more about a Europe vs USA match than they do about who wins between two of the game's biggest stars. This needs to change.

I found it interesting that half of them were finger-snapping instead of clapping, then you would hear clapping in the background for some other match.

Bottom line is that the Saudi fans did not show up. How they cheered and/or jeered is beside the point.

 

[datnodude]

Mic up the players, bring the heart monitors back. I want trash talk, I want beef, theatrics. Im not saying make it wwe, but eklent seems to have a lot of disdain about stuff, mic him up during the match. Filler can definitely be a villain, shaw can be entertaining. Players should be allowed to talk a little, to a certain point without "sharking". I agree with the tournaments feeling the same. What's different other then the tables, highlight that. Maybe the US open has tighter pockets or the Florida open has 10 ft table. I don't know, just throwing stuff out there

 

[mikepage]

If you took a look at the fields that were produced in Cardiff, you would not say this. Earl's win in 2002 was against a field of absolute beasts. The fields were internationally diverse by then.

Turns out I wrote a BD article about that 2002 Cardiff event ;-). Here are the blast-from-the-past names

 

[sjm]

Turns out I wrote a BD article about that 2002 Cardiff event ;-). Here are the blast-from-the-past names

View attachment 840752

Thanks for sharing.

That's a serious gathering of Interntional champions that shows that the biggest stars of America, Asia and Europe were coming to the World 9ball by then.

As we know, today's fields are even tougher.

 

[jsp]

Turns out I wrote a BD article about that 2002 Cardiff event ;-). Here are the blast-from-the-past names

View attachment 840752

Lee Van, Hohmann, Alcaide, and Pagulayan still participating in the WPC after 23 years.

 

[Raph Cleary]

Wake up. Josh is having a great year. At rotation games in 2025, he has won the Derby City 9ball, the Estonian Open, the Longoni Open, and the European Open. Gorst is still without a 9ball or 10ball title in 2025.

Josh, Fedor, and Shane all have two WPA sanctioned World Championships. Carlo has three, including his World 10 ball title. All of them have also won at the US Open. Josh has three China Open titles, while none of the others have managed even one. Josh has a World Games gold medal, a UK Open title and a European Open title, while none of the others have any of them.

Unless we are talking Earl's eight "major" majors (3 World 9ball, 5 US Open), there's no catching up to be done. Shane's got 7, (1 Word 9ball, 1 World 8ball, 5 US Open), Josh has 6 (1 World 9ball, 1 World 8ball, 1 US Open, 3 China Open), Fedor has three (2 World 9ball, 1 US Open), Biado has 4 (2 world 9ball, 1 World 10ball, 1 US Open). It might be too late for Carlo and Shane to pass Earl, but Josh and Fedor are young and may well pass him one day. Yes, they are that good.

If this is the bench mark, in rotation, for the modern era (WPA Worlds-8,9,10, U.S Open, China Open, All Japan)-
Earl- 8
Shane- 7 *
Filler- 6 *
Pin-yi- 6 *
Wu- 5 *
Efren - 5
Biado- 4 *
Thorsten- 4 *
Immonen- 4 *
Souquet- 4 *
Darren- 4
Okumura- 4
Chang- 4

*Currently Active

 

[sjm]

If this is the bench mark, in rotation, for the modern era (WPA Worlds-8,9,10, U.S Open, China Open, All Japan)-
Earl- 8
Shane- 7 *
Filler- 6 *
Pin-yi- 6 *
Wu- 5 *
Efren - 5
Biado- 4 *
Thorsten- 4 *
Immonen- 4 *
Souquet- 4 *
Darren- 4
Okumura- 4
Chang- 4

*Currently Active

Nice list. That's some real pool royalty right there, and Earl deserves that spot at the top. We'll see if anyone can get to nine. I think Josh and Fedor may both have what it takes.

 

[Raph Cleary]

Nice list. That's some real pool royalty right there, and Earl deserves that spot at the top. We'll see if anyone can get to nine. I think Josh and Fedor may both have what it takes.

If you count the U.K Open & European Open, although still in there early years, filler is already on 8, but only if these are included.

 

[Island Drive]

If this is the bench mark, in rotation, for the modern era (WPA Worlds-8,9,10, U.S Open, China Open, All Japan)-
Earl- 8
Shane- 7 *
Filler- 6 *
Pin-yi- 6 *
Wu- 5 *
Efren - 5
Biado- 4 *
Thorsten- 4 *
Immonen- 4 *
Souquet- 4 *
Darren- 4
Okumura- 4
Chang- 4

*Currently Active

I remember hearing about an 8 pack 10 ball Kaci moment before his injury.

 

[axejunkie]

If this is the bench mark, in rotation, for the modern era (WPA Worlds-8,9,10, U.S Open, China Open, All Japan)-
Earl- 8
Shane- 7 *
Filler- 6 *
Pin-yi- 6 *
Wu- 5 *
Efren - 5
Biado- 4 *
Thorsten- 4 *
Immonen- 4 *
Souquet- 4 *
Darren- 4
Okumura- 4
Chang- 4

*Currently Active

Wu might have the highest winning percentage? That guy is a freak of pool and hope we can see him play again.

 

[pt109]

I remember hearing about an 8 pack 10 ball Kaci moment before his injury.

That was on Alex….he lost the lag in a race to 8…..and stayed in his chair.

 

[Island Drive]

His situation with the game kinda reminds me of Dustin Johnson 6'6'' golfer that when he hit his stride yrs ago, it was like Scotty Scheffler, cept he could hit it further, bigger man.
Dusting rented a home to play in an event here in the states a few yrs back, he tripped on his way in or out of the home and the injury set em back when he was Ahead of the pack.
He's never played like that again, I'm hopin Kaci will.
A big guy can do more with longer arms.

 

[AtLarge]

In all fairness, Earl didn't have to deal with the insane playing field now. ...

Here's what I found regarding Earl's path to victory in his 3 WPA World 9-Ball titles.

1990 -- Bergheim, Germany. 32 players. Single elimination. Best 3 out of 5 races to 5.

1. Bengt Pedersen, score not given​

2. Ralf Souquet, 3-2 sets (2-5, 5-4, 3-5, 5-1, 5-1)​

3. Allen Hopkins, 3-1​

4. Nick Varner, 3-2 (5-2, 3-5, 5-0, 3-5, 5-2)​

5. Jeff Carter, 3-1 (2-5, 5-4, 5-0, 5-0)​

​

1991 -- Las Vegas. 64 players. Single elimination. Best 3 out of 5 races to 5 except for a single-set race to 9 in the semifinal and final.

1. Luo Suey, 3-0 (5-2, 5-1, 5-4)​

2. Takeshi Okumura, 3-0 (5-2, 5-3, 5-0)​

3. Howard Vickery, 3-0 (5-0, 5-0, 5-1)​

4. Ralf Souquet, 3-1 (5-2, 5-1, 4-5, 5-1)​

5. Takeshi Toda, 9-3​

6. Nick Varner, 9-7​

​

2002 -- Cardiff, Wales. 128 players. Round robin in 16 groups of 8, with the top 4 from each group progressing to a single-elimination Last 64.

Group stage -- opponents and scores not given​

Last 64 -- Gary Ponting, 9-5​

Last 32 -- Sin-Young Park, 9-6​

Last 16 -- Jeremy Jones, 11-8​

Quarterfinal -- Kunihiko Takahashi, 11-3​

Semifinal -- Takeshi Okumura, 11-5​

Final -- Francisco Bustamante, 17-15​

​

Sources: Pool & Billiard Magazine and Billiards Digest

 

[sjm]

If you count the U.K Open & European Open, although still in there early years, filler is already on 8, but only if these are included.

These are definitely not on a par with the others. In my books, they are still all chasing Earl.

I suspect that both Josh and Fedor will catch Earl, but we shall see.

 

[pt109]

Here's what I found regarding Earl's path to victory in his 3 WPA World 9-Ball titles.

1990 -- Bergheim, Germany. 32 players. Single elimination. Best 3 out of 5 races to 5.

1. Bengt Pedersen, score not given​

2. Ralf Souquet, 3-2 sets (2-5, 5-4, 3-5, 5-1, 5-1)​

3. Allen Hopkins, 3-1​

4. Nick Varner, 3-2 (5-2, 3-5, 5-0, 3-5, 5-2)​

5. Jeff Carter, 3-1 (2-5, 5-4, 5-0, 5-0)​

​

1991 -- Las Vegas. 64 players. Single elimination. Best 3 out of 5 races to 5 except for a single-set race to 9 in the semifinal and final.

1. Luo Suey, 3-0 (5-2, 5-1, 5-4)​

2. Takeshi Okumura, 3-0 (5-2, 5-3, 5-0)​

3. Howard Vickery, 3-0 (5-0, 5-0, 5-1)​

4. Ralf Souquet, 3-1 (5-2, 5-1, 4-5, 5-1)​

5. Takeshi Toda, 9-3​

6. Nick Varner, 9-7​

​

2002 -- Cardiff, Wales. 128 players. Round robin in 16 groups of 8, with the top 4 from each group progressing to a single-elimination Last 64.

Group stage -- opponents and scores not given​

Last 64 -- Gary Ponting, 9-5​

Last 32 -- Sin-Young Park, 9-6​

Last 16 -- Jeremy Jones, 11-8​

Quarterfinal -- Kunihiko Takahashi, 11-3​

Semifinal -- Takeshi Okumura, 11-5​

Final -- Francisco Bustamante, 17-15​

​

Sources: Pool & Billiard Magazine and Billiards Digest

I have mixed feelings about the Django/Pearl match….there was a death in the family for Francisco….and his wife talked him into staying and playing.

 

[sjm]

I have mixed feelings about the Django/Pearl match….there was a death in the family for Francisco….and his wife talked him into satying and playing.

It was one of the greatest finals on record, with two superstars playing like superstars.

The ability of the Filipinos to compartmentalize personal tragedy was even more evident at the PBT Florida Flare Up event in what I believe was 1996, which I attended in Fort Lauderdale. Shortly before his first match, Efren Reyes learned that his father had died. Efren then proceeded to lose his opening round match to David Howard. After making arrangements to fly to his father's funeral a few nights later, Efren started to string some wins together and before you knew it, he found himself in the final against Archer. He absolutely crushed Archer in that final. Wow!

 

[T411]

I have mixed feelings about the Django/Pearl match….there was a death in the family for Francisco….and his wife talked him into satying and playing.

History is always clinical when it comes to sports and at times even cruel. Personal life events are never part of the footnotes. Sickness, death, divorce, depression… they all get erased from the record. All that remains is the stat line. Win or loss. Did you or did you not perform? You never know what goes on in a player’s life during their career. Sometimes the winning ebbs and flows not because of talent or effort, but because life ca hit harder than any game. The scoreboard doesn’t care and neither does history.

I am a huge Django fan. I’ve always loved his game!

 

[mjantti]

Here's what I found regarding Earl's path to victory in his 3 WPA World 9-Ball titles.

1990 -- Bergheim, Germany. 32 players. Single elimination. Best 3 out of 5 races to 5.

1. Bengt Pedersen, score not given​

2. Ralf Souquet, 3-2 sets (2-5, 5-4, 3-5, 5-1, 5-1)​

3. Allen Hopkins, 3-1​

4. Nick Varner, 3-2 (5-2, 3-5, 5-0, 3-5, 5-2)​

5. Jeff Carter, 3-1 (2-5, 5-4, 5-0, 5-0)​

​

1991 -- Las Vegas. 64 players. Single elimination. Best 3 out of 5 races to 5 except for a single-set race to 9 in the semifinal and final.

1. Luo Suey, 3-0 (5-2, 5-1, 5-4)​

2. Takeshi Okumura, 3-0 (5-2, 5-3, 5-0)​

3. Howard Vickery, 3-0 (5-0, 5-0, 5-1)​

4. Ralf Souquet, 3-1 (5-2, 5-1, 4-5, 5-1)​

5. Takeshi Toda, 9-3​

6. Nick Varner, 9-7​

​

2002 -- Cardiff, Wales. 128 players. Round robin in 16 groups of 8, with the top 4 from each group progressing to a single-elimination Last 64.

Group stage -- opponents and scores not given​

Last 64 -- Gary Ponting, 9-5​

Last 32 -- Sin-Young Park, 9-6​

Last 16 -- Jeremy Jones, 11-8​

Quarterfinal -- Kunihiko Takahashi, 11-3​

Semifinal -- Takeshi Okumura, 11-5​

Final -- Francisco Bustamante, 17-15​

​

Sources: Pool & Billiard Magazine and Billiards Digest

2002 Semifinal Bustamante vs Yang is a classic. Both run out like crazy.

Edit:

 

[sjm]

History is always clinical when it comes to sports and at times even cruel. Personal life events are never part of the footnotes. Sickness, death, divorce, depression… they all get erased from the record. All that remains is the stat line. Win or loss. Did you or did you not perform? You never know what goes on in a player’s life during their career. Sometimes the winning ebbs and flows not because of talent or effort, but because life ca hit harder than any game. The scoreboard doesn’t care and neither does history.

I am a huge Django fan. I’ve always loved his game!

Very well said. Who showed up? Who didn't? Who was injured? Who was healthy? Who had personal issues to deal with? After all is said and done, few care about anything but who won the title.

Greatness is measured in titles, and the players we respect the most are the ones with the longest resumes of titles won. Even for most of the events I attended, I cannot remember many of the details.

... but I remember who won.

 

[JAM]

I will never forget the 2006 World Pool Championship (WPC) in Philippines between Ralf Souquet and Ronnie Alcano. The entire audience consisting of Filipinos cheered and chanted Ralf's name over and over again when he hung his head down low, his voice cracking, and tears rolling down his face because of coming in second place once again in the WPC. That was one memorable pool happening. The love that the Filipino people show to players from around the world is quite special.