Draft:World Nineball Tour
Submission declined on 29 September 2025 by GoldRomean (talk).
Where to get help
How to improve a draft
You can also browse Wikipedia:Featured articles and Wikipedia:Good articles to find examples of Wikipedia's best writing on topics similar to your proposed article. Improving your odds of a speedy review To improve your odds of a faster review, tag your draft with relevant WikiProject tags using the button below. This will let reviewers know a new draft has been submitted in their area of interest. For instance, if you wrote about a female astronomer, you would want to add the Biography, Astronomy, and Women scientists tags. Editor resources
|  |
 | |
| Sport | Pool |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2023 |
| Owner | Matchroom Sport |
| CEO | Emily Frazer |
| Country | Worldwide |
| Headquarters | Brentwood, United Kingdom |
| Broadcasters | Sky Sports, Viaplay, DAZN |
| Streaming partner | wnttv |
| Official website | matchroompool |
The World Nineball Tour (WNT) is the main professional pool tour on the international cue sports circuit, focused on the discipline of nine-ball. Established in 2022 by Matchroom Sport, the tour serves as a global ranking system and competitive framework for elite players. The WNT calendar features major open tournaments, regional ranking events, and qualifiers held worldwide, alongside seasonal invitational tournaments, such as the Mosconi Cup.
The tour is designed to unify professional nine-ball under a single structure, culminating in flagship tournaments such as the World Pool Championship and the US Open Pool Championship.12
History
[edit]The World Nineball Tour was launched in 2022 by Matchroom Sport, the sports promotion company led by Barry Hearn and Emily Frazer. Its creation was aimed at standardising the professional game of nine-ball and providing a transparent global ranking system.
Early milestones included the integration of established tournaments such as the US Open Pool Championship and the World Pool Championship into the ranking calendar. The introduction of the WNT rankings system allowed players to accumulate points across events, influencing seedings, qualification for majors, and invitations to team competitions such as the Mosconi Cup.3
By 2024, the WNT calendar expanded to include events in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and the United States, positioning itself as one of the most significant developments in the professionalisation of cue sports in the 21st century.4
Format
[edit]The WNT is built around a rolling two-year ranking list. Players earn points, equivalent to prize money gained, based on performance in official WNT events, with greater weight given to major tournaments. The system determines qualification for flagship competitions, seeding in brackets, and eligibility for invitational events.
Tournaments on the WNT calendar are categorised by their importance and prize fund, ranging from continental open events to major world championships.5
Structure of Tournaments
[edit]The World Nineball Tour is organized into a tiered system of events, with ranking points and prize money scaled according to category.
| Category | Example Tournaments | Ranking Points (approx.) | Typical Prize Pool |
|---|---|---|---|
| World Pool Championship | World Pool Championship, US Open Pool Championship, Hanoi Open Pool Championship | $1,000,000 Total Ranking Points | $250,000–$325,000+ |
| Major Opens | UK Open, European Open, Asian Open | High points (e.g. 6,000–8,000 for winner) | $200,000–$300,000 |
| Tour Events / Regional Opens | International Open, Middle East Open, continental events | Medium points (e.g. 2,000–4,000 for winner) | $50,000–$150,000 |
| Qualifiers | Regional/world qualifiers for majors | Low points (e.g. 500–1,000 for winner) | Typically under $25,000 |
| Invitational Competitions | Mosconi Cup, Reyes Cup, World Pool Masters | Non-Ranking Events | Appearance fees and prize fund vary |
This tiered structure ensures that players can progress from local or regional qualifiers into the Tour’s highest-profile competitions, while the global calendar provides ranking opportunities across multiple continents.
Events
[edit]The World Nineball Tour includes both established and newly created tournaments. Among the most prominent are:
- World Pool Championship – The sport’s official world championship, sanctioned by the WPA.
- US Open Pool Championship – One of the oldest and most prestigious nine-ball events.
- UK Open Pool Championship – A Matchroom-organized event launched as part of the WNT calendar.
- European Open Pool Championship – Hosted annually in Germany.
- Hanoi Open Pool Championship – Part of the WNT’s expansion into Asia.
In addition to these flagship events, regional tournaments and qualifiers contribute to the WNT ranking structure.67
Rankings
[edit]The WNT uses a rolling two-year points system. Rankings are updated after each event, with higher-category tournaments offering greater points. The player ranked No. 1 is recognized as the world’s leading nine-ball player, with the rankings also used for seeding purposes.
Notable players who have reached the top of the WNT rankings include Francisco Sánchez Ruíz, Joshua Filler, and Fedor Gorst.8
Reception and Impact
[edit]The creation of the World Nineball Tour has been described as a significant development in the modernization of cue sports. Advocates argue that the tour provides consistency, transparency, and improved opportunities for players worldwide. Media coverage has expanded, with events broadcast on television and streamed internationally via platforms such as DAZN and Sky Sports.910
Critics, however, have raised questions about scheduling conflicts, the relationship with existing national federations, and the impact on non-nine-ball cue sports.11
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- Matchroom Sport. World Nineball Tour marks new dawn for pool. (2022). Matchroom Pool ↩
- Forbes (2024). Emily Frazer: Driving innovation with the World Nineball Tour. Forbes ↩
- AZBilliards (2023). World Nineball Tour announces blockbuster August swing across America. AZBilliards ↩
- Kozoom (2024). The World Nineball Tour lands in Bosnia & Herzegovina. Kozoom ↩
- Matchroom Sport. World Professional Nineball Pool Corporation launches. (2023). Matchroom Pool ↩
- Sky Sports (2024). World Nineball Tour announce Reyes Cup between Asia and Europe live on Sky Sports. Sky Sports ↩
- AZBilliards (2025). LiveSB.io announced as title sponsor of Florida Open and US Open. AZBilliards ↩
- WPA Rankings (2024). World Nineball Tour Rankings. [World Pool-Billiard Association] (official ranking list). ↩
- DAZN (2023). World Nineball Tour expands broadcast partnership. [DAZN News] ↩
- Sky Sports (2024). Coverage of World Nineball Tour events. [Sky Sports] ↩
- Absolute Pool (2024). How Matchroom and WPA controversy has unfolded so far as debacle reaches crossroads. Absolute Pool ↩
- Promotional tone, editorializing and other words to watch
- Vague, generic, and speculative statements extrapolated from similar subjects
- Essay-like writing
- Hallucinations (plausible-sounding, but false information) and non-existent references
- Close paraphrasing
Please address these issues. The best way is usually to read reliable sources and summarize them, instead of using a large language model. See our help page on large language models.