Nine-ball is a discipline of the cue sport pool. The game's origins are traceable to the 1920s in the United States. It is played on a rectangular billiard table with pockets at each of the four corners and in the middle of each long side. Using a cue stick, players must strike the white cue ball to pocket nine colored billiard balls, hitting them in ascending numerical order. An individual game is won by the player pocketing the 9-ball. Matches are usually played as a race to a set number of racks, with the player who reaches the set number winning the match.
The Mosconi Cup is an annual nine-ball pool tournament contested since 1994 between teams representing Europe and the United States. Named after American pool player Willie Mosconi, the event is comparable to the Ryder Cup in golf and the Weber Cup in bowling.
Earl "the Pearl" Strickland is an American professional pool player who is considered one of the best nine-ball players of all time. He has won over 100 championship titles and over 50 major titles. In 2006 he was inducted into the Billiard Congress of America's Hall of Fame. He is also known as one of the sport's most controversial players for his outspoken views and his sometimes volatile behavior at tournaments.
David Alcaide Bermúdez is a Spanish pool player. He is a two-time winner of the World Pool Masters, winning the 2017 event, defeating Jayson Shaw 8–7 in the final, and again in 2019 defeating Alexander Kazakis 9–8. Alcaide is a three-time world championship semi-finalist having reached the stage at the WPA World 10-ball Championship, in 2009 and 2015, and the WPA World Eight-ball Championship in 2011.
Nick van den Berg is a Dutch professional pool player. He was the runner up at the 2005 WPA World Eight-ball Championship, where he lost to Wu Chia-ching 11–5 in the final. He is a multiple time winner of events on the Euro Tour, winning 10 tournaments between 2002 and 2017, the fourth highest in the history of the tour. A six-time winner of the European Pool Championships, Van den Berg has represented Europe at the Mosconi Cup on eight occasions, winning the event on six occasions as well as tying the event in 2006.
Marcus Chamat, is a Swedish professional eight-ball and nine-ball pool player. He was nicknamed "Napoleon" due to his personality and standing at 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) tall. He is a two time European Pool Championships winner, and one of the most successful players on the Euro Tour, winning four events, and finishing runner-up on twice. Chamat reached the semi-finals of the 2004 WPA World Nine-ball and the 2008 WPA World Eight-ball Championships, but did not reach the final of a world championship event.
Oliver Ortmann is a German professional pool player from Gelsenkirchen. Ortmann is a three-time world champion, winning the 1995 WPA World Nine-ball Championship and both the 2007 and 2010 Straight pool world championships. Ortmann became the second player to win three WPA world championships. With fourteen wins, he the second most successful player at the European Pool Championships. Ortmann is also the second most successful player on the Euro Tour, winning fourteen events. Ortmann was the non American player to win the U.S. Open Straight Pool Championship, in 1989.
Daryl Peach is an English professional pool player, from Lancashire, who resides in Blackpool, England. He won the 2007 WPA World Nine-ball Championship, where he defeated the Philippines' Roberto Gomez 17–15 in the final to become the first British player to win the WPA World Nine-ball Championship.
Darren Appleton is an English pool player, best known for playing nine-ball and ten-ball pool.
The 2008 Mosconi Cup, the 15th edition of the annual nine-ball pool competition between teams representing Europe and the United States, took place 11–14 December 2008 at the Hilton Conference Center in Portomaso, Malta.
The 2009 Mosconi Cup, the 16th edition of the annual nine-ball pool competition between teams representing Europe and the United States, took place 10–13 December 2009 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Jeremy Jones is a professional pool player. He was the 1998 US Open One Pocket champion, the 2003 US Open 9 Ball champion, and has represented Team USA in the Mosconi Cup on seven occasions. Jones was the runner-up at the 1999 WPA World Nine-ball Championship losing 13–8 to Nick Varner in the final.
Roberto Gomez is a professional pocket billiards player from Zamboanga City, Philippines. Known for 9-ball, he competed in the final of both the 2007 WPA World Nine-ball Championships, and the 2007 World Cup of Pool. Gomez was the first qualifier to reach the final of the WPA World Nine-ball Championships.
The 2011 Mosconi Cup, the 18th edition of the annual nine-ball pool competition between teams representing Europe and the United States, took place 8–11 December 2011 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The 2006 World Cup of Pool was a professional nine-ball pool competition, the first World Cup of Pool, a scotch doubles knockout championship representing 32 national teams. The event was held at the Newport Centre in Newport, Wales, from 22 to 27 August 2006. The event was held as a single-elimination tournament, for a total prize fund of $250,000 with $60,000 being awarded to the winner. The tournament was organised by Matchroom Sport, sponsored by poker website Partypoker, and broadcast on Sky TV.
The 2007 World Cup of Pool was a professional nine-ball pool competition and the second edition of the World Cup of Pool, a scotch doubles knockout championship representing 32 national teams. The event was held in the Outback club in Rotterdam, Netherlands, from 25 to 30 September 2007. The event was held as a single-elimination tournament, for a total prize fund of $250,000 with $60,000 being awarded to the winner. The tournament was organised by Matchroom Sport, sponsored by poker website Partypoker, and broadcast across 31 one-hour episodes.
The 2015 PartyPoker.net Mosconi Cup, the 22nd edition of the annual nine-ball pool competition between teams representing Europe and the United States, took place 7–10 December 2015 at the Tropicana in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The 2019 World Pool Masters was a nine-ball pool tournament which took place in Gibraltar from 29–31 March 2019. It was the 26th edition of the World Pool Masters invitational tournament organised by Matchroom Sport. The event contained increased participation from 16 to 24 players, and increased total prize fund to $100,000. Spaniard David Alcaide won the event, defeating Greece's Alexander Kazakis in the final 9–8, doubling the final ball the length of the table to win. The reigning champion was Dutchman Niels Feijen who defeated Shane Van Boening of the United States in the previous year's final to win the title for the second time in his career. Feijen was defeated in the opening round by Alcaide.
The 2020 Mosconi Cup was a team nine-ball tournament, between teams representing Europe and the United States. It was the 27th edition of the competition and took place between 1–4 December 2020. The event was originally scheduled to be held at the Alexandra Palace in London, however it was moved to the Ricoh Arena in Coventry with the whole event behind closed doors in a Covid-19 secure bubble. The coronavirus pandemic also affected the team selection, with Corey Deuel replacing Justin Bergman for Team USA after Bergman tested positive for Covid-19. Team USA were defending champions, having won the two previous tournaments. After a close first day, Team Europe were 3-2 ahead but only lost one further match, winning the cup 11-3. Jayson Shaw won the Most Valuable Player award for the first time after winning all his singles and doubles matches.
The 2021 U.S. Open Pool Championship was an international nine-ball pool tournament held from 13 to 18 September 2021 in Harrah’s Resort, Atlantic City, New Jersey. It was the 44th entry of the U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships, first held in 1976. Joshua Filler was the defending champion, having won the 2019 U.S. Open Nine-ball Championship. However, Filler lost 4–11 to Aloysius Yapp and 3–11 to Mieszko Fortuński, eliminating him from the tournament. Carlo Biado defeated Yapp 13–8 in the final to become the tournament's first Filipino winner since Efren Reyes in 1994.
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