The WPA and CSI to Produce the 2019 WPA Players Championship in Las Vegas
Jan 7, 2019
The World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA) and CueSports International (CSI) are excited to announce a collaboration to produce the 2019 WPA Players Championship. The event will be staged at Griff’s Billiards in Las Vegas, April 16-19, ahead of the US Open 9-Ball Championship, which will be held April 21-26 at Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. This WPA Category 3 Ranking event, with $50,000 added prize money, will provide players, especially those competing in the US Open 9-Ball Championship, even more opportunity in Las Vegas.
WPA President, Ian Anderson said, “The WPA is delighted to be staging its
own ranking event in the legendary hub of pool, Las Vegas. Our goal is for this event to be the first of
more to follow.”
The event
will be limited to 64 players in a single elimination format with a 32-player
consolation event for those eliminated in the first round. The main event will be a race to seven with
the semi-final and final being a race to nine.
The consolation event will be a race to five with the semi-final and
final being a race to seven. 48 of the
64 players in the main event will be chosen by the WPA rankings and WPA member
federations. A single $250 entry fee
will cover the main event and the consolation tournament.
The
remaining 16 spots will be filled by four qualifier tournaments, one per day,
held at Griff’s Billiards April 12-15.
The top four finishers from each qualifier will receive a paid spot in
the main event. A single *$250 qualifier
entry fee allows players to compete in all four qualifiers and will also gain
free entry into the main event for those who qualify. Qualifiers will be single elimination, race
to five and open to anyone not already entered in the main event. The field is limited to 96 players each day
on a first come basis. Details will be
available soon on how and where to enter.
(*a daily
entry of $100 is an option)
“We are honored to assist the WPA in producing this event,” said CSI CEO,
Ozzy Reynolds. “Professional pool is
experiencing a resurgence in the U.S. and we are glad to be part of it. This is great for the players and the entire
industry."
Prize funds are guaranteed by the
WPA, and the payouts for the main event and consolation tournament will be as
follows.
Main Event Payouts
1 -
$10,000
2 -
$7,000
3/4 -
$5,000 ea.
5/8 -
$3,000 ea.
9/16 -
$1,500 ea.
17/32 -
$400 ea.
Consolation Tournament Payouts
1 -
$1,500
2 -
$1,000
3/4 -
$500 ea.
5/8 -
$250 ea.
9/16 -
$150 ea.
Mark Griffin, owner of Griff’s Billiards, said, “We are thrilled that the
WPA chose Griff’s as the host location for this event and we are excited to be
part of the continued growth of professional pool.”
All other
details will be released in the coming weeks at https://wpapool.com/wpa-players-championship/.
The World
Pool-Billiard Association (WPA) is the international governing body for pocket
billiards and is comprised of six member federations representing North America,
South America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia. The WPA is the world-recognized body for
sanctioning World Championship events.
It is also one of the three member organizations of the World
Confederation of Billiards Sports (WCBS), representing the billiard disciplines
of pool, snooker and carom. For more
information about the WPA, visit www.wpapool.com.
CueSports
International (CSI) is an international pool league and event leader and is
currently comprised of three divisions: CSI leagues, CSI events and CSI
media. CSI leagues manages the BCA Pool
League and USA Pool League, CSI
events produces numerous amateur and professional events around the globe and
CSI media creates live streaming and digital content. Through its vision and strategic alliances,
CSI is “shaping the future of pool.” For
more information about CSI or any of its divisions, visit www.playcsipool.com
or find CueSports International on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Twitter.
Media
Contacts
Grieta
Steenkamp
World
Pool-Billiard Association
events@wpapool.com
Greg
Ekborg
Marketing
Director, CueSports International
866-USA-POOL
greg@playcsipool.com