View source for WPA World Ten-ball Championship

{{short description|World Championship in pool, played in Ten-ball}}
{{Infobox Sports league
| current_season = 2024 WPA World Ten-ball Championship
| logo = 
| pixels = 200px
| caption = 
| sport = [[Pool (cue sports)|Pool]]
| founded = 2008
| champion = [[Carlo Biado]]
| champ_season = 2024
| most_champs = <!--if more than one-->
| website = {{url|wpapool.com}}
| related_comps = [[WPA World Eight-ball Championship|Eight-ball]], [[WPA World Nine-ball Championship|Nine-ball]]
| Founder = [[World Pool-Billiard Association]]
}}
The '''WPA World Ten-ball Championship''' is a professional [[ten-ball]] [[Pool (cue sports)|pool]] tournament sanctioned by the [[World Pool-Billiard Association]] (WPA). The event was first held in 2008 in the [[Philippines]], followed by playings there in 2009 and 2011. After not being contested for several years, it was resurrected in 2015 by boxer [[Manny Pacquiao]], who successfully campaigned to the WPA for the championship to be moved from [[Metro Manila]] to [[General Santos]]. An event was announced in June 2018, but was postponed until relocating to the [[Las Vegas Valley]] in 2019. The scheduled 2020 championship was canceled due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]]. The most recent playings have been held in the fall of 2021 and the spring of 2022.

==History==
[[File:MC2008 M08 019 - Mika Immonen.jpg|thumb|right|2009 champion [[Mika Immonen]]]]
In 2008 the '''World Ten-ball Championship''' was held, with prizes totaling [[United States dollar|US$]]400,000 ([[Philippine peso|₱]]18,860,000), was held at the [[Philippine International Convention Center]], [[Manila]], September 29 through October 5, 2008. There were 128 players competing, representing 44 countries. [[Vice-President of the Philippines]] [[Noli de Castro]] made the ceremonial opening break shot, witnessed by officials of the WPA, [[International Olympic Committee]], [[Philippine Sports Commission]], [[Philippine Olympic Committee]], [[Billiards and Snooker Congress of the Philippines]], and tournament organizer Raya Sports.<ref name="ABSCBN 2008-09-29">[http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/sports/09/29/08/world-ten-ball-kicks-manila-128-main-draw ''ABS-CBNNews.com'', "World Ten Ball Kicks Off in Manila; 128 in Main Draw"]</ref>

In the final, England's [[Darren Appleton]] defeated Nineteen-year-old [[Wu Jia-qing]], who was using a borrowed [[cue stick]], winning $100,000.<ref>[http://sports.inquirer.net/inquirersports/inquirersports/view/20081005-164648/Pulpuls-magical-run-ends sports.inquirer.net, "Pulpul's Magical Run Ends"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130620203703/http://sports.inquirer.net/inquirersports/inquirersports/view/20081005-164648/Pulpuls-magical-run-ends |date=June 20, 2013 }}</ref><ref>[http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/sports/10/04/08/pulpul-fails-reach-world-10-ball-finals abs-cbnnews.com, "Pulpul Fails to Reach World 10-Ball Finals"]</ref> Appleton was also quoted as saying: "Pool is an easy choice for me as a sport as I have to choose among boxing, football and pool among others. But this victory is sweeter for me and I have to dedicate this to my parents, whose relationship is in the rocks. With the $100,000 grand prize, first, I have to give some to my parents, because we had a difficult way of living."<ref>[http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=sports2_oct6_2008 ''Manila Standard Today'', "Appleton's 16-year Wait Over"]</ref><ref>[http://www.iht.com/articles/reuters/2008/10/05/sports/OUKSP-UK-POOL-WORLD.php  ''IHT.com'', Appleton Wins World 10-ball Title]</ref>

WPA president [[Ian Anderson (snooker player)|Ian Anderson]] would later announce: "This early, there's a strong clamor for the WTBC and it will definitely be back next year in Manila. It will be staged October of next year and there's also the Philippine Open to be held June 2009. I think Manila is the best place to go in hosting pool and it is living up to its billing as the pool Mecca in Asia."<ref>[http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/sports/10/05/08/appleton-makes-history-1st-world-ten-ball-champ  abs-cbnnews.com, Appleton makes history as 1st World Ten Ball champ]</ref> The event would later take place in 2009, being won by Finn [[Mika Immonen]], and then again in 2011 by Dutchman [[Huidji See]]. A later event was reimagined by boxer [[Manny Pacquiao]] in 2015, with the event being won by Taipei's [[Ko Pin-yi]].

On July 30, 2018, the WPA announced the return of the World Ten-ball Championship.<ref name="return">{{Cite web |title=Press Release - World 10-Ball Championship - WPA Pool |work=WPA Pool |date=June 30, 2018 |url-status=dead |url=http://wpapool.com/press-release-world-10-ball-championship/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180817034959/http://wpapool.com/press-release-world-10-ball-championship/ |archive-date=August 17, 2018 }}</ref> The event was set to take place in the Philippines,<ref name="return"/> but was later postponed. Taipei's [[Ko Ping-chung]] won the 2019 event, which took place in Las Vegas.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ko Wins Thriller Over Filler, Crowned Predator World 10-Ball Champion |work=WPA Pool |date=July 27, 2019 |url-status=live |url=https://wpapool.com/ko-wins-thriller-over-filler-crowned-predator-world-10-ball-champion/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125003600/https://wpapool.com/ko-wins-thriller-over-filler-crowned-predator-world-10-ball-champion/ |archive-date=January 25, 2021}}</ref> The 2020 edition of the championship was postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2021 edition was won by Albanian [[Eklent Kaçi]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.azbilliards.com/tournament/9310-wpa-world-10-ball-championship-2021/?action=results |title=WPA World 10-Ball Championship 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211213201947/https://www.azbilliards.com/tournament/9310-wpa-world-10-ball-championship-2021/?action=results |archive-date=December 13, 2021 |url-status=live |website=azbilliards.com |access-date=May 18, 2022 }}</ref> and the 2022 edition was won by Pole [[Wojciech Szewczyk]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.azbilliards.com/tournament/9744-wpa-world-10-ball-championship-2022/?action=results |title=WPA World 10-Ball Championship 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220518092106/https://www.azbilliards.com/tournament/9744-wpa-world-10-ball-championship-2022/?action=results |archive-date=May 18, 2022 |url-status=live |access-date=May 18, 2022}}</ref>

==Winners==

The following is a list of Men's WPA World Ten-Ball Champions.
{| border="1" style="border-collapse:collapse; text-align:center; font-size:90%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0"
|- bgcolor="#C1D8FF"
!rowspan="2" width="5%"| Year
!rowspan="2" width="10%"| Host
| rowspan="11" width="1%" bgcolor="ffffff" |
!colspan="3" |Final
| rowspan="11" width="1%" bgcolor="ffffff" |
!rowspan="2" colspan="2"| Semifinalists
|- bgcolor="EFEFEF"
!width="15%"| Winner
!width="8%"| Score
!width="15%"| Runner-up
|-
|[[2008 WPA World Ten-ball Championship|2008]]
|rowspan=4|{{flag|Philippines}}
|'''{{Flagicon|England|size=30px}}<br />[[Darren Appleton]]'''
|'''13–11'''
|{{Flagicon|Chinese Taipei|size=30px}}<br />[[Wu Jiaqing]]
|{{Flagicon|Philippines|size=30px}}<br />[[Demosthenes Pulpul]]
|{{Flagicon|Netherlands|size=30px}}<br />[[Niels Feijen]]
|-
|[[2009 WPA World Ten-ball Championship|2009]]
|'''{{Flagicon|Finland|size=30px}}<br />[[Mika Immonen]]'''
|'''11–6'''
|{{Flagicon|Philippines|size=30px}}<br />[[Lee Vann Corteza]]
|{{Flagicon|Philippines|size=30px}}<br />[[Antonio Lining]]
|{{Flagicon|Spain|size=30px}}<br />[[David Alcaide]]
|-
|[[2011 WPA World Ten-ball Championship|2011]]
|'''{{Flagicon|Netherlands|size=30px}}<br />[[Huidji See]]'''
|'''11–8'''
|{{Flagicon|China|size=30px}}<br />[[Fu Jianbo]]
|{{Flagicon|Philippines|size=30px}}<br />[[Carlo Biado]]
|{{Flagicon|Japan|size=30px}}<br />[[Yukio Akakariyama]]
|-
|[[2015 WPA World Ten-ball Championship|2015]]
|'''{{Flagicon|Chinese Taipei|size=30px}}<br />[[Ko Pin-yi]]'''
|'''11–9'''
|{{Flagicon|Philippines|size=30px}}<br />[[Carlo Biado]]
|{{Flagicon|Chinese Taipei|size=30px}}<br />[[Ko Ping-chung]]
|{{Flagicon|Spain|size=30px}}<br />[[David Alcaide]]
|-
|[[2019 WPA World Ten-ball Championship|2019]]
|rowspan=5|{{flag|United States}}
|'''{{Flagicon|Chinese Taipei|size=30px}}<br />[[Ko Ping-chung]]'''
|'''10–7'''
|{{Flagicon|Germany|size=30px}}<br />[[Joshua Filler]]
|{{Flagicon|Chinese Taipei|size=30px}}<br />[[Ko Pin-yi]]
|{{Flagicon|Japan|size=30px}}<br />[[Masato Yoshioka]]
|-
|[[2021 WPA World Ten-ball Championship|2021]]
|'''{{Flagicon|Albania|size=30px}}<br />[[Eklent Kaçi]]'''
|'''10–6'''
|{{Flagicon|Japan|size=30px}}<br />[[Naoyuki Ōi]]
|{{Flagicon|Philippines|size=30px}}<br />[[Johann Chua]]
|{{Flagicon|Singapore|size=30px}}<br />[[Aloysius Yapp]]
|-
|[[2022 WPA World Ten-ball Championship|2022]]
|'''{{flagicon|POL|size=30px}}<br />[[Wojciech Szewczyk]]'''
|'''10–8'''
|{{flagicon|PER|size=30px}}<br />[[Christopher Tévez]]
|{{flagicon|ALB|size=30px}}<br />[[Eklent Kaçi]]
|{{flagicon|SCO|size=30px}}<br />[[Jayson Shaw]]
|-
|[[2023 WPA World Ten-ball Championship|2023]]
|'''{{flagicon|ALB|size=30px}}<br />[[Eklent Kaçi]]'''
|'''10–7'''
|{{flagicon|ESP|size=30px}}<br />[[Francisco Sánchez Ruíz]]
|{{flagicon|RUS|size=30px}}<br />[[Fedor Gorst]]
|{{flagicon|GER|size=30px}}<br />[[Joshua Filler]]
|-
|[[2024 WPA World Ten-ball Championship|2024]]
|'''{{flagicon|PHI|size=30px}}<br />[[Carlo Biado]]'''
|'''3–1'''
{{#tag:ref|Unlike in previous editions of the tournament, this score is based on sets, not racks. In this case, each set is played in race to four racks. Biado won 3 sets (4-1, 4-2, and 4-1) while Oi won 1 (4-3).|group="note"}}
|{{flagicon|JPN|size=30px}}<br />[[Naoyuki Ōi]]
|{{flagicon|EST|size=30px}}<br />[[Denis Grabe]]
|{{flagicon|USA|size=30px}}<br />[[Fedor Gorst]]
|}

===Top performers===

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:100%; text-align: center;"
|-
! Name
! Nationality
! Winner
! Runner-up
! {{nobreak|Semi-final}}<br />or better
|-
|align="left" | '''[[Eklent Kaçi]]'''
|align="left"|{{ALB}}
|2
|rowspan="1" |0
|3
|-
|align="left" | '''[[Carlo Biado]]'''
|align="left"|{{PHI}}
|rowspan="7" |1
|rowspan="1" |1
|rowspan="1" |3
|-
|align="left" | '''[[Ko Ping-chung]]'''
|align="left"|{{TPE}}
|rowspan="6" |0
|rowspan="2" |2
|-
|align="left" | '''[[Ko Pin-yi]]'''
|align="left"|{{TPE}}
|-
|align="left" | [[Darren Appleton]]
|align="left"|{{ENG}}
|rowspan="4" |1
|-
|align="left" | [[Huidji See]]
|align="left"|{{NED}}
|-
|align="left" | '''[[Mika Immonen]]'''
|align="left"|{{FIN}}
|-
|align="left" | '''[[Wojciech Szewczyk]]'''
|align="left"|{{POL}}
|}

* Active participants are shown in '''bold'''.
* In the event of identical records, players are sorted in alphabetical order by first name.

==Women==
The following is a list of Women's WPA World Ten-Ball Champions.
{| border="1" style="border-collapse:collapse; text-align:center; font-size:90%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0"
|- bgcolor="#C1D8FF"
!rowspan="2" width="5%"| Year
!rowspan="2" width="10%"| Host
| rowspan="27" width="1%" bgcolor="ffffff" |
!colspan="2" |Final
| rowspan="27" width="1%" bgcolor="ffffff" |
!rowspan="2" colspan="2"| Semifinalists
|- bgcolor="EFEFEF"
!width="20%"| Winner
!width="20%"| Runner-up
|-
|[[2009 WPA Women's World Ten-ball Championship|2009]]
|rowspan=5|{{flag|Philippines}}
|'''{{Flagicon|PHL|size=30px}}<br />[[Rubilen Amit]]'''
|{{Flagicon|TPE|size=30px}}<br />[[Liu Hsin-mei]]
|{{Flagicon|JPN|size=30px}}<br />[[Akimi Kajitani]]
|{{Flagicon|AUT|size=30px}}<br />[[Jasmin Ouschan]]
|-
|[[2010 WPA Women's World Ten-ball Championship|2010]]
|'''{{Flagicon|AUT|size=30px}}<br />[[Jasmin Ouschan]]'''
|{{Flagicon|KOR|size=30px}}<br />[[Kim Ga-young (pool player)|Kim Ga-young]]
|{{Flagicon|ENG|size=30px}}<br />[[Kelly Fisher]]
|{{Flagicon|PHL|size=30px}}<br />[[Rubilen Amit]]
|-
|[[2011 WPA Women's World Ten-ball Championship|2011]]
|'''{{Flagicon|ENG|size=30px}}<br />[[Kelly Fisher]]'''
|{{Flagicon|TPE|size=30px}}<br />[[Tsai Pei-Chen]]
|{{Flagicon|KOR|size=30px}}<br />[[Kim Ga-young (pool player)|Kim Ga-young]]
|{{Flagicon|CHN|size=30px}}<br />[[Han Yu (pool player)|Han Yu]]
|-
|[[2012 WPA World Women's Ten-ball Championship|2012]]
|'''{{Flagicon|KOR|size=30px}}<br />[[Kim Ga-young (pool player)|Kim Ga-young]]'''
|{{Flagicon|CHN|size=30px}}<br />[[Chen Siming]]
|{{Flagicon|CHN|size=30px}}<br />[[Fu Xiaofang]]
|{{Flagicon|KOR|size=30px}}<br />[[Cha Yu-ram]]
|-
|[[2013 WPA World Women's Ten-ball Championship|2013]]
|'''{{Flagicon|PHL|size=30px}}<br />[[Rubilen Amit]]'''
|{{Flagicon|ENG|size=30px}}<br />[[Kelly Fisher]]
|{{Flagicon|CHN|size=30px}}<br />[[Han Yu (pool player)|Han Yu]]
|{{Flagicon|TPE|size=30px}}<br />[[Tsai Pei-Chen]]
|-
|[[2022 WPA World Women's Ten-ball Championship|2022]]
|rowspan=2|{{flag|Austria}}
|'''{{Flagicon|TPE|size=30px}}<br />[[Chou Chieh-yu]]'''
|{{Flagicon|TPE|size=30px}}<br />[[Wei Tzu-chien]]
|{{Flagicon|AUT|size=30px}}<br />[[Jasmin Ouschan]]
|{{Flagicon|ENG|size=30px}}<br />[[Kelly Fisher]]
|-
|[[2023 WPA World Women's Ten-ball Championship|2023]]
|'''{{Flagicon|PHI|size=30px}}<br />[[Chezka Centeno]]'''
|{{Flagicon|CHN|size=30px}}<br />[[Han Yu]]
|{{Flagicon|ENG|size=30px}}<br />[[Allison Fisher]]
|{{Flagicon|ENG|size=30px}}<br />[[Kelly Fisher]]
|-
|[[2024 WPA World Women's Ten-ball Championship|2024]]
|{{flag|Puerto Rico}}
|'''{{Flagicon|RUS|size=30px}}<br />[[Kristina Tkach]]'''
|{{Flagicon|KOR|size=30px}}<br />[[Seo Seoa]]
|{{Flagicon|PHI|size=30px}}<br />[[Chezka Centeno]]
|{{Flagicon|AUT|size=30px}}<br />[[Jasmin Ouschan]]
|}

==Mixed teams==
The following is a list of Men's & Women's WPA World Mixed Teams Ten-Ball Champions.
{| border="1" style="border-collapse:collapse; text-align:center; font-size:90%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0"
|- bgcolor="#C1D8FF"
!rowspan="2" width="5%"| Year
!rowspan="2" width="10%"| Host
| rowspan="27" width="1%" bgcolor="ffffff" |
!colspan="2" |Final
| rowspan="27" width="1%" bgcolor="ffffff" |
!rowspan="2" colspan="2"| Semifinalists
|- bgcolor="EFEFEF"
!width="20%"| Winners
!width="20%"| Runner-up
|-
|[[2022 WPA World Mixed Teams Ten-ball Championship|2022]]<ref>{{cite web|title=PH pool trio crushes Great Britain to rule Predator World Teams 10-Ball Championship|publisher=rappler.com|url=https://www.rappler.com/sports/billiards-results-philippines-great-britain-predator-world-teams-10-ball-championship-september-11-2022/|accessdate=2 January 2023}}</ref>
|{{flagicon|Austria}} [[Austria]]
|'''{{Flagicon|PHI|size=30px}}<br />[[Rubilen Amit]]<br />[[Carlo Biado]]<br />[[Johann Chua]]'''
|{{Flagicon|GBR|size=30px}}<br />[[Kelly Fisher]]<br />[[Jayson Shaw]]<br />[[Darren Appleton]]
|{{Flagicon|GER|size=30px}}<br />[[Pia Filler]]<br />[[Joshua Filler]]<br />[[Thorsten Hohmann]]
|{{Flagicon|TPE|size=30px}}<br />[[Chou Chieh-yu]]<br />[[Wu Kun-lin]]<br />[[Chang Jung-lin]]
|-
|[[2023 WPA World Mixed Teams Ten-ball Championship|2023]]<ref>{{cite web|title=2023 Predator WPA World Teams Championship|publisher=probilliardseries.com|url=https://probilliardseries.com/world-teams-2023/stage-1/|accessdate=13 November 2023}}</ref>
|{{flagicon|Puerto Rico}} [[San Juan, Puerto Rico|San Juan]]
|'''{{Flagicon|GER|size=30px}}<br />[[Pia Filler]]<br />[[Joshua Filler]]<br />[[Moritz Neuhausen]]'''
|{{Flagicon|TPE|size=30px}}<br />[[Chou Chieh-yu]]<br />[[Chang Jung-lin]]<br />[[Wu Kun-lin]]
|{{Flagicon|AUT|size=30px}}<br />[[Jasmin Ouschan]]<br />[[Albin Ouschan]]<br />[[Mario He]]
|{{Flagicon|POR|size=30px}}<br />[[Sara Rocha]]<br />[[João Grilo]]<br />[[Miguel Silva (pool player)|Miguel Silva]]
|}

==Notes==
{{Reflist|group="note"}}

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

{{World pool championship}}
{{World pool champions}}
{{Cue sports nav}}
{{Main world championships}}

[[Category:WPA World Ten-ball Championship| ]]
[[Category:World championships in pool]]
[[Category:Recurring sporting events established in 2008]]