Under the sanction agreement between the WPA and Raya Sports, the main provisions and their implications are:
1. The WTBC contract is for an initial term of 5 years, renewable for 3 years. This means that the Philippines will have the event every year up to 2015. We will set early October as the regular date for the championship.
2. The inaugural event is set for September 29-October 5, 2008. The likely venue is the Philippine International Convention Center in the Manila Bay area, site of the 2006 World 9-Ball Pool Championship. International players and fans will be pleased to learn that there are many hotels within walking distance of the venue, notably the Sofitel Philippine Plaza and the Traders Royal Hotel.
3. The WTBC will be open to male and female players. The mixed field will be maintained until the WPA decrees separate world Ten Ball championships for the sexes.
4. The tournament field is 128 players. Players will be selected by the WPA via an allocation system. The great majority of spots will be given to the continental federations, which will then determine representation for their respective regions on the basis of regional and national player rankings. A number of spots will be given outright to the reigning champions of various tournaments and existing world championships. Finally, some 30 spots will be for competition in qualifying tournaments to be held in various cities and in the host country.
5. The prize fund is $400,000, with $100,000 going to the champion. Prizes will be paid up to 80th place in the tournament. Additional prizes will be given to players who record the most golden breaks and the most consecutive break-runouts in the tournament.
6. The new official rules for Ten Ball issued by the WPA will apply in the WTBC and in all qualifying tournaments. The key differences from 9-ball rules are: Ten Ball is a call-shot game and players can play safety while sinking a ball legally.
7. The WTBC will enjoy global TV coverage. It will also be available on live video streaming and video on demand.
Because the WTBC is a new event in the world pool calendar, players will generally have to earn their spots via competition. Some spots will be awarded to the winners of major tournaments for men and women on the calendar. Another batch of spots can be earned through the series of qualifying tournaments that will be organized in Manila and other key cities.
In the Philippines, qualifying events for the WTBC will consist of (1) five international tournaments under the Philippine Pool Tour (PPT), and (2) five qualifiers immediately preceding the WTBC in September. At least 20 spots will be up for grabs in these events.
The Philippine Pool Tour is a series of tournaments that will be staged in various cities of the country. Each event will be open to foreign and Filipino players. Two WTBC spots will be awarded to the top two players of each tournament. Prize funds will range from $40,000 to $80,000, with first prizes ranging from $7500 to $10,000.
A key objective of the PPT is, of course, promoting Ten Ball throughout the country and familiarizing players with the new WPA rules. Although Ten Ball has been the game of choice of Filipinos for several years now, it has not been widely used in tournaments. With the PPT program, we will now have Ten Ball events to complement what is happening in other countries. Particularly noteworthy are the Dragon Promotions events this year: the Predator International Ten Ball Championships (scheduled in May in Las Vegas) and the Korean Professional Pool Championship in Seoul.
Since the news about the WTBC first filtered out, I’ve been asked no end why Raya chose not to exercise its option for a third WPC in Manila and decided instead on the WTBC. I have told Billiards Digest, among others, the reasons why. First, we felt it was time for the professional game to switch to Ten Ball. The game of 9-Ball has become too easy for the pros, and the soft break – so prominent in the last two WPCs -- had made it dull. Ten Ball is the more challenging game, and the pros want the shift. Last December, Jerry Forsyth no less declared in an article for AZBilliards that “9-Ball is dead.” His view is echoed, if more mildly, in a Billiards Digest article last January, which says that Ten Ball may be the best solution to the problems of 9-Ball and the soft break.
There is another reason why we opted for the WTBC instead of the WPC. With Ten Ball, we Filipinos will have our own world championship franchise. The event will be in our country for a minimum of eight years, maybe even permanently. We will have the unique opportunity to grow and develop it into a major international sports event. If we do this thing right and with a little bit of luck, the WTBC could become our Wimbledon in pool.
