The stage is once again set for the 6th annual Chinese 8-Ball Masters tournament. Players from all over the world will soon be converging on the city of Qinhuangdao (just a few hours from Beijing) to take part in the largest Chinese 8-Ball Tournament ever held to date. The stakes are higher, the players are ready, and the competition is once again proving to be more popular, and more fiercely fought than ever before.
Preface – What is Chinese 8-Ball?
Chinese 8-Ball is quickly becoming one of the biggest cue sports in history, having rocketed to incredible popularity in China.
The game of Chinese 8-Ball is essentially a hybrid of every major cue sport – Snooker, American 9-Ball, and 8-Ball Pool. The game uses the traditional 8-Ball Pool rules you’re used to, but on an American 9-Ball sized table, using American sized 2 ¼ inch pool balls, but with Snooker style aperture pockets. This makes the game incredibly challenging, but rewarding to play.
The nature of the game makes it appealing to anyone into any cue sport, owing to the familiar aspects found from each discipline.
For more details, see our dedicated Chinese 8-Ball blog
The Tournament
Following an international qualifying event between the 3rd and 6th of January, qualifying players will be able to compete in the main Masters event.
The main Chinese 8-Ball Masters tournament takes place from the 7th to the 12th of January 2018, and is played in a double elimination format all the way up to the finals.
Each game in the tournament will be played using a special rule set that incentivises attacking, aggressive play from players – Playing either until 13 frames of the game are won by any one player, or whomever is leading after 220 minutes have elapsed.
Whilst these rules are devised to encourage players to take the offensive, the ultimate prize is what all players will be gunning for.
The Prize
The title of World Chinese 8-Ball champion isn’t the only thing up for grabs this time around. Massive interest and growth in the sport has caused the total prize fund to increase to the highest it’s ever been for any cue sport, jumping up to a staggering $300,000, with an eye watering half of that sum going just to the winner.
The huge prize fund has had the entire cue sports world talking. The hybrid nature of the rules and this enormous prize pot has lead to overwhelming interest from players from every cue sport discipline the world over.
The Players
Whilst there are understandably many Chinese players taking part in the tournament, 40 international players are also competing in the tournament as well.
Amongst those invited (and qualified) for the event include American Pool’s Shane Van Boening and even Snooker’s Stephen Hendry. Of all these players though, all eyes will be on the returning champion from the UK – Gareth Potts.
The Returning Champion – Gareth ‘The Golden Boy’ Potts
The Master’s returning champion is the UK’s very own Gareth Potts - Three-time winner of the Chinese 8-Ball Masters.
Gareth has competed in the Chinese 8-Ball Masters for every year since its inception, and has walked away with the trophy three times, only missing out on two separate occasions to Chinese player Fan Yang.
Seeing players from all over the world bringing their own equipment to this brand new game, Gareth soon learned that there was no one cue that particularly stood out as completely ideal for the task. As a result, Gareth designed his own cue specifically for Chinese 8-Ball. Named the Potts cue by Gareth and players alike, the Potts is once again a hybrid of different cues from other disciplines all brought together into a single streamlined design, ideal for the game at hand.
Gareth has proven to be the one to beat at each masters event, so we’re hoping that he’s able to bring home the trophy once again!
Where to Watch
The Masters will be broadcast live on China’s largest sports network: CCTV5. Whilst massive in China with several million live viewers, Chinese 8-Ball isn’t yet being televised on UK television.
You can however watch high quality live streams of the event online. We will link to these live streams as and when the links become available.
With so many players fighting for victory, and so many eyes on the tournament, this year’s Chinese 8-Ball Masters is looking to be yet another riveting affair. Keep an eye on Home Leisure Direct as we stay up to speed with events from the competition as they happen!