2011 WPA World Nine-ball Championship

The event featured a prize fund of $250,000, with the winner receiving $36,000,[6] the same as that of the 2010 event.[7] A breakdown in prize money can be seen below:[6]

The double-elimination stage took place between June 21–25, consisting of four rounds.[3] A first round match between Efren Reyes and Mark Gray went to a deciding rack. Gray led 6–2 at the start of the match, but Reyes tied the score at 7–7. Reyes later reached the hill ahead at 8–7, but lost position on the next rack to allow Gray to tie the match at hill-hill. Reyes sank a ball on the break and cleared the table to win the match 9–8.[8] The defending champion Francisco Bustamante led fellow Filipino player Caneda Villamor 5–2. Villamor, who works in Saudi Arabia as a pool instructor, cut Bustamante's lead to 6–5 when the match turned into a battle of safety shots.[8] Bustamante made a combination shot between the 6-ball and the 9-ball in rack 16 to win 9–7.[8] The 2010 runner-up Kuo Po-cheng also won 9–7 in his first round match.[8][9]

The second day featured matches from the first and second rounds. Fillipinos world number two Ronnie Alcano and world number three Antonio Lining defeated Hamzah al-Saeed 9–5, and Liu Cheng-Cheih 9-4 respectively in the first round.[10] The 1995 champion Oliver Ortmann,[11] lost his opening match to Japanese player Tohru Kuribayashi 6–9.[10] Qualifier Mohammad al-Hazmi defeated world number 24 Nguyen Phuc Long 9–6; where he would play Daryl Peach who defeated Keng Kwang Chan 9–5.[10] Qatar's number one, Mohanna Obaidly had lost his first round matches, but defeated Andrew Kong of Hong Kong in the loser's second round. Mark Gray trailed 2-7 but won 7 racks in-a-row to win 9–7.[10] Two matches went to a deciding rack; both Radosław Babica and Yukio Akakariyama defeated Raymund Faron and Mohammed Al Bin Ali 9-8 respectively.[10][12]

The 2005 winner Wu Jia-qing lost twice in the double-elimination round

Third day was devoted to second round matches. Winners in the winners' bracket advanced to the Round of 64, while those in the losers' bracket winners played the winners' bracket losers the following day.[3][12] All Filipino players in the winners' bracket won their matches to advance to the Round of 64; WPA world number one Dennis Orcollo, Reyes, Bustamante, Oliver Medenilla, Jeffery de Luna, Alan Cuartero, Ronnie Alcano and Antonio Lining all won their matches and qualified for the knockout round.[13] The 2006 WPA World Nine-ball Championship winner Alcano had to win a deciding rack to defeat Radosław Babica of Poland, while Cuartero, an overseas Filipino worker in Kuwait, defeated Marcus Chamat of Sweden.[13] Shane Van Boening, one of only two Americans in the tournament, defeated 2005 champion Wu Jia-qing. Wu led 2–0, then went on the hill at 8–6. Van Boening evened the match and held on to win on the final rack.[13][14]

Fourth day was devoted to second round matches in the losers' bracket, with winners progressing, and losers being eliminated.[12] All home Qatari players were eliminated from contention in the group stage: Mohanna Obaidly was beaten by Konstantin Stepanov 3–9, Taher Hussain lost to Tōru Kuribayashi 1–9, Waleed Majid was defeated by Hunter Lombardo 8–9, while Fawal Abdulatif lost to Naoyuki Ōi 9–6.[15] The match between Antonio Gabica and Fu Jian-bo finished 9–8. The Qatar-based Gabica had a 6–1 lead but the Chinese won the next four racks. Gabica was the first on the hill but Fu won the next three racks. Gabica won the deciding rack to advance to the knockout stage.[15] Ko Ping-chung and Kwang Yong exchanged leads in their match, until Yong pulled ahead 7–4. Ko tied the match at 7–7 and won next two racks to qualify to the next round.[13] Former two-time world champion Wu Jia-qing was beaten by Mariusz Skoneczny. The match was level at 8-8; but Wu missed the 8-ball allowing Skoneczny to pot the last two balls and win 9–8.[15]

Defending champion Francisco Bustamante lost in the last 16 to Dennis Orcullo

The tournament changed to a single elimination tournament from June 29 to July 1.[1] The Round of 64 was played on June 29. Efren Reyes was defeated by fellow Filipinos Villamor 11–5.[16] Antonio Gabica led Mika Immonen 4–1 and 10–6 when he scratched in rack 17 allowing Immonen to win the next four racks to go hill-hill. The deciding rack emerged as a safety battle until Gabica pocketed the 1-ball, and ran the rack to win 11–10.[16] Kuo Po-cheng led Mark Gray 10–6 but Gray won five racks in-a-row to win 11–10.[17] Gray drew fellow Brit Chris Melling who beat Korean Hwang Yong.[16] Francisco Bustamante defeated Sascha-Andrej Tege 11–4.[16]

In the last 32 played on the June 30, Francisco Bustamante was leading 9–4 against Riyan Setiawan when he was reportedly distracted by a press photographer, causing him to lose his composure.[18] Setiawan won three of the next four to trail 10–7, but won the next three to take the match to a decider. Bustamante had the break, before a safety battle ensued. Riyan scratched and Bustamante ran out to advance to the last 16.[19] In an all-Filipino match, Carlo Biado led Lee Van Corteza 8–5; however Corteza won the next four frames to lead 9–8. In rack 18, Corteza missed a shot at the 9-ball, with Biado winning the remaining racks to win 11–9.[19]

Also played on June 30, in the last-16, Shane Van Boening, the only American left in the field, led against England's Darren Appleton 6–3. Appleton tied the match at 6–6, then took the lead 7–6. The two exchanged leads when Appleton reached the hill first, but van Boening tied when he made a jump shot on the 5-ball in rack 20. In the deciding rack, van Boening made a safety in which Appleton studied for ten minutes. Appleton missed, but there was no clear shot as Van Boening studied the ball for several minutes before making the shot and ran out for the win.[20] The 2007 champion Daryl Peach defeated Ko Pin-yi, after trailing 9-7 won four racks-in-a-row.[21] Defending champion Francisco Bustamante, who had only five minutes between matches,[18] lost 11–6 to Dennis Orcullo.[20] In other matches, Yukio Akakariyama eliminated Carlo Biado, whilst Tōru Kuribayashi defeated Antonio Lining.[20]

The quarter-finals to the final were all played on the last day of competition, July 1.[22] In the quarter-finals, Dennis Orcullo led 5–0 against Daryl Peach early in the match, and later won 11–2.[22] Mark Gray played Shane van Boening and held a 4–0 lead before van Boening won five racks in-a-row to lead 5–4.[22] Gray then won the next four racks and led 10–6. Van Boening won the next three frames, but in rack 20, but missed a shot using the bridge. The two took their time studying the shot on the nine-ball, but van Boening made an errant safety allowing Gray to capitalize and win the match.[22] Tōru Kuribayashi trailed Ronnie Alcano 7–3 but won five of the next six to level the match at 8-8, which later became 10-10. Kuribayashi broke for the game but the two got locked in a safety battle. After a fluke on the 3-ball, Alcano ran the rack to win 11–10.[22]

The 2006 champion Ronato Alcano lost in the final of the event

Yukio Akakariyama lead Vinacio Tanio throughout the match, until 8-8 when he lost the next rack to trail 9–8, and 10–9, but the match went to a decider after a break and run. Tanio broke in rack 21, but ran out of position on the 8-ball. He sank the 8-ball but then faced on another difficult shot on the 9-ball. Tanio missed and Akakariyama faced on a table's length shot on the 9-ball. Akakariyama took more than ten minutes to study the shot before potting it to win 11–10.[22]

The first semi-final saw Orcullo face Alcano.[23] Alcano won the first two racks, and remained at least two racks ahead throughout, as he led 8-4 and 10–6. Orcullo won three racks in-a-row, before Alcano won rack 20 to win 11–9.[24] After the match, Alcano said that his game had improved due to no longer having a manager, but instead working with Manny Pacquiao, a Filipino boxer commenting "all I need is just a little bit of Manny's good fortune and I can win the World Championship. I just have to win one more match."[24] The second semi-final went to a deciding rack between Yukio Akagariyama and Mark Gray. Yukio led 6-2 and 8-3 before Gray won five racks in-a-row to level the match at 8-8. In rack 17, Gray attempted a bank shot on the 9-ball, but missed, allowing Yukio to win the rack and then the next to go 10-8 ahead. Gray won the next two racks, and had the break in rack 21. On his break, the cue ball scratched allowing Yukio to clear the table to win 11–10.[24]

The final was played at 7p.m. local time (GMT+3), as a race-to-13 racks with an alternating break between Yukio and Alcano.[25] The lag was won by Alcano, and the racks were won on break until rack nine, with Yukio taking a 5–4 lead.[26] He also won the next frame after a failed jump shot by Alcano.[26] Breaking to have a three rack lead, Yukio went in-off when potting the 9-ball allowing Alcano to win the rack. Yukio won the next two to take a 9–6 lead, but Alcano won three in-a-row to tie the match at 9-9. In rack 19, Alcano missed a shot on the 8-ball that traveled the length of the table, and Yukio won the next two to lead 11–9. Alcano tied the match with some safety play in the next two racks for 11-11.[25][26] Breaking in rack 23, Alcano missed a shot on the 2-ball into the middle pocket, with Yukio running the rest of the rack. Yukio broke in rack 24, but ran the balls in order to win 13–11.[25][26]