The World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA) and CueSports International (CSI) are excited to announce that the WPA Players Championship will once again be held at Griff’s Billiards in Las Vegas April 7-11, 2020. The event will be staged at Griff’s Billiards just ahead of the US Open 9-Ball Championship, which will be held April 13-18 at Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. This WPA Category 3 Ranking event, with $53,000 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 hold its own ranking event once again. It helps make a solid month of pool events in Las Vegas which includes the Predator World 10-Ball Championship and US Open 9-Ball Championship. We have also added a couple of great bonus incentives for players who enter the qualifiers.”
The event is comprised of two stages – the Stage 1 Qualifiers and Stage 2 Main Event. The Stage 1 Main Event, April 9-11, is limited to 64 players in a single elimination format with a 32-player consolation tournament for those eliminated in the first round. 48 of the 64 players will be chosen by the WPA rankings and WPA member federations. A single $275 entry fee will cover the main event and the consolation tournament. The main event will be a race to seven with the semi-final and final being a race to nine. The consolation tournament will be a race to five with the semi-final and final being a race to seven.
The remaining 16 spots in the main event will be filled by two Stage 1 Qualifier tournaments, one per day, held April 7-8. The top eight finishers from each qualifier will receive a paid spot in the Stage 2 Main Event. A single $275 entry fee allows players to compete in both qualifiers and will also gain free entry into the main event for those who qualify. Alternatively, a daily entry of $175 is also an option. Qualifiers will be single elimination, race to five and open to anyone not already entered in the main event.
There are two additional bonuses for those who compete in the Stage 1 Qualifiers. Two of the 16 players who qualify from Stage 1 will also win paid entries into the 2020 US Open 9-Ball Championship (April 13-18 in Las Vegas). The highest placing player in Stage 2 from the eight players who qualify on April 7, and the highest placing player in Stage 2 from the eight players who qualified on April 8, who are not already entered in the US Open 9-Ball Championship, will win a paid entry. In addition, two of the 16 players who qualify from Stage 1 will also win paid entries into the 2020 International 9-Ball Open (Oct 25-31 in Norfolk, VA). The highest placing U.S. player in Stage 2 from the eight players who qualify on April 7, and the highest placing U.S. player in Stage 2 from the eight players who qualified on April 8, and did not win the other bonus, will win a paid entry. Neither bonus can be sold or transferred to another player
Anyone may register for Stage 1 now at www.playcsipool.com/2020-wpa-players-championship.
“We are honored to once again assist the WPA in producing this event,” said CSI CEO, Ozzy Reynolds. ”The inaugural 2019 event was a huge success and we are excited to build upon that and make 2020 even better."
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.
As noted, the WPA Players Championship does help solidify a great series of events in Las Vegas in the Mark-April timeframe as shown below. Players are highly encouraged to participate in each of these great events.
| EVENT | DATES | LOCATION | LINKS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diamond Las Vegas Open | March 11-14 | Rio Hotel & Casino | www.playcsipool.com/2020-lv-open |
| Predator World 10-Ball Championship | March 16-20 | Rio Hotel & Casino | www.world10ball.com |
| WPA Players Championship | April 7-11 | Griff’s Billiards | www.playcsipool.com/2020-wpa-players-championship |
| US Open 9-Ball Championship | April 13-18 | Mandalay Bay | www.matchroompool.com/usopen9ball |
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.
