November 20 to 26, 2018, the English Eight ball world championships will be staged in Bridlington, Yorkshire, England. As an Asian member of this tournament, the ICEA has selected a team consisting of Zhang Kunpeng, Liu Chuang, Wang Peng, Qiu Paomou and Chen Zhigang to participate in the tournament.
Five players will represent China in the World Championship’s Team match. They will also participate in the JOY Chinese Pool UK Championships at the same time. Although JOY Chinese Pool is popular all over the world, the players feel that it is incumbent upon them to defend the honour of the Chinese players in this event.
When it comes to the English Eight-ball game, many fans think of Gareth Potts, who is the double “Triple Crown” winner of two top international competitions, Chinese Pool and English eight-ball. In fact, the game of English Eight-Ball has a longer history in UK than Snooker, and was considered the "National Cue Sport“ of the UK at its peak.
Mark Selby, Chris Merlin and Darren Appleton are all past winners of the Blackball International World Championships . At present, nearly 40 countries and regions participate in the Blackball International World Championships every year.
For anyone wondering how a team of Chinese Pool players is competing in the UK Blackball Championship, in 2017 the International Chinese Eight-Ball Association (ICEA), initiated by JOY Chinese Pool, won the authorization of the World Pool Association (WPA) under the International Olympic Committee and became the authority on Chinese Pool worldwide. Subsequently, BI, the Blackball International, within the framework of the WPA, actively welcomed the new members of the WPA and reached agreements with the ICEA in terms of resource sharing of players and mutual cooperation in events.
On this basis, the BI requested the ICEA to serve as the chairman of the Asian Association and manage the Asian business of English Eight-Ball. JOY Chinese Pool has taken on this important task. After careful selection and comprehensive evaluation, five Chinese Pool players, Zhang Kuipeng, Liu Chuang, Wang Peng, Qiu Paomou and Chen Zhigang, were selected by the chairman of the BI Asia Association JOY Chinese Pool.
As a part of cooperation, the BI and ICEA jointly organized the JOY Chinese Pool UK Championships. On the stage with the best English eight-ball players, pool masters from all over the world can also experience the popular worldwide sport of Chinese Pool. The China Dragon Team, which represents Chinese Pool, can also show the essence of this Chinese sport to the UK fans.
