The World Pool-Billiard Association sanctions the World Pool Championships, which have taken place annually since 1990 with competitions for men, women, and boys. Earl Strickland won the first event, held in Bergheim, Germany. In 2013, the men’s championship became a men’s-only event, but in 2021 it became inclusive again. The women’s event was discontinued in 2021. In 1999, the World Pool Association held a men’s tournament in Spain, and another men’s tournament was held in Wales, which was not recognized at first but later recognized as an official world championship for that year.
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The men’s champions of the World Nine-ball Championship are as follows:
- 1990: Earl Strickland (defeated Jeff Carter 3-1 in sets)
- 1991: Earl Strickland (defeated Nick Varner 9-7)
- 1992: Johnny Archer (defeated Bobby Hunter 13-12)
- 1993: Chao Fong-pang (defeated Thomas Hasch 2-0 in sets)
- 1994: Takeshi Okumura (defeated Yasunari Itsuzaki 9-6)
- 1995: Oliver Ortmann (defeated Dallas West 11-9)
- 1996: Ralf Souquet (defeated Tom Storm 11-1)
- 1997: Johnny Archer (defeated Lee Kun-fang 9-3)
- 1998: Kunihiko Takahashi (defeated Johnny Archer 13-3)
- 1999: Efren Reyes (defeated Chang Hao-ping 17-8)
- 1999: Nick Varner (defeated Jeremy Jones 13-8)
- 2000: Chao Fong-pang (defeated Ismael Paez 17-6)
- 2001: Mika Immonen (defeated Ralf Souquet 17-10)
- 2002: Earl Strickland (defeated Francisco Bustamante 17-15)
- 2003: Thorsten Hohmann (defeated Alex Pagulayan 17-10)
- 2004: Alex Pagulayan (defeated Chang Pei-wei 17-13)
- 2005: Wu Jiaqing (defeated Kuo Po-cheng 17-16)
- 2006: Ronnie Alcano (defeated Ralf Souquet 17-11)
- 2007: Daryl Peach (defeated Roberto Gomez 17-15)
- 2010: Francisco Bustamante (defeated Kuo Po-cheng 13-7)
- 2011: Yukio Akakariyama (defeated Ronnie Alcano 13-11)
- 2012: Darren Appleton (defeated Li Hewen 13-12)
- 2013: Thorsten Hohmann (defeated Antonio Gabica 13-7)
- 2014: Niels Feijen (defeated Albin Ouschan 13-10)
- 2015: Ko Pin-yi (defeated Shane Van Boening 13-11)
- 2016: Albin Ouschan (defeated Shane Van Boening 13-6)
- 2017: Carlo Biado (defeated Roland Garcia 13-5)
- 2018: Joshua Filler (defeated Carlo Biado 13-10)
- 2019: Fedor Gorst (defeated Chang Jung-Lin 13-11)
- 2021: Albin Ouschan (defeated Omar Al-Shaheen 13-9)
- 2022: Shane Van Boening (defeated Albin Ouschan 13-6)
Earl Strickland, Johnny Archer, and Ralf Souquet are among the most decorated players, each having won the title three times.
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