The Predator World Junior 9-Ball Championships will take place from September 9 to September 11, 2021, during the CueSports International Expo at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.
Predator is excited to bring this event back after its one-year hiatus and host it on American soil. The field will consist of a max of 96 players in three categories. Boys under 19, boys under 17 and girls under 19.
“The WPA is excited to partner with Predator and CueSports International (CSI) to bring the Junior World 9-Ball Championships to the world stage after missing out in 2020 through the global problems of Covid-19. This event is often regarded as our most important world championship as it is all about the next generation of players and the future of our sport,” said WPA Vice President Ian Anderson.
The event will be played on the new Predator Arcadia Reserve cloth and using Predator’s Arcos II Reserve balls which are the official cloth and balls of the 2021 Predator World Junior 9-Ball Championships. For more information on the official equipment, visit predatorcues.com.
Junior players will be competing next to professional players during the World 10-Ball Championship and in the same conditions. The juniors will take the stage with the finals being live-streamed on YouTube in the same arena as the World Championship 10-Ball.
“Juniors are the future of the sport and we want to inspire more young players to play our beloved game,” said Karim Belhaj, CEO of Predator Group.
“Bringing the World Junior Championships back to the United States has been a long-term goal of the Billiard Congress of America and the Billiard Education Foundation,” said Rob Johnson, CEO of the Billiard Congress of America and managing director of the Billiard Education Foundation. “We all know the future of the game lies in our ability to develop tomorrow’s players and with the opportunity to partner with the Predator Group and CueSports International to host this world championship after such a trying time for all, we look forward to helping make this an incredibly memorable and special event for all participants. Backing junior events fits directly in line with both organizations’ commitment to supporting the next generation of competitors at the highest level of play. Competitors who earn the right to compete in this tournament will be treated to a first-class, memorable experience.”
Jonas Souto Comino (Spain), Boys U19; Moritz Neuhausen (Germany), Boys U17; and, Yi-Hsuan Le (Chinese Taipei), Girls, were the three winners of their respective categories in the 2019 World Junior Pool Championship that took place in Cyprus.
“We are thrilled to partner with Predator to host the 2021 edition of the Junior World 9-Ball Championships as part of the CueSports International Expo. Junior pool players are the future of the industry and we are proud to support them,” Ozzy Reynolds, CEO of CueSports International said, “This is an amazing addition to what is already the biggest pool extravaganza on earth.”
The Predator World Junior 9-Ball Championships are part of the CueSports International Expo, a global pool spectacle that consists of the BCA Pool League World Championships, USA Pool League National Championships, Diamond Las Vegas Open, Predator World 10-Ball Championship, industry exhibitors, meetings, seminars and more. The entire Rio Hotel and Casino Convention Center, which includes more than 160,000 square feet of floor space, is taken over by the event.
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.
Predator Group’s mission is to inspire billiard fans by providing innovative experiences and products that deliver high-performance, with unsurpassed class and style. Predator, Poison, and Uni-Loc are Predator Group brands that focus on performance pool cues, billiard balls, cloth, and accessories. For more information regarding Predator Group’s products, visit predatorcues.com, poisoncues.com, and uni-loc.com.
Founded in 1948, the Billiard Congress of America is a non-profit trade organization dedicated to growing a united, prosperous, and highly regarded billiard industry through BCA leadership. The BCA seeks to enhance the success of its members and promote the game of billiards with educational, marketing, and promotional efforts, annual industry trade shows, tournaments, and other programs designed to encourage billiards as a lifestyle and make pool everybody’s game. For more information, visit bca-pool.com.
The Billiard Education Foundation, formed in 1993 as a non-profit charity, is committed to promoting a lifelong love of pool and building the next generation of players through youth programs and academic scholarships. Key programs of the BEF include the annual BEF Junior National 9-Ball Championships, annual Junior State Qualifiers, annual selection and support of juniors competing in the WPA World Junior 9-Ball Championships, academic scholarship and awards, Pool in School programming and curriculum development, and junior instruction in partnership with the Professional Billiard Instructors Association.