WPA Asian Nine-ball Tour

The WPA Asian Nine-ball Tour (also known as the Guinness Asian 9-Ball Tour or San Miguel Asian 9-Ball Tour for sponsorship reasons) was an annual series of nine-ball pool tournaments around East and Southeast Asia. The tour began in 2003, and is sanctioned by the World Pool-Billiard Association.

From 2003 to 2005, each leg had a field of 32 players and the total purse was US$50,000. In 2006, the number of players was reduced to 24 and total purse decreased to $40,000.

The winner in each leg of the tour receives a cash prize and points for the ranking for the yearly WPA World Nine-ball Championship.

San Miguel Beer and 188BET were the sponsor of the tournament prior to 2007, when this slot was taken over by Guinness.

Format

In each leg, the 24 players are divided into 8 groups having 3 players each. The players in a particular group play in round-robin where the one who's on top moves into the quarter finals.

From the group stages to the quarter finals, the matchers are race to 9. The semis and final matches are race to 11. Also in the semi-finals and finals, a player must win by at least 2 racks. This means he can 11–9. If the other player manages to makes 10-10, the match goes into extra racks, one of them will have to make 12-10 or 13–11 to win. The maximum extension is up to 13, so it is also a win for a player to score 13–12.

A shot clock of 45 seconds is used with one extension for each player per rack. Failing to shoot within the clock will fine the player US$50.

The "alternating break" rule is enforced.

Starting in 2008, the final will be a race to 11 racks affair and the "at least 2 racks to win" rule has been scrapped.

Tournament results

San Miguel era
YearLocationWinnerScoreRunner-up
2003  SingaporeChinese Taipei Yang Ching-shun11-7Philippines Warren Kiamco
 PhilippinesPhilippines Efren Reyes11-2Philippines Warren Kiamco
2004  SingaporePhilippines Efren Reyes (2)11-4Philippines Warren Kiamco
 VietnamPhilippines Efren Reyes (3)11-9Chinese Taipei Chao Fong-pang
 Hong KongChinese Taipei Yang Ching-shun (2)11-9Chinese Taipei Hsia Hui-kai
 TaiwanPhilippines Efren Reyes (4)12-10South Korea Jeong Young Hwa
 PhilippinesPhilippines Lee Van Corteza13-11Philippines Francisco Bustamante
2005  SingaporePhilippines Gandy Valle11-9Chinese Taipei Wu Jiaqing
 Indonesia (Jakarta)Philippines Efren Reyes (5)11-6Chinese Taipei Yang Ching-shun
 Taiwan (Kaoshiung)Chinese Taipei Yang Ching-shun (3)11-3Hong Kong Au Chi-wai
 Philippines (Manila)Philippines Ronnie Alcano11-6Chinese Taipei Yang Ching-shun
2006  Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh City)Philippines Efren Reyes (6)11-6China Li He-wen
 Thailand (Bangkok)Philippines Ramil Gallego11-8Hong Kong Au Chi-wai
 Taiwan (Kaoshiung)Philippines Rodolfo Luat11-7Chinese Taipei Hsia Hui-kai
 Indonesia (Jakarta)Philippines Efren Reyes (7)11-6Indonesia Ricky Yang

Guinness era
YearLocationWinnerScoreRunner-up
2007  Indonesia (Jakarta)Chinese Taipei Chang Jung-lin11-5Philippines Lee Van Corteza
 Taiwan (Kaoshiung)Chinese Taipei Yang Ching-shun (4)11-6Chinese Taipei Chao Fong-pang
 Malaysia (Genting Highlands)Chinese Taipei Chang Jung-lin (2)11-8

India Dharminder Lilly

 SingaporeChinese Taipei Yang Ching-shun (5)11-8

Malaysia Ibrahim Bin Amir

 China (Shanghai)Chinese Taipei Yang Ching-shun (6)12-10Philippines Ronnie Alcano
 Indonesia (Bali)Chinese Taipei Chang Jung-lin (3)11-8Philippines Lee Van Corteza
2008  Republic of China (Taipei)Chinese Taipei Chang Jung-lin (4)11-5Philippines Joven Bustamante
 Malaysia (Penang)Chinese Taipei Chang Jung-lin (5)11-7Chinese Taipei Wang Hung-hsiang
 Malaysia (Genting Highlands)Chinese Taipei Chang Jung-lin (6)11-6Philippines Antonio Gabica
 SingaporePhilippines Alex Pagulayan11-6Philippines Dennis Orcollo
 China (Guangzhou)Philippines Dennis Orcollo11-9 Chinese Taipei Wang Hung-hsiang
 Indonesia (Jakarta)Chinese Taipei Yang Ching-shun (7)11-9Chinese Taipei Wu Jiaqing

Trivia
  • There were supposed to be 5 legs in 2003. But the other 3 were cancelled because of the SARS outbreak.
  • All those who won a leg in the tour each won $10,000 for 1st place. However, Efren Reyes earned $20,000 for winning the Manila leg in 2003.


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