Key takeaways
- Wojciech Szewczyk (Poland) won the 2026 Iwan Simonis WPA Men’s 10-Ball World Championship, beating Eklent Kaçi (Albania) 3–1 in the final on September 26, 2026.
- He went 7–0 through a 96-player field. Joshua Filler and Sanjin Pehlivanović were the beaten semi-finalists.
- The title was worth $80,000 from a $300,000 prize fund. It is his second world 10-ball crown after winning in Las Vegas in 2022.
- The championship was played in Ho Chi Minh City, which also hosted the 2025 edition.
Seven matches, seven wins
Wojciech Szewczyk is the world 10-ball champion again. The Polish player beat Albania’s Eklent Kaçi 3–1 in the final of the 2026 Iwan Simonis WPA Men’s 10-Ball World Championship on September 26 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
What stands out is how clean the run was. According to AZBilliards’ report, Szewczyk won all seven of his matches in a 96-player field. He had already beaten Kaçi 2–0 in the double-elimination stage, so the final was a rematch he had won once that week.
His knockout path went through Olivér Szolnoki, the Philippines’ Johann Chua, reigning US Open champion Francisco Sánchez Ruiz and Sanjin Pehlivanović before the final. Pehlivanović and Germany’s Joshua Filler were the beaten semi-finalists.
A second world title, four years after the first
This is Szewczyk’s second WPA world 10-ball title. The first came in 2022 at the Rio in Las Vegas, where he beat Peru’s Christopher Tévez 10–8 in the final. Winning the same world title four years apart, on two continents and in two different formats, says a lot about how well his game travels.
The win was worth $80,000 from a total prize fund of $300,000. Kaçi, one of the most consistent players on the international circuit, leaves with a runner-up finish after a strong week of his own.
Part of a busy fall on the pro calendar
The world championship headlined a run of international events at the same venue, including the 2026 Box Billiards Mixed Doubles Open, won by Liu Shasha and Hsieh Chia-Chen, and a women’s 9-ball tour stop won by Germany’s Pia Filler.
For fans following from North America, the calendar now swings toward the big team events: the Reyes Cup in Manila in mid-October and then the Mosconi Cup in Orlando at the end of November.
From the workshop
Ten-ball is the least forgiving of the rotation games. Every shot is called, so a lucky roll does not count, and the extra ball in the rack means more traffic around the pockets. The players who win it tend to be the ones whose cue ball goes exactly where they asked it to, shot after shot.
That is a question of stroke first, but it is also why so many top players are particular about their equipment: a consistent hit and a shaft that behaves the same way every time. It is the standard we build every cue to. If a week like this has you thinking about a cue of your own, the MKP series is a good place to start.
Quick answers
Who won the 2026 WPA Men's 10-Ball World Championship?
Wojciech Szewczyk of Poland. He beat Eklent Kaçi of Albania 3–1 in the final on September 26, 2026.
How much did the 2026 world 10-ball champion win?
Szewczyk earned $80,000 from a total prize fund of $300,000.
Has Wojciech Szewczyk won the world 10-ball title before?
Yes. He won it in 2022 in Las Vegas, beating Christopher Tévez 10–8 in the final.
Where was the 2026 world 10-ball championship played?
At Phú Thọ Indoor Stadium in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, which also hosted the 2025 edition.
Sources
- Wojciech Szewczyk Is World Champion Again (AZBilliards, September 29, 2026)
- Liu Shasha & Hsieh Chia-Chen Crowned 2026 Box Billiards Mixed Doubles Open Champions (AZBilliards, September 25, 2026)
- Pia Filler Owns Saigon (AZBilliards, September 26, 2026)
- 2022 WPA World Ten-ball Championship (Wikipedia)
Written by the Muraki workshop team in our own words from the reports above. Results and figures are as reported by those sources at the time of publishing. Spot something wrong? Tell us and we will correct it.
Play the game, then build the cue
Every Muraki cue is turned, inlaid and finished by hand in our workshop, then numbered and shipped to players across the US, Canada and worldwide. Tell us how you play and we will quote one for you, usually the same day.
