Key takeaways
- The World Grand Prix is a new World Nineball Tour major announced on October 5, 2026.
- It runs January 18-20, 2027, at Fira Barcelona Gran Via in Barcelona, Spain.
- The format is a 64-player, single-elimination nine-ball bracket on eight tables, so the champion needs six straight wins.
- The total prize fund is $100,000; qualification, broadcast and ticket details have not yet been announced.
What is the 2027 World Grand Prix in Barcelona?
The World Grand Prix 2027 is a brand-new nine-ball major on the World Nineball Tour (WNT), scheduled for January 18-20, 2027, at Fira Barcelona Gran Via in Barcelona, Spain. The tour announced the event on October 5, describing it as its inaugural World Grand Prix and a partnership with WorldGaming and ICE Barcelona.
ICE Barcelona is a large international gaming and technology trade show, and its 2027 edition runs on the same three days at the same Gran Via exhibition center. That makes the World Grand Prix an unusual stage for pro pool: rather than a pool room or a casino ballroom, the tables will sit inside a major industry conference, which Matchroom says is a chance to put nine-ball in front of a new audience.
The event slots into a busy winter stretch on the WNT calendar. It follows the Chinese Taipei Open (January 6-10) and the World Pool Masters (January 12-14), both in Taipei, so several top pros could fly straight from Asia to Spain.
How does the World Grand Prix format work, and how much is the prize fund?
The field is 64 players, and the bracket is single elimination from the first match, played across eight tables. There is no losers’ bracket and no double-elimination safety net: one loss and a player is out. Winning the title takes six consecutive match wins over three days.
The total prize fund is $100,000. The tour has not yet published the payout breakdown, the race length, how the 64 spots will be filled, or how the event will be streamed, and says further details will follow. We will not guess at those numbers until they are confirmed.
For context, a one-loss-and-out knockout of 64 is the same shape as the final stages of many big WNT ranking events, but without the qualifying rounds that usually come first. Short, all-or-nothing matches tend to reward fast starts and punish a single bad rack.
Why should American and Canadian players watch this new major?
Spain is now the hottest address in men’s pool. Francisco Sánchez Ruiz won his second US Open title in September (our report on that hill-hill final), and David Alcaide won the Philippines Open in 2025. A major on home soil gives the Spanish stars a crowd, and gives North American pros another high-profile chance to beat them.
The tour’s history in Spain is short but notable. The 2023 Spanish Open in Lugo drew a 256-player field and was won by Dang Jin Hu of China over Marc Bijsterbosch, and the same Lugo venue later hosted a World Cup of Pool won by the Philippines’ Johann Chua and James Aranas. Before Barcelona, the WNT also visits Sevilla for the Mezz Sevilla Open on December 5-7, 2026.
For US fans, the timing matters too: the World Grand Prix lands about seven weeks after Team USA’s Mosconi Cup in Orlando on November 27-30 (see our Mosconi Cup preview), so it will be one of the first big tests of form in the new year.
From the workshop
Single-elimination events change how players think about equipment. In a double-elimination field you can survive a cold first set while you settle in; in a 64-player knockout, the first rack counts as much as the last. Players who travel between Taipei and Barcelona in one January will also be dealing with jet lag, new cloth and different humidity, so a cue that feels the same every time it comes out of the case is worth more than any new gadget picked up on the road.
That is why we build our cues around consistency: stable, well-seasoned shafts, a tip you trust and a balance you do not have to think about. If you are planning your own winter schedule of tournaments or league finals, take a look at how we put together a custom cue built to your specs.
Quick answers
When and where is the World Grand Prix 2027 pool event?
The World Grand Prix runs January 18-20, 2027, at Fira Barcelona Gran Via in Barcelona, Spain. It is staged alongside the ICE Barcelona gaming and technology show.
How much is the prize fund for the World Nineball Tour World Grand Prix?
The inaugural World Grand Prix has a total prize fund of $100,000. The payout breakdown, including the winner’s share, has not yet been announced.
What is the format of the World Grand Prix in Barcelona?
It is a 64-player nine-ball event played as single elimination throughout on eight tables. A player needs six straight match wins to take the title.
How can I watch the 2027 World Grand Prix in the US?
The World Nineball Tour has not yet announced broadcast or streaming plans for the World Grand Prix. Check worldnineballtour.com closer to January for viewing options.
Sources
- World Nineball Tour Returns To Spain For Inaugural World Grand Prix, 18-20 January 2027 (World Nineball Tour, 2026-10-05)
- From Lugo to Barcelona, Spain prepares for a new nineball chapter (World Nineball Tour, 2026-10-06)
- World Nineball Tour Schedule (World Nineball Tour, 2026-10-06)
- ICE Barcelona 2027 (InterGame, 2026-10-06)
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.
