Key takeaways
- The 2027 World Pool Championship runs April 5-10 at Exhibition World Bahrain, its first time in the kingdom.
- The field is 128 players from more than 40 nations, playing 223 matches for a $1,000,000 prize fund.
- Carlo Biado defends the title he won 15-13 over Fedor Gorst in Jeddah in July 2025.
- Format, tickets and broadcast partners, including any US TV deal, have not been announced.
When and where is the World Pool Championship 2027?
The World Pool Championship 2027 will be played Monday, April 5 through Saturday, April 10 at Exhibition World Bahrain, according to the World Nineball Tour announcement published Oct. 18. The Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority signed a multi-year agreement with Matchroom Pool, and the Bahrain Billiard Sports and Darts Federation is a partner.
Organizers promise 128 players from more than 40 nations, a $1,000,000 prize fund and 223 matches over six days, with 50 televised hours and 100 streaming hours.
The news settles a question open since April, when Matchroom and the Saudi federation said they would not continue the event in Saudi Arabia after the 2025 edition. That statement also promised a return in a new location with the $1 million fund intact.
Who is the defending champion, and where do Americans stand?
Carlo Biado of the Philippines is the defending champion. He beat Fedor Gorst 15-13 in the 2025 final in Jeddah and took $250,000 from the $1 million purse. The tour’s schedule lists no 2026 edition, so he will have held the title for about 20 months by the time play starts. “I can’t wait to defend my title there,” Biado said in the release.
US fans have two names to follow. Shane Van Boening won the title in 2022 and claimed the Florida Open this August. Gorst, who now competes under the US flag, won in 2024 and lost the 2025 final by two racks. Francisco Sánchez Ruiz, the 2023 champion and winner of this year’s US Open, is the other recent winner likely to draw attention here.
The road to Bahrain has a US stop. The tour’s schedule lists the World Grand Prix in Barcelona on Jan. 18-20, then Premier League Pool in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Feb. 16-21, before the April championship. The $225,000 Florida Open follows on Aug. 3-8 in Orlando.
How can you watch from the US, and how do players get in?
No US broadcaster has been named. The release says only that the event will air through the tour’s global partners and its WNT TV service, with broadcast partners, tickets and format to come later. ESPN’s deal announced this summer covers the Mosconi Cup and the US Open, and nothing we read extends it to Bahrain.
Plan for the clock if you watch live. In April, Bahrain is seven hours ahead of New York and 10 ahead of Los Angeles, so a 7 p.m. session there would start at noon Eastern and 9 a.m. Pacific.
The release does not explain how the 128 places will be filled. Anyone hoping for a spot should wait for the published entry terms before booking travel.
From the workshop
From the bench, the part of this story we keep thinking about is the air. A solid-wood cue does not care about the prize fund, but it does respond to moisture. A cue flown from a dry North American winter room to a Gulf island in spring, then carried between warm outdoor air and an air-conditioned hall, goes through swings that can show up in a shaft over time. Keep it in a closed case while moving, give it time to settle before a long practice session, and keep it away from hotel vents. Our wooden pool cue care guide covers storage and warping in more detail.
The second thing is length. The 2025 event moved from races to 9 up to 11, and to 15 in the final; the 2027 format is not yet out. Long races make small equipment changes harder to ignore, so we tell players heading into any big week to settle tip and shaft choices well ahead, not the night before. That will not win a match by itself. It just removes one thing to think about when the race gets close.
Quick answers
When is the World Pool Championship 2027?
It runs April 5-10, 2027. Organizers describe 223 matches over the six days.
Where is the 2027 World Pool Championship being held?
It will be held at Exhibition World Bahrain, in the Kingdom of Bahrain. It is the event’s first time there, following two years in Saudi Arabia.
How much is the World Pool Championship prize fund?
The 2027 prize fund is $1,000,000. The 2025 winner received $250,000, but a 2027 payout breakdown has not been published in the announcement.
How can I watch the World Pool Championship in the US?
No US broadcaster has been announced yet. The organizer says the event will air through its global partners and WNT TV, with details to come.
Sources
- The World Pool Championship Heads To The Kingdom Of Bahrain (World Nineball Tour, 2026-10-18)
- Brand new home for cue masters: Bahrain to host 2027 World Pool Championship (Gulf Daily News, 2026-10-19)
- WNT Statement (World Nineball Tour, 2026-04-25)
- World Nineball Tour schedule (World Nineball Tour, 2026-11-02)
- 2025 WPA World Nine-ball Championship (Wikipedia, 2026-11-02)
How this story was made: drafted with AI assistance from the reports above, written in our own words and published by the Muraki workshop team. 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.
