WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
The World Pool Championship is heading to Bahrain
The World Nineball Tour's biggest event will be played April 5–10, 2027, at Exhibition World Bahrain, with a $1 million prize fund and 128 players.
The World Pool Championship has a new home. Matchroom Pool announced on Sunday that the 2027 edition will be played April 5–10 at Exhibition World Bahrain, the first time the event has gone to the Kingdom of Bahrain. The prize fund stays at $1,000,000, and the field is again 128 players.
It will be the first World Pool Championship since July 2025, when Carlo Biado beat Fedor Gorst 15–13 in the final in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. It was Biado's second world title after 2017, and it made him the only Filipino player to win the championship twice. He is the defending champion, and he said he hopes to win a third title in Bahrain.
Why it moved
Saudi Arabia hosted the championship in Jeddah in 2024 and 2025. In April 2026, Matchroom and the Saudi Billiard and Snooker Federation agreed not to hold future editions there. Matchroom said then that the event would return in a new location with its $1 million prize fund, and that the host and dates would follow. Sunday's announcement answers both.
The deal
The Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority (BTEA) signed a memorandum of understanding with Matchroom Pool for what the tour calls a multi-year partnership. The event will be staged with the Bahrain Billiard Sports and Darts Federation. The World Nineball Tour says it will also help grow the sport in Bahrain through coaching, player development and opportunities for local players.
BTEA chief executive Sara Ahmed Buhejji said hosting the event is part of the authority's push to bring major international events to the Kingdom. Emily Frazer, CEO of Matchroom Multi Sport, called Bahrain “the perfect new setting for the best players.”
The venue also hosted the 2026 Bahrain Darts Masters.
By the numbers
- $1,000,000 prize fund. In 2025 the champion took home $250,000. The 2027 payouts haven't been announced.
- 128 players, with more than 40 nationalities expected.
- 223 matches over six days.
- 50 hours of TV coverage and 100 hours of streaming worldwide, including on WNT TV.
Still to come
Matchroom hasn't yet said how players qualify, what the format will be, when tickets go on sale or which broadcasters will carry it. We'll update this story when it does.
Recent world champions
- 2025: Carlo Biado (Philippines) def. Fedor Gorst 15–13 · Jeddah
- 2024: Fedor Gorst (USA) def. Eklent Kaçi 15–14 · Jeddah
- 2023: Francisco Sánchez Ruiz (Spain) def. Mohammad Soufi 13–10 · Kielce, Poland
- 2022: Shane Van Boening (USA) def. Albin Ouschan 13–6 · Milton Keynes, England
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