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In our last post, we shared the outline of Yokohama BC Count9 Battle.
Good news has kept arriving since then, so here it all is, together.
Two top pros will call the matches!
For this tournament, Lo Li-wen and Hayato Hijikata have officially agreed to provide live play-by-play and commentary.
Where do you put the cue ball?
Why that choice?
The play of B and C class players, talked through from the vantage of two players at the very top of Japanese billiards.
For the players and for everyone watching, this is bound to lift the tournament to another level.
Lo Li-wen
Born in Taiwan.
He turned pro with the JPBA in 2009, and the following year, 2010, he was ranked No. 1 in Japan.
He went on to stay in Japan’s top five for nine straight years, and from 2015 to 2017 he won the Asian Championship three times in a row, a feat no one had achieved before.
And just yesterday, on his home tables, he won Stage 2 of the Grand Prix East (GP-E)!
Skilled and strong across every pocket game, Lo is known as “the Precision Machine.”
Commentary from so exacting an eye will show you that even where you place the ball in hand carries deep meaning.
Lo is also one of the pros supported by Just Do It.
There, too, you may sense a fitting bond with this tournament.
Hayato Hijikata
He passed the pro test in 2005 as the youngest player ever, and holds Japan’s official record for consecutive break-and-runs (eight in a row): one of the strongest players in Japanese billiards.
Known as “the Prince of the Break-and-Run,” he wields a beautiful stance and a stroke of unmatched precision, with shot-making among the very best in the world.
In 2013 he won the Japan Open, the first Japanese champion in ten years, and he has set records of four straight titles in domestic official events and 33 consecutive match wins.
Last year he tied for third at the WPA World 8-Ball Championship, a brilliant result, and this year he is again confirmed to play in the same event, from April 2 to 8.
Chasing the world title he has long dreamed of, he is a top pro at the height of his powers, reaching right now for the summit of the world.
His commentary at this tournament (April 29) comes just after he returns home from that World Championship.
Hijikata, fresh from fighting his way through the world stage, will be watching your play.
Anyone who knows billiards will understand what a luxury that is.
Hijikata, too, is a pro supported by Just Do It.
The two of them commentating on the same stage: a lineup that is a luxury indeed.
Even better! An exhibition match, Lo vs. Hijikata!
It doesn’t end with commentary.
On the day, Lo Li-wen and Hayato Hijikata will also play an exhibition match of Count9!
Count9, the very game of this tournament, played head to head by two top pros who represent Japanese billiards: a rare luxury of a moment.
Whether you’re entering as a player or simply coming to watch, it is well worth the trip.
Under the same rules, where would a pro place the ball in hand, and how would they build the rack? It is sure to be a time of discovery for everyone there.
Who is this tournament for?
For you who want to get better
There is no prize money.
But this tournament offers something more.
The experience of having your own play talked through on a stage where top pros are commentating.
A chance to have even one ball-in-hand placement judged from a world-class point of view.
That is something ordinary tournaments rarely give you.
And every participant is also invited to a free session at DUYA CLUB (Chinese 8-ball tables), on the 6th floor of the same building.
It should be a day about more than winning and losing: “a day that adds to what you can draw on.”
For you who want to have fun
Even if you put fun ahead of competition, this tournament will be something special.
Count9 is an attacking game that starts from ball in hand, so it moves fast, and it’s pure fun to watch and to play.
And with pros commentating, the meaning of your own play is put into words. Even if you’re not the competitive type, that is sure to be a fresh kind of joy.
For advanced players, and for you who love to watch
Top pros were once intermediate players, too.
So were advanced players.
Everyone has walked that road.
That is exactly why, watching an intermediate player’s choice, you can feel that it’s “different.”
But is that “difference” truly a mistake?
An intermediate player chooses from the experience they have at that moment, and the shot they trust most.
An advanced player may see other options, but for that player, it is the best decision.
“Why put it there, in that moment?”
“How would I think about it?”
Watch for those differences, and think them through in your own words.
Lo’s and Hijikata’s commentary will be a signpost for that thinking.
Looking back on our own play, we tend to ask only whether it was “right.”
But through someone else’s choices, to put into words once more “why do I do it this way?” — the longer you have played billiards, the fresher the discoveries that work will bring.
And we hope those who don’t yet know billiards well will come and watch, too.
With pros commentating, strategy and technique become visible. This tournament should be the best possible doorway to discovering that billiards is a sport that is a joy to watch.
Just Do It, operator of Cue Shop Japan, joins as a sponsor!
This tournament will be sponsored by the operator of Cue Shop Japan, Just Do It Co., Ltd.
Just Do It offers “Billizone for Pool,” a digital scoreboard for billiards, and for this tournament it is installed on all eight tables at the venue, POOL LABO.
It is a company that thinks seriously about the future of the billiards world, and supports the game where it is played.
Everyone on the organizing committee is truly glad to receive their support in this way.
The circle of sponsors is slowly widening
From the very start, the Yokohama Open Organizing Committee has worked with the support of many companies and organizations, both inside and outside the billiards world.
Since the first Yokohama Open, more and more people have come to know the committee’s work and ideals, and we are now supported by several sponsoring companies.
Looking ahead to the second Yokohama Open, we are actively reaching out to new companies as well.
We feel this widening circle is thanks to everyone who has been part of our tournaments.
We are seeking “sponsor partners” and “spot sponsors”
The committee is currently seeking partner companies to support our activities on an ongoing basis, and spot sponsors to support individual tournaments on their own.
And for this BC Battle, too, we are looking for a title sponsor!
If you are a company or an individual who would like to “support a billiards tournament” or “bring your brand to many players,” please feel free to get in touch.
▶ Sponsorship inquiries: info@yokohama-billiards.com
▶ Sponsorship details: https://yokohama-billiards.com/sponsors
Tournament details
Name: Yokohama BC Count9 Battle
Date: April 29 (Wed., national holiday)
Venue: POOL LABO
Game: Count9
Format: Single elimination
Capacity: 64 players
Entry fee: ¥5,000
Race to: B class 40 points / C class 30 points
Live commentary: by top pros, from the last 32
Dress code: no shorts or sandals
Lateness: disqualified 5 minutes after being called
Prizes
🥇 Winner: playing cue (worth ¥140,000)
🥈 Runner-up: cue case
🥉 Joint 3rd: gift certificates
Joint 5th: billiards goods *There is no prize money
Entries open: March 23 (Mon.), from 20:00
For tournament details and entry, click here
Stay tuned for more news on Yokohama BC Count9 Battle.
