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Sumai Agent presents Yokohama BC Count9 Battle 2026 is finally just a week away.
Thanks to all of you, the field is full, and so many people applied that there is even a waiting list.
Everyone on the organizing committee thanks you once again.
Today we bring you a round-up of everything we’ve posted so far, along with a few things we want to say once more to everyone taking part.
Win once, and the stream table comes closer.
From the last 32, the YouTube Live stream begins.
Of the 8 tables, one is the stream table. With the 16 matches of the last 32 running at once, your chance of landing on it is 1 in 8: 12.5%.
However, with every match you win, those odds go up.
And the players who make the semifinals and the final will almost certainly stand at the stream table. (*Depending on how play is running, the semifinals may be played on two tables at once.)
Hijikata, Japan’s No. 1 ranked player, and Lo, who has beaten some of the strongest players in the world, will be watching your shot.
And that moment will be streamed live across the country.
It is a tension entirely unlike your usual house tournament.
In Count9, there are no excuses.
Having top pros commentate on your match is more than enough of an experience on its own. But that is not the only thing that makes this tournament merciless.
In Count9, every change of turn means ball in hand (anywhere on the table) on everything but the 9.
So where the cue ball goes is always your decision.
And the result goes straight onto the scoreboard.
Is it a lack of knowledge about how to plan a rack? Or a lack of precision (technique)?
It becomes plain to see: to you, to your opponent, to everyone watching.
In ordinary 9-ball there are moments when “I was left a bad leave” is a fair excuse.
Count9 doesn’t give you that.
With ball in hand, wherever you put the cue ball is entirely your own choice.
Your true ability, laid completely bare. That is Count9.
Even if you lose, please don’t go home.
We know how much a first-round loss stings.
But leaving straight away would be a waste.
As the tournament goes on, fewer tables are in use, and the spectator space at POOL LABO opens up.
It feels like a pro tour event, the stage taking shape around you.
POOL LABO is reserved for the tournament all day.
Watch your rivals’ matches live while listening to Hijikata’s commentary.
How did you read that situation?
How does a top pro see that layout?
What was different about the player who won? The words of the commentary should turn the sting of losing into your next step forward.
A day steeped in pool, with a good drink in hand.
And take your time enjoying the exhibition match between Hijikata and Lo, with a clear view.
The day at a glance (approximate)
9:00 group (32 players) After check-in, there will be opening remarks and a brief explanation of the rules, and then play begins.
9:30 group (32 players) Depending on how the first group is progressing, matches will begin in turn after the rules explanation.
From the last 32, the YouTube Live stream with commentary by Hijikata and Lo begins.
Around the semifinals, an exhibition match between Hijikata and Lo is planned.
When play has finished, the awards ceremony will be held.
⚠️ On the day, our first priority is keeping the matches running smoothly. The schedule, including the timing of the exhibition match, may change depending on how play progresses. Thank you for your understanding.
Which group you are in will be announced together with the bracket, around April 23–24. Please bear with us a little longer.
[Participants only] Try the Chinese 8-ball tables at DUYA CLUB!
The day isn’t only about your matches.
On the 6th floor of the same building as POOL LABO, DUYA CLUB is a club devoted to Chinese 8-ball (also known as heyball).
We plan to show participants up there in the time after the first round.
Chinese tables have smaller pockets and demand even more precise shots.
Lo himself has said that bringing Chinese tables into his practice made his potting stronger. It is an environment that feeds directly into growth at pocket billiards.
The tension of competition, the commentary of top pros, a turn on the Chinese tables:make it a day to feel, once again, how much fun pool is, and how deep it goes.
Things to prepare in advance
🎱 The game: what is Count9?
Count9, the game played at this tournament, is a points game built on 9-ball.
The biggest difference from 9-ball is that every time you miss, your opponent gets ball in hand (anywhere on the table).
Where the cue ball goes is always your choice: a simple, deep game in which ability and judgment go straight onto the scoreboard.
There are two points worth remembering in particular.
① Push-outs are allowed Right after the break, you may use a “push out,” moving the cue ball to any position you like.
Your opponent then chooses whether to take the shot or hand it back, so the position after the break becomes a contest of nerve and judgment.
② A miss on the 9 does not give ball in hand A miss on the 1 through 8 gives your opponent ball in hand, but the 9 is the exception.
Play continues from the layout exactly as it was left.
So if you play poor position on the 9, do you go for it or play safe? Decisions like that can swing the whole flow of the game.
Simply having this rule in your head beforehand will speed up your decisions on the day.
To play at your best, we strongly recommend getting to know the rules well.
Whether you are playing, or watching in person or on the stream, please give it a read in advance.
Knowing the rules makes the stream far more enjoyable.
👉 What Is Count9? The Rules, Plainly Explained
📲 Is your Billizone ready?
This tournament uses the scorekeeping app “Billizone.”
If you haven’t registered an account yet, please be sure to do so before the day.
Here is how to register.
👉 Billizone Account Registration Guide
And here is how to use it on the day.
👉 How to Use Billizone: A Guide!
🎙️ Commentators: Hayato Hijikata and Lo Li-wen
One of the biggest highlights of this tournament is live commentary by active top pros, from the last 32 all the way to the final.
For players who are, in name and in fact, at the very top of the game to commentate B and C class matches is almost unheard of in Japan.
Busy as they are, the two of them have kindly agreed to commentate up to seven matches and to play an exhibition as well. Please do read about them.
👉 [Commentator profile 1] Hayato Hijikata
👉 [Commentator profile 2] Lo Li-wen
📺 Streamed live on YouTube!
The day’s matches will be streamed live on YouTube. If you can’t make it to the venue, please enjoy it from in front of your screen. The archive will stay up, too.
The exhibition match between Hijikata and Lo will also be streamed on the same channel.
👉 Subscribe here: @YokohamaOpenofficial
More about the stream here.
👉 [Notice] The April 29 matches will be streamed on YouTube.
Even if you aren’t playing, please come to the venue. Watching is free.
A good drink in one hand, and serious matches with top-pro commentary.
Seeing, in person, the moment a friend from your own pool hall steps up to the stream table.
A familiar player settling into the cue with a look you’ve never seen on them before.
And even if you don’t know the players: Count9 from ball in hand moves fast, and the position changes with every ball.
What a player knows shows up, all of it, in where they place the cue ball. And the top pros put it into words.
These aren’t pro matches. But that is exactly why you can watch them as if they were your own.
And to close the day: an exhibition match between Hijikata and Lo.
Two of Japan’s best, facing off in the same game of Count9.
This day holds a kind of fun you don’t usually find in pool.
Sumai Agent presents Yokohama BC Count9 Battle 2026
📅 April 29 (Wed., public holiday)
📍 POOL LABO (Isezakicho, Naka-ku, Yokohama)
💰 Entry fee: ¥5,000
🏆 Winner’s prize: playing cue (worth ¥140,000)
👉 Tournament details
👉 Billiards resources from Japan and around the world, organized by purpose: Billiards in Depth (latest updated hourly)
