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There is value in taking part
A tournament for intermediate players, and top pros coming to commentate.
Until now, how many tournaments like that have there been? Not many, surely.
From the last 32 on, Lo Li-wen and Hayato Hijikata will be watching your matches.
As commentators, they will give your play words.
How will you play the angle?
Why did you choose that spot on the cue ball?
In that moment, what would a top pro have done?
This tournament offers a chance to hear your own play talked through from a top pro’s point of view.
Win or lose, that experience stays with you.
On a stage where the leading roles belong to intermediate players who are not yet anyone, Lo and Hijikata will stand as commentators.
That alone should be reason enough to enter.
Imagine it
You want to win. You don’t want to lose.
In that moment, what state are you in?
Your hands shake.
Even a layout you would normally play without a second thought, and your body locks up with nerves.
“Why am I this nervous?”—you think it, and still it won’t stop.
In that moment, can you play the way you always do?
When you make a mistake, what do you do?
Some will simply move on to the next shot.
Some will own it.
Some will make excuses.
Some will let their feelings take over.
Which of these is right? Who can say.
But one thing can be said.
What matters is to stop, reset your mind, and recover.
A hundred players, a hundred ways of doing it.
That’s fine. That’s what makes it interesting.
Ball in hand lays your mind bare
In this Count 9, every change of turn gives ball in hand (anywhere on the table).
At first glance, it may look like a generous rule.
But in truth—this may be the cruelest rule of all.
Where do you put it?
Is that the right angle?
Is that the right distance?
Every decision is yours alone.
When the layout you’re handed is ugly, there is still room for an excuse.
You can say, “Nothing could be done with that.”
With ball in hand, there is no such thing.
If the angle was wrong, that was you.
If the speed was wrong, that was you too.
If the tip position was wrong, that was you too.
Everything shows.
As if someone could see straight into your head, the “now” of your game is laid out on the table, just as it is.
The more seriously you take it, the harsher the rule becomes.
And yet, no rule is kinder
Starting from ball in hand opens the door to beginners, too.
Pocket one ball, score one point.
If the remaining balls lie well, you might even clear them all with stop shots.
Do what you can do now. That’s all.
Harsh, and entertaining too.
Strict, and yet anyone has a chance.
That is Count 9.
Reasons not to enter are easy to find
There’s no prize money.
It’s not ordinary 9-ball.
It feels a little too soon for me.
—If that’s what you think, perhaps there’s no need to push yourself.
Shaking, you still take your stance.
Struggling, you still face who you are right now.
You know that next to stronger players you fall short in ideas, knowledge and skill, and still you want to enjoy this sport called billiards.
This may be a tournament for people like that.
Deciding not to enter is easy.
But that choice may be keeping something at a distance.
No one knows the shortcut to getting better.
Hard work isn’t always rewarded.
But—the ones who succeeded, the ones who are strong, reached where they are because they pushed against where they stood, and worked.
That much, at least, is true.
Maybe you’re not very good.
Maybe you still have a long way to go.
But that’s fine. That’s good.
World champions and the world’s top pros were intermediate players once, too.
Right now, in this moment, what is the most you can do?
Come straight at it, with everything you are right now.
On the day, this stage has everything
🎱 Exhibition match: Lo × Hijikata
The same Count 9, the same rules.
When top pros play it, what is different?
Where do you put the cue ball?
How do they decide under pressure?
On the same tables you play on that day, under the same rules, they will show you the answers.
Just watching up close will help you grow.
More than any words, each shot will speak.
🎱 DUYA CLUB (Chinese 8-ball tables), free to play
On the day, DUYA CLUB’s Chinese 8-ball tables will also be open for free play (time limits apply).
A rare chance to try tables you seldom get to touch.
🎱 Watching is free, too
Even if you’re not playing, please come to the venue.
The heat of players who are not yet anyone, yet strive desperately, wholeheartedly, to climb higher. And the artistry of top pros.
A day when you can feel both in the same room.
And beyond
A stage where you compete while Lo and Hijikata commentate.
You, fighting here as an intermediate player, may one day meet those two on the stage of Yokohama Open.
We look forward to that future.
This moment, right now, this fleeting instant.
The players who take part, the people who come to watch, and Lo and Hijikata calling the matches.
Let’s all enjoy it to the fullest.
The finest all-out contest, and the finest entertainment.
Tournament overview
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Tournament | Yokohama BC Count9 Battle |
| Date | Wednesday, April 29 (public holiday) |
| Venue | POOL LABO |
| Game | Count 9 |
| Format | Single elimination |
| Capacity | 64 players (32 meeting at 9:00 / 32 meeting at 9:30) |
| Entry fee | ¥5,000 |
| Target points | B class: 40 points / C class: 30 points |
| Spectators | Free |
Scoring
- Balls 1–8: 1 point each / 9-ball: 2 points
- On any change of turn other than on the 9, ball in hand (anywhere on the table)
- Maximum 10 points per rack (on a full run-out)
- The first player to reach the target score wins (the match ends mid-rack)
From the last 32, live commentary by Lo and Hijikata
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 tomorrow
Entries open Monday, March 23, from 20:00 / Capacity: 64 players
👉 Tournament details and entry
Not losing to yourself—we are waiting for players ready to take that on.
We look forward, with all our hearts, to your entries.
