日本語 ｜ 繁體中文 ｜ English ｜ 한국어 ｜ Tiếng Việt
The Yokohama Open Organizing Committee has gained a wonderful partner.
The exclusive Japan distributor of “Zen Custom Cue (仁桿),” a high-end cue brand that draws keen eyes from billiards players all over the world, has agreed to lend us its strength as a sponsoring partner of the committee.
For us, aiming at the world from the city of Yokohama, there could be no more powerful encouragement.
We would love to share this joy with all of you.
So what kind of brand is Zen Custom Cue?
A custom cue brand from Taiwan, Zen Custom Cue (仁桿) makes every cue with high precision, from entry models to fully custom high-end pieces: each one “a cue made to exacting standards.”
It is a brand that keeps pursuing, without compromise, a perfect feel at impact and a high level of consistency.
It is hugely popular worldwide; some of its high-end models have a wait of a year and a half to two years from order to completion.
Used by Taiwan’s Ko brothers (all three of them: Ko Pin Yi, Ko Ping Chung and Ko Ping Han), it has made its name around the world as a brand trusted by top players representing Asia.
In Japan: POOL LABO, Yokohama
The exclusive Japan distributor of Zen Custom Cue is the Isezakicho hall POOL LABO.
POOL LABO handles all inquiries, purchases and support, and as the exclusive Japan distributor of Zen Custom Cue, it posts the latest news on Facebook and Instagram as well.
The Pros in Japan Who Play Zen Cues in Tournaments at Home and Abroad
Lo Li-wen
A legendary player who has led Japanese billiards for many years.
Born in Taiwan, he turned pro with the JPBA’s 43rd class in 2009, and the very next year, 2010, he was already named MVP.
Since then he has stayed near the top of the Japanese rankings, and from 2015 to 2017 he achieved the remarkable feat of three straight Asian Championship titles.
Called “ROLEX” and “the Precision Machine,” he plays with an unerring accuracy that never stops captivating fans.
As the face of the exclusive Japan distributor of Zen Custom Cue, and as the owner of POOL LABO, he supports the billiards scene from Yokohama.
Manabu Matsumura
Known affectionately to many fans as “Mappy,” a veteran who stands among the best players in the Kanto region.
From Kanagawa Prefecture, he is in the JPBA’s 43rd class, which means he and Lo Li-wen turned pro together.
With his friendly, easygoing character, he is widely loved, at tournaments of course, and among his billiards friends too.
Not only through his play: he brightens the mood wherever he is, and the billiards world would not be the same without him.
Norio Ogawa
A strong player who, even as an amateur, was expected to become “a player who will carry Japanese billiards in the future.”
After winning many national amateur titles, the Meijin title among them, he turned pro in 2018, when the time was right.
In 2019, right after turning pro, he won his first title at the All Japan Open Rotation Championship, and he has been a regular near the top of the JPBA rankings ever since.
A dependable player who keeps living up to the hopes placed in him since his amateur days.
Tomoya Iima
From Kagawa Prefecture, a player who has poured his passion into billiards since he was a child.
In high school he played in the World Junior Championship, and later moved to Osaka and took the path of a pro.
He retired once, in 2013, but returned in 2017 and won two open events that same year, a complete comeback.
Then, in 2022 and 2023, he won the Japan Open back to back, a feat that astonished everyone.
A top pro and the pride of western Japan, he runs the billiards gym “DRAGON” in Osaka while still competing.
Kenshiro Sakai
From Sapporo, Hokkaido, a billiards man through and through who has been playing since the age of five, of all things.
He finished No. 1 in the 2019 East Japan amateur rankings, and turned pro with the JPBA’s 55th class, exempt from the practical exam.
Based in Hokkaido, he never shies from travel and keeps competing tirelessly on tours across the country: a player full of fire.
Kotaro Sakakibara
An owner-player who runs the billiards bar “Kou Hoaloha” in Nakameguro, Tokyo.
He turned pro with the JPBA’s 56th class (2022).
“Kou-Hoaloha” means “beloved friend” in Hawaiian, and true to the name, both his place and the way he carries himself as a player have a warmth that draws people in.
Running his own place while still taking on the tour, he gives his all as a player and as an owner.
From Yokohama, to the World
What the Yokohama Open Organizing Committee aims for is “to be a bridge between Japan, Asia and the world.”
Our sponsoring partnership with the exclusive Japan distributor of Zen Custom Cue embodies that ideal exactly.
From Yokohama, together with a cue brand the world can be proud of, we hope to keep creating a new history for billiards, with all of you.
Please keep supporting the Yokohama Open Organizing Committee!
Zen Custom Cue, Exclusive Japan Distributor
Mariya Bldg. 4F, 2-66 Isezakicho, Naka-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa
Email: zencues.jp@gmail.com
👉 Billiards resources from Japan and around the world, organized by purpose: Billiards in Depth (latest updated hourly)
