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This year, the Yokohama Open Organizing Committee plans to host and run four tournaments.
Why does the Yokohama Open Organizing Committee do what it does?
And why does it have to be Yokohama?
Today, let us tell you plainly what we feel.
A sport no one watches has no future
However high the level of play, if no one is watching, it might as well not exist.
For a sponsor, sponsorship is not charity. It is an investment in advertising.
Where no one is watching, money does not gather.
And without money, there can be no top-tier stage for professionals to compete on.
Pool is a niche sport.
That is not only a question of how many people play; it is also a question of how many people watch.
How much exposure can it get?
How many eyes can it reach?
That, we believe, is what will decide the future of this sport.
Setting the cycle in motion
Build a stage where professionals can shine.
Those who watch take up the game, or become fans.
As players and fans grow in number, money begins to gather.
With that money, an even better stage can be built.
And once again, the professionals shine —
Once this cycle starts turning, a sport can run on its own.
But the first turn is the hardest.
With no large sum of money and no push from the government, where do you begin?
Our answer was to start by widening the base.
The professional stage is not the whole of a sport.
Building a top-tier stage matters, of course.
But someone has to build the road that leads there.
A place where people new to the game can taste real competition.
A stage where intermediate players can test their limits.
A chance for people who have never watched to discover how compelling this game is.
We believe that building up such places, one after another, grows players and fans, and in time becomes the foundation that holds up the professional stage.
The Yokohama Open Organizing Committee holds four tournaments a year to set that cycle in motion, on purpose.
Why Yokohama?
We believe no city is better suited to be the stage for this challenge.
Yokohama is the city from which billiards spread across Japan.
When the port opened, Yokohama became the gateway for culture from abroad, and from here the game spread throughout the country.
Yokohama is also a city where people of many origins and cultures have long lived side by side.
Taking in cultures from abroad and refining them into something of its own — that openness of heart, and that spirit of challenge, are written into the city’s DNA.
To send this game out once more, from this city.
To start a new cycle from the place where it all began.
That is why this challenge belongs in Yokohama.
The choice to sponsor
To companies and individuals who share our vision: we would like to ask you to take part by sponsoring us.
We believe sponsorship means more than contributing to the sport.
Reaching a new audience: pool players
There are people who play pool but have never really had the experience of watching it.
Through our streams and announcements, you can bring your brand, products, and services to them.
Players are mostly adults with spending power, and they form a deeply passionate community.
A commitment to the community and to D&I
In Yokohama, a multicultural city, people of many backgrounds gather around the same table.
By its nature, pool is a game anyone can enjoy, regardless of nationality, age, or gender.
Supporting such a place can be shared as a concrete commitment to the local community and to diversity and inclusion.
A brand that stands behind new challenges
Taking on what no one has done yet.
Supporting that spirit also sends a message: as a company, you stand behind those who take on challenges.
Precisely because this is not a big stage, your support comes across as pure encouragement.
For sponsorship inquiries, please feel free to use the form below.
Yokohama BC Count9 Battle 2026
On April 29 (Wed., public holiday), we will hold a tournament that carries all of this.
On a stage where intermediate amateurs are the stars, two pros, Lo Li-wen and Hayato Hijikata, will take the commentary seats.
Top pros commentating on a tournament for intermediate players. There have not been many events like that, have there?
For the players, it is a chance to hear their own play talked through from a top pro’s point of view.
For spectators, a day to feel, in one room, the earnest battles of intermediate players and the artistry of top pros. For those watching the stream, a doorway into how fascinating pool can be, with commentary to guide them.
Admission is free.
Please come to the venue, or watch the stream.
We want to move forward together.
We are not a large organization, nor a group with deep pockets.
But in our wish to share the appeal of pool with as many people as possible, and in our belief that we can build a future everyone involved in this game can be proud of, we will not be outdone by anyone.
Those who step onto the stage as players.
Those who share the moment as spectators.
Those who support this challenge as sponsors.
Our roles may differ, but we should all be heading in the same direction.
We want to build the future of pool from Yokohama, together with everyone who gathers here.
We sincerely hope to move forward with all who share that wish.
▼ Yokohama BC Count9 Battle 2026: details and entry
▶ https://yokohama-billiards.com/yokohama-bc-battle2026
▼ Sponsorship inquiries
▶ https://yokohama-billiards.com/sponsor-contact
👉 Billiards resources from Japan and around the world, organized by purpose: Billiards in Depth (latest updated hourly)
