Bangkok Cuesports Festival

Universal Bangkok Open 2026

Tournament Details

Last updated 24 Aug 2026

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Tournament Format

The competition will be divided into two stages:

  • Stage 1: Double-Elimination (Qualification)
  • Stage 2: Single-Elimination (Knockout)

Stage 1: Double-Elimination (Qualification)

Stage 1 will be played under a Double-Elimination format.

Under the Double-Elimination system, a player is not eliminated from the competition until the player has lost two matches.

Match Format

  • Winner Side: Race to 9
  • Loser Side: Race to 8

A total of 64 players will qualify from Stage 1 and advance to Stage 2:

  • 32 players from the Winner Side
  • 32 players from the Loser Side

A total of 64 players will qualify to continue in Stage 2.

Stage 2: Single-Elimination (Knockout)

Stage 2 will be played under a Single-Elimination format.

Under the Single-Elimination format, once the player loses one match, the player is eliminated from the tournament.

From the Last 64 onwards, the tournament will be played as follows.

Match Format

  • Last 64: Race to 10
  • Last 32: Race to 10
  • Last 16: Race to 10
  • Quarter-Finals: Race to 11
  • Semi-Finals: Race to 11
  • Final: Race to 13

Draw and Seeding

The organiser will apply an appropriate seeding and draw system for the tournament to ensure competitive balance and fairness.

The 128 players will be placed into the tournament's bracket in accordance with the organiser's published draw and seeding procedures.

Direct entries, seeded positions, qualification positions and any federation or regional allocations will be determined in accordance with the official tournament regulations.

Important Notice

The competition format, race lengths, draw procedures, schedule and other tournament regulations are subject to change where necessary for operational, sporting or scheduling reasons.

Any changes will be announced officially by the organiser.

Players are responsible for referring to the organiser's latest official announcements and tournament regulations for the most current information.

General Rules

Player's Responsibility

  • It is the players' responsibility to be aware of any tournament rules and regulations at any time of an event that they are participating in.
  • It is the players' responsibility to make sure that the correct score is being applied, either on the scoreboard or by the official announcing the scores. If any player notices that the score is incorrect, they should inform an official at their earliest opportunity.
  • Players must not smoke, vape or drink alcoholic beverages during their matches and must not use their mobile phones once their match has started. Any breach of this rule will be considered Unsporting Conduct.

Breaking Format

The object balls are racked as tightly as possible in a diamond shape by either an official or a referee, with the one ball at the apex of the diamond and the nine ball on the foot spot in the middle of the diamond. The other balls will be placed in the diamond at random. This will be done either using a template or by hand racking.

Players are not permitted to inspect the rack.

All matches are played with a Break Box as described in the Official World Nineball Tour Event Rules.

Break Shot

All players will be required to use a forceful break when participating in World Nineball Tour events. The determination of a forceful break will be at the discretion of the officials at the tournament. If a break is not forceful enough, it could lead to a warning by the referee. A second warning will result in a foul being called and ball-in-hand awarded to the opponent.

Conceding

In all World Nineball Tour events, concessions are not permitted. If a player concedes a rack or a match, they will be reported to the Tournament Director for further sanctions.

Shot Clock Rules

A 30-second shot clock is in operation on live-streaming tables only. Please see the Official World Nineball Tour Shot Clock Rules for a detailed breakdown of the shot clock rules.

Late Start

  • If a player is late to the table at the start of the match, the Tournament Director will instruct an official to award the first rack to their opponent. After 15 minutes a second rack is awarded, followed by a further rack every 5 minutes until the match is over or the player has arrived at the table.
  • If players are turning up after the docking process has been started, they are not entitled to their usual practice time before the match. They also forfeit the lag, and their opponent shall break in rack one.

Other Rules

For all other rules (e.g. coaching, time-wasting and unsporting conduct), please refer to the links below:

Dress Code

Dress code to consist of smart polos, trousers and smart trainers/shoes; players are allowed to wear up to four sponsor logo patches, as well as the event sponsor. Players participating on a streamed table should wear a Nineball patch on the right chest, with WNT Professionals using a WNT Pro patch on the right chest.

Universal Bangkok Open 2026 is open to all competitors or qualifiers, all genders of all nationalities.