From Lugo to Barcelona, Spain prepares for a new nineball chapter

The inaugural World Grand Prix will bring a new WNT Major to Barcelona in January. Behind the launch lies a wider Spanish story, shaped by international champions, a Major in Lugo and the tour’s growing calendar of events in the country.

Spain’s place in nineball has been built both on the table and around it. Francisco Sánchez Ruiz and David Alcaide have carried Spanish pool into world finals and winning European teams. The country has also welcomed international fields of its own, giving home supporters the opportunity to watch those careers at close range.

The World Grand Prix adds another setting to that story. From 18–20 January 2027, 64 players will compete at Fira Barcelona Gran Via in a new World Nineball Tour Major, staged alongside ICE Barcelona through a partnership between Matchroom and WorldGaming.

The precedent in Lugo

The 2023 Spanish Open brought a 256-player WNT field to Pazo de Feiras e Congresos de Lugo. Its scale gave professionals and aspiring contenders a route into the same competition, with double elimination eventually giving way to a last-64 knockout stage.

China’s Dang Jin Hu became the inaugural champion, defeating the Netherlands’ Marc Bijsterbosch in the final.

The same venue then hosted the World Cup of Pool, where Johann Chua and James Aranas won the title for the Philippines. Across the two events, Lugo brought individual and national-team competition to the same stage, giving Spanish supporters an extended opportunity to watch international nineball.

Barcelona will begin with a different challenge. The World Grand Prix’s 64-player draw is single elimination throughout: there is no recovery route after an opening defeat. The eventual champion will need six straight wins across a three-day tournament played on eight tables.

Spanish champions on the international stage

Sánchez Ruiz and Alcaide provide much of the recent context for a new Major in Spain. Together, they won the 2022 World Cup of Pool, turning their individual ability into a national-team title.

Sánchez Ruiz followed his first US Open victory in 2022 with the World Pool Championship and Premier League Pool titles in 2023. He added a second US Open crown in 2026, while his Mosconi Cup record includes three consecutive victories with Europe from 2022 to 2024.

Alcaide’s achievements span a longer period. His World Pool Masters victories in 2017 and 2019 were followed by the European Open in 2023 and the inaugural Philippines Open in 2025. He was also part of Europe’s winning Mosconi Cup side in 2025, continuing a team career that began in 2006.

Their records show the level Spanish players have reached. The World Grand Prix field will be announced separately, but the new event arrives in a country whose leading players have already established themselves across the sport’s biggest stages.

A calendar extending from Seville to Barcelona

Before the World Grand Prix, the Mezz Sevilla Open is scheduled for 5–7 December 2026 at X-United Billiards Club. The 128-player WNT ranking event gives Seville its own place in the closing weeks of the year, ahead of Barcelona’s Major in January.

The two tournaments bring international competition into different settings: a dedicated pool club in Seville and a major exhibition venue in Barcelona. Together, they offer Spanish supporters further opportunities to follow the tour on home soil.

Nineball meets a new audience

Staging the World Grand Prix alongside ICE Barcelona gives the launch a purpose beyond adding another trophy. The event will put professional nineball in front of visitors from the gaming, technology and entertainment industries, including people who may be watching the sport live for the first time.

For those visitors, the sporting stakes will be immediate: 64 players, one knockout draw and a $100,000 prize fund. For established fans, Barcelona offers a new Major to follow in a country with a substantial recent nineball story already behind it.

The inaugural World Grand Prix takes place from 18–20 January 2027 at Fira Barcelona Gran Via. Player announcements, broadcast coverage, the match schedule and ticket details will follow through the World Nineball Tour.