GREEN BAY (NBC 26) — The event kicked off on Wednesday at noon, but from then until Sunday evening, the best female pool players in the world are competing at Oneida Casino Hotel for the Women’s 8 Ball World Championship—the first one in WPA history.
“This is the first ever, so we’re making history here,” said Brittany Bryant, a competitor from Toronto, Canada.
The top 64 women from over 20 different countries are attending the 8 Ball World Championships.
“These women here—some of them have traveled more than 24 hours on a plane to get here,” said Cathy Tschumper, a board member of the WPBA. “This is the best in the world. This is as good as it gets in women’s pool.”
Tschumper said it’s anyone’s game. The best player in the world can lose to the lowest-ranked one at the event.
“I wouldn’t bet on any of the women because they’re all capable of winning,” she said.
But besides competing against each other, the competitors are also trying to grow the sport for women.
“We work so hard to get noticed on all levels—on social media, on regular media platforms—that this just says to me that we’re doing something right,” said Lonnie Fox-Raymond, a competitor from Michigan.
The men have had 8 Ball championships for years, but for the women, this is their first.
“For us, it’s a big deal,” Fox-Raymond said. “It shows us the work we’re doing inside the pool community is getting noticed.”
Their hope is that one day female competitors can make being a professional pool player a full-time job.
“You’re going to make me emotional. If I could see women of the next generation playing this full time, it would mean the world to me. The majority of women in there have a part-time job as well, but we want to get to the goal of having everybody do this full time,” said Bryant.
The championship match begins at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, and the winner takes home a cool $30,000.
