Pool or the world of billiards can sometimes reveal the world’s best and most witty geniuses, such as Efren Reyes and Ralph Greenleaf. Today, we attempted to compile a list of the world’s top pool players based on their records and current rankings.
As a highly competitive sport, billiards’ rankings are constantly changing based on players’ performance in the most important events. Let’s see who the best pool player in 2022 is. Players are listed according to their current World Pool-Billard Association (WPA) rankings.
This is our list; we hope it does not disappoint you!
12. Wu Jia-qing
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- Nationality: Chinese
- Current Ranking: 12
- Plays: Left-handed
- Career Records: 124 wins/51 losses
Wu Jia-qing is a well-known Chinese pool player. Taishan Shentong, which means “Little Genuis from Taishan,” is his nickname. Wu began playing 8-ball Pool at his family’s pool club when he was 10 years old. His grandmother used to transport him from one tournament location to another on her scooter.
He finished second in the Juniors Nine-ball World Championship in 2004. However, at the age of 16, he became the youngest ever player to win the WPA World Nine-ball Championship in 2005. In the same year, he won the WPA World Eight-ball Championship. Similarly, he finished second in the WPA World ten-ball championship in 2010.
Wu applied for Chinese citizenship in 2011 to compete in more international tournaments. However, his application was initially denied. After obtaining Chinese citizenship, he went on to win the China Open in 2016 and 2019. Similarly, he won the World Cup of Pool in 2018.
11. Ouschan Albin
- Nationality: Austrian
- Current Ranking: 11
- Plays: Right-handed
- Career Records: 83 wins/40 losses
Ouschan Albin is a professional pool and billiards player from Austria. Furthermore, his highest ranking was #1 in the WPA ranking in 2014. Albin has won the World Cup of Pool twice. He won the tournament with fellow Austrian Mario He in 2017 and 2019. Similarly, they finished second in 2018.
He won the China Open, the Dutch Open, and the Mosconi Cup in 2015. The following year, he was named Mosconi Cup MVP as well as World 9-ball champion. He previously finished second in the World 9-ball Championships in 2014.
He has won multiple 8-ball, ten-ball, and straight pool tournaments. Albin has won 40 Austrian National Championships in total.
10. Tyler Styler
- Nationality: American
- Current Ranking: 10
- Plays: Right-handed
- Career Records: 32 wins/23 losses
Tyler Styler is a professional pool player from the United States. He won the Mosconi Cup for the United States in 2018 and 2019. Furthermore, he began playing Pool at the age of 14 in 2009. He finished 13th in his first WPA World Nine-ball Junior Championship.
Furthermore, Styler’s best victory came in the 2019 Kremlin World Cup, where he was crowned champion. Despite making it to the World 10 ball and World 9 ball championships, he has yet to finish on the podium.
9. Lechner Maximilian
- Nationality: Austrian
- Current Ranking: 9
- Plays: Right-handed
- Career Records: 36 wins/23 losses
Maximilian Lechner is a professional Austrian pool player. His pet name is Mad Max. Maximilian won the junior WPA World Nine-ball Championship in 2008. Similarly, he won the European Junior Championships in straight and 8-ball the same year.
He finished 33rd in both the 2017 and 2018 World 9 ball Championships. Similarly, he finished 17th in the 2019 World 10 ball Championship and World 9 ball Championship.
His best World 9 ball Championship finish came in 2021 when he finished fifth.
8. Ralf Souquet
- Nationality: German
- Current Ranking: 9
- Plays: Right-handed
- Career Records: 193 wins/121 losses
Ralf Souquet is a professional pool player from Germany. He is known as “The Kaiser.”Ralf began playing billard at the age of six in his family’s bar. He used to practice for 5 hours daily. Later, at the age of 14, he won his first Junior German Championship. Later, in 1986, he won the European Junior Championship.
He has already won more than 200 titles since his debut. He has 41 German Championship individual and team titles and 34 European Championship individual and team titles to his name.
Furthermore, Ralf won his first WPA World 9 ball championship in 1996, defeating Swedish Tom Storm. He also reached the finals of the same competitions in 2001 and 2006 but finished second. Later, in 2008 Ralf clinched his second world title after triumphed over Alcano in WPA World 8-ball Championship. He is also a five-time World Pool Master and a World Cup of Pool champion.
7. David Alcaide
- Nationality: Spanish
- Current Ranking: 7
- Plays: Right-handed
- Career Records: 94 wins/ 66 losses
David Alcaide is a professional pool player from Spain. Alcaide began playing pool at the age of five and went on to become the Spanish 8-ball champion at the age of fourteen. Furthermore, his first breakthrough came in 1998, when he finished third in the Spanish Open.
Similarly, in 2006, he became the first Spanish player to represent Europe in the Mosconi Cup. He finished the tournament with four wins and two losses. Later that year, he represented Europe again, finishing with three wins and one loss and lifting the trophy this time.
He won the World Pool of Master and the Kremlin World Cup the same year. He also had some success on the European tour, winning the Treviso Open twice in 2009 and 2016. Similarly, he won the 2010 Straight Pool Championship, the 2013 8-ball tournament, and the 2014 and 2016 8 10-ball tournaments in the European Pool Championship.
Alcaide won a bronze medal in the WPA World 8-ball championship in 2011 and a gold medal in the World 10-ball championship in 2009, 2011, and 2015. Alcaide has also played professional snooker, competing in the 2019 Gibraltar Open, a professional snooker ranking tournament.
6. Alexander Kazakis
- Nationality: Greek
- Current Ranking: 6
- Plays: Right-handed
- Career Records: 106 wins/ 55 losses
Alexander Kazakis is a professional pool player from Greece. He was ranked first in the WPA rankings in 2018. Kazakis won the 2016 Kremlin World Cup by winning all of the tournament’s games. In 2018, he reached the WPA World Nine-Ball Championship semi-finals before losing to eventual champion Joshua Filler.
However, the following year, he won the Euro Tour event Austria Open, defeating Estonian Deis Grabe 9-6 in the final. Similarly, he finished second in the 2019 World Pool Masters, losing to David Alcaide. However, in the 2021 World Pool Masters, he became the first player to win a “clean sweep” of finals. In the final, he defeated Amerian Shane Van Boening 9-0.
5. Neils Feijen
- Nationality: Dutch
- Current Ranking: 6
- Plays: Right-handed
- Career Records: 120 wins/71 losses
Neils Feijen is a professional pool player from the Netherlands known as “The Terminator.”In 2004, Feijen won the first Skins Billards Championship. He also won the European Straight Pool Championship seven times. He also won the European 9-ball Championship twice.
In 2001, 2004-05, 2007-09, and 2011-16, he represented Europe in the Mosconi Cup. Similarly, he has been named MVP of the Mosconi Cup four times. Later, in 2008, he defeated Filipino Francisco Bustamante to become World Straight Pool Champion. Similarly, he came in third place in the inaugural WPA World 10-ball championship.
He finished second in the World 8-ball Championship in 2010 and 2011. Feijen has also won the World Pool Masters twice. With ten victories on the Euro Tour, Feijen is ranked third. Similarly, his 37 medals rank second on the Euro tour.
4. Jayson Shaw
- Nationality: Scottish
- Current Ranking: 4
- Plays: Right-handed
- Career Records: 101 wins/48 losses
Jayson Shaw is a professional Scottish pool player. He has also competed in professional blackball, 8-ball, 9-ball, and 10-ball events. He won the World Blackball Championship in 2010. Later that year, in 2016, he won the 25th International Challenge of Champions tournament.
He has represented Europe in the Mosconi Cup on several occasions, winning the championship in 2016 and 2017. Despite competing in multiple WPA World Champions, he has never finished on the podium.
3. Ko Pin-Chung
- Nationality: Taiwanese
- Current Ranking: 4
- Plays: Right-handed
- Career Records: 100 wins/44 losses
Ko Pin-Chung is a professional Taiwanese 9-ball and 10-ball pool player. He is the younger brother of Ko-Pin-Yi, a professional pool player. In 2011, Ko reached his first significant finals in the All Japan Open but was defeated by Thorsten Hohmann. Similarly, he reached the knockout stage of his first WPA World 10-ball championship in 2011.
Later, in 2013, he won the World 9-ball Junior Championship. Similarly, in 2019, he won his first World Championship, the World 10-ball Championship, and finished third in the 9-ball event.
2. Shane Van Boening
- Nationality: American
- Current Ranking: 2
- Plays: Right-handed
- Career Records: 181 wins/70 losses
Shane Van Boening is a professional pool player from the United States. He’s known as “The South Dakota Kid.”Even though he wears a hearing aid, it has did not affect his pool performance. Shane has won 50 titles in his professional career. Furthermore, Billards Diges Magazine named him the 2010 “Player of the Decade” in 2020.
Similarly, in 2008, he was named 2007 Male Player of the Year by all three major pool publications: Billards Digest, Pool & Billiard Magazine, and Inside Pool Magazine. He is also a multiple US Open Championship winner. Shane has 17 titles to his name under different categories.
He won the World Cup of Pool in 2008 with Rodney Morris. Similarly, he won the Mosconi Cup three times and the World Pool Masters twice. Similarly, he won the World Stright Pool Championship in 2019.
1. Joshua Filler
- Nationality: German
- Current Ranking: 1
- Plays: Left-handed
- Career Records: 105 wins/38 losses
Joshua Filler is the World Pool Association’s top-ranked pool player. At the age of ten, he began competing at the national level in billard. Later, at the age of 20, Filler became the youngest player in history to represent Europe in the Mosconi Cup. His team won first place, and he was named MVP of the competition.
In the same year, he became the Chinese Open’s youngest champion. The following year, he won the European Pool Championship, followed by the WPA World 9-ball Championship and the Leende Open. Similarly, Filler finished second in the WPA World 10-ball championship and first in the US Open 9-ball championship in 2019.
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