Chinese pool event begins with largest first prize in cuesports history

The 2026 Duya Legends Golden Nine International Tour Global Finals broke off in Beijing on Wednesday with stage one qualifying featuring contestants from the host nation.

Players representing over 60 different countries are expected to compete in the Far East, and on the eve of the blue riband event organisers announced that this year's first prize would be doubled to 10 million Chinese Yuan - approximately £1.1 million (before tax).

Branded as the 'Pinnacle of World Competition', these Global Finals - sanctioned by the World Pool Association - carry a total prize fund of 15 million Chinese Yuan, meaning there is a huge drop from first to second, with the runner-up due to pocket 1.5 million Yuan (around £165,000).

Other prize pay-outs include 100,000 Yuan for players finishing 9th to 16th, and 10,000 Yuan for those ending in the 65th to 128th bracket.

The reigning champion is China's Chu Bingjie who defeated compatriot Zhou Long in last year's inaugural final.

The tournament is played to 'Golden Nine' rules - 9-ball pool but on a small-sized snooker table with very challenging pockets and a napped cloth. Unlike normal 9-ball, a points system is used to determine the winner of matches, with various amounts awarded for a break-and-run, a table clearance, a frame/rack win, and foul shots from an opponent.

These are different rules to the Huacai World Open heyball event that was held in Deqing earlier this month - a lucrative tournament that saw seven-times world snooker champion Ronnie O'Sullivan make his competitive debut in the discipline, and Liu Junyaun go on to lift the trophy and secure the 5 million Yuan first prize.

The 10 million Yuan top prize being offered by Duya in the Chinese capital city this month is reportedly the biggest financial reward in billiards history. In comparison, Wu Yize - the winner of the 2026 World Snooker Championship - received £500,000 (around 4.5 million Yuan) for his success at the Crucible. Snooker’s most prestigious ranking events do have an increase in prize money this season, though.

Professional snooker has previously put up seven figure prizes for certain achievements, though. At the start of the Home Nations Series a decade ago, a £1 million incentive was up for grabs if a player could win all four events during the same season. No-one got remotely close.

More recently, a $1 million purse has been on offer for a ‘golden-maximum’ 167 break at the Riyadh Season Snooker Championship in Saudi Arabia, although again, no player has really threatened to unlock this, as yet.