Nine-Ball Pool
Fastest of the pool variants — pot the numbered balls in order, first player to legally sink the 9 ball wins the rack.
👥1 per team🌤indoor
What is Nine-Ball Pool?
Nine-ball is the flagship modern pool cue sport. Nine object balls (numbered 1–9) are racked in a diamond; the cue ball must first contact the lowest-numbered ball on the table on each shot, but any ball can be pocketed. The first player to legally pocket the 9 ball wins the rack. The WPA World Nine-ball Championship crowns annual champions.
Quick facts
Category
Precision Sports
Type
Individual
Players
1 per team
Where played
indoor
Country of origin
🇺🇸 United States
Estimated origin
Early 20th-century America (post-Prohibition pool halls)
Olympic
No
Popularity
global
Sources & provenance
Last verified 2026-08-24.verified