# 2002 WPA World Nine-ball Championship

The 2002 WPA World Nine-ball Championship was the 13th edition of the WPA World Championship for 9-Ball Pool. It took place from July 18 to 24, 2002 in Cardiff, Wales.
The event was won by American Earl Strickland with a 17:15 victory in the final against Francisco Bustamante. Defending champion Mika Immonen was defeated in the round of 64 against Shannon Daulton.

## Format

The 128 participating players were divided into 16 groups, in which they competed in round robin mode against each other. The top four players in each group qualified for the final round played in the knockout system.

### Prize money

The event's prize money stayed similar to that of the previous years, with winner Earl Strickland winning $65,000.
| Position | Prize |
| First Place (champion) | $65,000 |
| Second Place (runner-up) | $30,000 |
| Third Place (semi-finalist | $17,500 |
| Fifth place (quarter finalist) | $8,500 |
| Ninth place (loser in round of 16) | $4,000 |
| Seventeenth place (loser in round of 32) | $2,000 |
| Thirty Third (loser in round of 64) | $1,500 |
| Sixty Fifth place (Fifth or sixth in round robin group) | $1,000 |
| Eighty First place (Seventh place in round robin group) | $500 |

## Preliminary round

The following 64 players dropped out in the group stage:
| | 5. Place | 6. Place | 7. Place | 8. Place |
| Group 1: | Jeong Young-hwa [de] | Brian Naithani [de] | Wayne Lloyd | George Sarmas |
| Group 2: | Brent Wells | Akikumo Toshikawa | Sascha Specchia | Gilliano Smit [de] |
| Group 3: | Robby Suarly | Chao Fong-Pang | Lee Walker | David López |
| Group 4: | Haruyoshi Hinokiyama | Frankie Hernandez | Robert Parlevliet | Geoff Dunn |
| Group 5: | Siauw Wieto | Pat Holtz | Alok Kumar | Ryan Rampersaud |
| Group 6: | Cliff Thorburn | Tom Storm | Kevin Smith | Carmine Nanula |
| Group 7: | Shawn Budd | Anthony Ginn | Marcos Castro | William Ang Boon Lay |
| Group 8: | Tiong Boon Tan | Alain Martel [de] | Richard Jones [de] | Gino Vermeesch |
| Group 9: | Tony Drago | John Wims | Dimitri Jungo [de] | Javier Palacios [de] |
| Group 10: | Tommy Donlon [de] | Dominic Dale | Ronny Oldervik | Chao Jung-hua |
| Group 11: | Marko Lohtander | Phil Reilly [de] | George SanSouci | Ed Galati |
| Group 12: | Johl Younger | Leonardo Andam | Troy Frank | Mario Morra |
| Group 13: | Kasper Thygesen [de] | Paul Hunter | Darren Appleton | Luis Miguel Sánchez |
| Group 14: | Andreas Vondenhoff [de] | Andy Richardson | Greg Jenkins [de] | Jorge Llanos [de] |
| Group 15: | Rob McKenna | Kuo Yi-che | Ivica Putnik [de] | Ditto Acosta [de] |
| Group 16: | Gerry Watson | Mohammed Junarto | Shawn Putnam | David David Anderson |

## Final round

| Round of 64 | Round of 64 | Round of 32 | Round of 32 | Last 16 | Last 16 | | Quarter final | Quarter final | | Semi-final | Semi-final | | Final | Final |
| Oliver Ortmann | 9 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Steve Knight | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Steve Knight | 2 | Oliver Ortmann | 9 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | Tony Robles | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Tony Robles [de] | 9 | Tony Robles | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Roman Hybler | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Roman Hybler | 1 | | | Oliver Ortmann | 5 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | Efren Reyes | 11 | | | | | | | | | |
| Efren Reyes | 9 | | | | | Efren Reyes | 11 | | | | | | | | | |
| Radosław Babica | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Radosław Babica | 2 | Efren Reyes | 9 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | Dennis Orcollo | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Dennis Orcollo | 9 | Dennis Orcollo | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Ralf Souquet | 8 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Ralf Souquet | 8 | | | | | | Efren Reyes | 8 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | Francisco Bustamante | 11 | | | | | | |
| Francisco Bustamante | 9 | | | | | | | | Francisco Bustamante | 11 | | | | | | |
| Imran Majid | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Imran Majid | 6 | Francisco Bustamante | 9 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | Christian Reimering | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Christian Reimering | 9 | Christian Reimering | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Victor Tapies [de] | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Victor Tapies [de] | 1 | | | Francisco Bustamante | 11 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | Antonio Lining | 10 | | | | | | | | | |
| Thomas Engert | 9 | | | | | Antonio Lining | 10 | | | | | | | | | |
| Chen Wei-chih [de] | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Chen Wei-chih [de] | 2 | Thomas Engert | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | Antonio Lining | 9 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Antonio Lining | 9 | Antonio Lining | 9 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Nick van den Berg | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Nick van den Berg | 4 | | | | | | | | | Francisco Bustamante | 11 | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | Yang Ching-shun | 7 | | | |
| Johnny Archer | 9 | | | | | | | | | | | Yang Ching-shun | 7 | | | |
| Charlie Williams | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Charlie Williams | 3 | Johnny Archer | 9 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | Rico Diks | 7 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Rico Diks [de] | 9 | Rico Diks | 7 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Jewgeni Stalew [de] | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Jewgeni Stalew [de] | 3 | | | Johnny Archer | 11 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | Lee Kun-fang | 5 | | | | | | | | | |
| Stephan Cohen | 9 | | | | | Lee Kun-fang | 5 | | | | | | | | | |
| Paul Potier | 7 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Paul Potier | 7 | Stephan Cohen | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | Lee Kun-fang | 9 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Lee Kun-fang | 9 | Lee Kun-fang | 9 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Phil Harrison | 8 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Phil Harrison | 8 | | | | | | Johnny Archer | 2 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | Yang Ching-shun | 11 | | | | | | |
| Fabio Petroni | 9 | | | | | | | | Yang Ching-shun | 11 | | | | | | |
| Niels Feijen | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Niels Feijen | 1 | Italy Fabio Petroni | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | Hiroshi Takenaka | 9 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Hiroshi Takenaka [de] | 9 | Hiroshi Takenaka | 9 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| David Alcaide | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| David Alcaide | 6 | | | Hiroshi Takenaka | 9 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | Yang Ching-shun | 11 | | | | | | | | | |
| Steve Davis | 9 | | | | | Yang Ching-shun | 11 | | | | | | | | | |
| Rodolfo Luat | 8 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Rodolfo Luat | 8 | Steve Davis | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | Yang Ching-shun | 9 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Yang Ching-shun | 9 | Yang Ching-shun | 9 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Michael Schmidt | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Michael Schmidt | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | Francisco Bustamante | 15 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | Earl Strickland | 17 |
| Earl Strickland | 9 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Earl Strickland | 17 |
| Gary Ponting | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Gary Ponting | 5 | Earl Strickland | 9 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | Park Shin-young | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Park Shin-young | 9 | Park Shin-young | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Warren Kiamco | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Warren Kiamco | 6 | | | Earl Strickland | 11 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | Jeremy Jones | 8 | | | | | | | | | |
| Thorsten Hohmann | 9 | | | | | Jeremy Jones | 8 | | | | | | | | | |
| Shintaro Sugaya | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Shintaro Sugaya | 0 | Thorsten Hohmann | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | Jeremy Jones | 9 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Jeremy Jones | 9 | Jeremy Jones | 9 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Ignacio Chávez | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Ignacio Chávez | 2 | | | | | | Earl Strickland | 11 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | Kunihiko Takahashi | 3 | | | | | | |
| Huang Kun-chang | 9 | | | | | | | | Kunihiko Takahashi | 3 | | | | | | |
| Lee Van Corteza | 8 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Lee Van Corteza | 8 | Huang Kun-chang | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | Alex Lely | 9 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Alex Lely | 9 | Alex Lely | 9 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Mark Williams | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Mark Williams | 1 | | | Alex Lely | 8 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | Kunihiko Takahashi | 11 | | | | | | | | | |
| Ernesto Domínguez | 9 | | | | | Kunihiko Takahashi | 11 | | | | | | | | | |
| Evangelos Vettas [de] | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Evangelos Vettas [de] | 6 | Ernesto Domínguez | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | Kunihiko Takahashi | 9 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Kunihiko Takahashi | 9 | Kunihiko Takahashi | 9 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Matjaž Erčulj [de] | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Matjaž Erčulj [de] | 0 | | | | | | | | | Earl Strickland | 11 | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | Takeshi Okumura | 5 | | | |
| Marcus Chamat | 9 | | | | | | | | | | | Takeshi Okumura | 5 | | | |
| Niklas Bergendorff [de] | 7 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Niklas Bergendorff [de] | 7 | Marcus Chamat | 9 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | Corey Deuel | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Corey Deuel | 9 | Corey Deuel | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Kim Davenport | 8 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Kim Davenport | 8 | | | Marcus Chamat | 11 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | Alex Pagulayan | 7 | | | | | | | | | |
| Nick Varner | 9 | | | | | Alex Pagulayan | 7 | | | | | | | | | |
| Šandor Tot | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Šandor Tot | 6 | Nick Varner | 7 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | Alex Pagulayan | 9 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Alex Pagulayan | 9 | Alex Pagulayan | 9 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Daryl Peach | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Daryl Peach | 6 | | | | | | Marcus Chamat | 5 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | Takeshi Okumura | 11 | | | | | | |
| Ramil Gallego | 9 | | | | | | | | Takeshi Okumura | 11 | | | | | | |
| Jim Rempe | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Jim Rempe | 3 | Ramil Gallego | 8 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | Takeshi Okumura | 9 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Takeshi Okumura | 9 | Takeshi Okumura | 9 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Peter Nielsen [de] | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Peter Nielsen [de] | 4 | | | Takeshi Okumura | 11 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | Hung Lu-kung | 5 | | | | | | | | | |
| Hung Lu-kung [de] | 9 | | | | | Hung Lu-kung | 5 | | | | | | | | | |
| Chung Chien-te [de] | 7 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Chung Chien-te [de] | 7 | Hung Lu-kung | 9 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | Shannon Daulton | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Shannon Daulton [de] | 9 | Shannon Daulton | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Mika Immonen | 8 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |