Raised by his grandmother from the age of 2, Wu began playing eight-ball the age of 10 at his family-run pool hall. When he became serious about pool, his grandmother would shuttle him from one competition venue to another on her scooter.

In 2005, after only six years of playing, Wu became the youngest player (at 17 years, 5 months old) ever to win the WPA World Nine-ball Championship. The next year, he was the top seed of the event, but lost in the quarter-final round to eventual winner Ronato Alcano of the Philippines.

Wu also won the 2005 WPA World Eight-ball Championship. Previously, he was the runner-up at the 2004 Juniors Nine-ball World Championship.

He placed second to Darren Appleton in the inaugural WPA World Ten-ball Championship in 2008, claiming the runner-up prize of US$40,000 In the semi-finals of the event, Wu had defeated Demosthenes Pulpul of the Philippines, 11–8, using a borrowed cue stick.

On June 8, 2009, Johnny Archer was nominated to be inducted into the Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame.

He is one of the most successful nine-ball players of the past fifteen years, having won the majority of the game’s major tournaments at least once, culminating in his being named Billiards Digest Player of the Decade at the end of the 1990s. Archer is a two-time WPA World Nine-ball Champion, winning in both 1992 when he defeated Bobby Hunter, and later again in 1997 after beating Lee Kun-fang of Chinese Taipei (Taiwan). He was also a runner-up the following year, losing in the final to Takahashi Kunihiko of Japan. He was the 1999 US Open champion, and has won over 60 professional tournaments throughout his career.

He has also been a regular on the successful US Mosconi Cup team, having joined them eleven times, winning on nine of those occasions. The US’s only losses with Archer in the roster came in 2002, when they were beaten 9-12 by Europe, 2007, when Team USA lost 9–12, and in 2008 when Team USA lost 11-5. He has captained the American side since 2004, retaining the Cup on each occasion until the 2007 upset (the 2006 event was a 12–12 draw in Rotterdam, Netherlands with the US retaining the trophy on account of being the current holders of it).

In 2003, one of Archer’s most successful years, he won tournaments such as Sudden Death Seven-ball and the first World Summit of Pool.

Archer also won the 2006 US$50,000 winner-take-all International Challenge of Champions by defeating Thorsten Hohmann in the finals.

In 2007, he won the Texas Hold ‘Em Billiards Championship. While in the 2005 event, the entire purse was awarded to the winner, in the 2007 event, the purse has been split.

The Ripley’s Believe It or Not! television show, on September 3, 2003, pitted Archer and Jeremy Jones against each other in an challenge match in speed pool. The show had them timed against each other, to try to beat the record, which at that time stood at 1 minute 30 seconds to break a full rack of balls and then pocket all fifteen balls, and then move to another table and do it again. Archer was the victor. The event was recorded in a warehouse in Los Angeles where other challenge matches were also taking place to beat records.

Archer has recently rejoined the staff of Inside Pool Magazine, where he writes a monthly instruction column.

For 2007, he was ranked #3 in Pool & Billiard Magazine‘s “Fans’ Top 20 Favorite Players” poll.

Okumura won the WPA World Nine-ball Championship in 1994, defeating Yasunari Itsuzaki in an all Japanese final. With the win, he became the first Japanese and second Asian to win a world championship in pocket billiards. Until Nick Varner won the title in 1999, Okumura was the oldest champion.

Although he won the world nine-ball crown, Okumura wasn’t quite successful in the sport for the next ten years. In 1995, he almost won the International Challenge of Champions but Chao Fong-pang of Taiwan bested him in the last match. He also was closing to winning the US Open Nine-ball Championship in 2000 but lost to Earl Strickland , 5-11, in the finals. He nearly had a shot for a second world title in 2002 but again was defeated by Earl Strickland in the semis.

After some less impressive past performances, Okumura showed dominance one last time, in 2005. He defeated Mika Immonen in the finals to win the All Japan Championship, a long-running tournament featuring players from Japan and the rest of the world.

In 2001, Feijen reached the finals of a nine-ball tournament in Tokyo, Japan. The event had a field of more than 700 players and offered the largest prize money at that time. However, he lost to Efren Reyes. In 2004, he won the inaugural Skins Billiards Championship with prize money of US$42,500. Feijen has won the European straight pool championship four times. In 2005 he was the winner of the Big Apple Nine-ball Classic, held in Queens, New York, an event with 128 of the world’s best players. He represented Europe in the 2001, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008 and 2009 Mosconi Cup events.

More recently, Feijen won the 2007 $50,000 winner-take-all International Challenge of Champions by defeating Lee Van Corteza. In 2008, Feijen won the World Straight Pool Championship with a victory over Francisco Bustamante in the finals. On October 5, 2008, he received the 3rd prize of $25,000 in the inaugural WPA World Ten-ball Championship.

Niels Feijen has been under contract with cue manufacturer Longoni for several years.

In 2010, Feijen reached the finals of the WPA World Eight-ball Championship but ended up in 2nd place as he was dominated by Karl Boyes of Great Britain.

He began playing billiards at the age of six in his parents’ pub, practicing up to five hours per day. He won his first German Championship title at the age of fourteen in the juniors division. In 1985, Souquet co-won his first European Championship team title with the National Team, and in 1986 won his first individual title at the European Championship (juniors division). In 1997, he received the Silberne Lorbeerblatt (Silver Laurel Leaf), the highest official distinction awarded to sportspeople by Germany, which was presented to him by German President Roman Herzog.

In 1996, Souquet won the WPA World Nine-ball Championship where triumph over Tom Storm of Sweden. He also reached the finals of the same event in 2001 and 2006, only to be bested by Mika Immonen and Ronato Alcano.

Souquet also won the US Open Nine-ball Championship in 2002 by defeating Alex Pagulayan who would also win the event in the next three years.

In 2008, Souquet won his second world title at the WPA World Eight-ball Championship with a victory over Ronato Alcano (Alcano was also a winner of this event). Souquet won the $ 60,000 championship prize, with 13-9 final score.

A native-born Hamburger, Ortmann is one of the most successful European players. He first came to prominence by defeating Steve Mizerak to win the 1989 US Open 14.1 Championship. In 1995, he became the WPA Men’s Nine-ball World Champion.

Ortmann won the International Challenge of Champions in 1997. He won it for the second time, against the defending champion Francisco Bustamante, three years later

In 2004, Ortmann formed Ortmann Billiards, a company which sells pool products. Two years later he joined the International Pool Tour, and also continued competing in events sanctioned by other organizations. He won the 2007 WPA World Straight Pool Championship defeating Huidji See, 200-171 in the final match. This is his second World title in 12 years. During the tournament Ortmann made the third-highest run of the tournament, 131.

Hohmann first made a name for himself in 2003 by winning the WPA World Nine-ball Championship at the expense of Alex Pagulayan, 17–10, becoming the third German to become World Champion after Oliver Ortmann (1995) and Ralf Souquet (1996).

Months later, reached the finals of the World Pool League but lost to Rodney Morris, 8–3.

Appleton, who started playing pool at age 12, is the world ranked no. 1 player in British-style eight-ball pool. In 2006, he joined the International Pool Tour’s standardised eight-ball competition. That year, he also won the Straight Pool Challenge at the Derby City Classic.

On 5 October 2008, Appleton claimed an upset victory in the inaugural WPA World Ten-ball Championship over Wu Chia-ching, 13–11, winning the US$100,000 top prize: “I’ve waited 16 years for this and have to enjoy the moment. I had mixed feelings and I was looking back at my disappointments in the past. I was ranked first (earlier in the decade) in the world but I have never won a world championship… It was a dream come true for me and I’m happy to win the title here in the Philippines.”

In May 2009, Appleton challenged Dennis Hatch of the United States in a three-day race-to-100 challenge match of ten-ball. Hatch, however, came out the victor with a score of 100-83. In the same year, he won the World Pool Masters tournament by defeating Nick van den Berg.

Van Boening is hearing-impaired and uses a hearing aid, but it has not limited his pool ability. He has received praise for his attitude towards the sport, partially for his behaviour during matches, and for eschewing alcohol.

When Van Boening was a year and a half old, he watched his grandfather play pool and took a liking to the multi-colored balls on the emerald green felt. His family has a strong pocket billiards background. His grandfather, Gary Bloomberg, was a trick-shot artist; his grandmother, Jeanne Bloomberg, a VNEA national champion; his mother, Timi Bloomberg, a BCA national champion; and his aunt, Gari Jo Bloomberg, a three-time VNEA national champion.

Van Boening defeated Hungarian Vilmos Foldes at the International Pool Tour qualifier in 2006, and was one of several players to earn a bonus of US$5,000 for breaking and running six consecutive racks in tournament play. Shane was one of only 10 players to earn their IPT tour card by finishing in the top two spots of one of five qualifiers. Shane won the second stop held at the Pool Room in Atlanta, Georgia.

He has been ranked number one in the world by AZBilliards.com. When he is not competing professionally, he can be found practicing in downtown Sioux Falls at Lucky Billiards, where he is the house pro and co-owner.

Van Boening is a three-time VNEA national eight-ball champion,. In 2007, he made it to the final of the BCA Open Nine-ball Championship but lost to Dennis Orcollo. Days later, he dominated the inaugural World Ten-ball Championship to become the first-ever world champion in that discipline of pool.

Shane has been declared by some as the next-in-line and heir-apparent to the throne of being the best pool player in the US by Inside POOL Magazine.

The last decade in pool had witnessed a strong Filipino dominance, which has only been reinforced in recent years. Van Boening captured the hot seat in the World Summit of Pool in June 16, 2007, giving 2004 WPA Men’s World Nine-ball Champion Alex “the Lion” Pagulayan an 11–4 thrashing. There were four players left standing in the quarter-finals of the double-elimination event, three Filipinos on the B side of the charts and one American in the hot seat, American Shane Van Boening. The last day, all matches were shortened races to 7 because they were being recorded by ESPN. Alex Pagulayan plowed through Francisco Bustamante and Warren Kiamco and faced Van Boening in the final. Despite Pagulayan leading 4-1, Van Boening recovered to tie the score, 5-5 before veteran Pagulayan won the next two games to claim the victory, 7 to 5.

The Billiards Congress of America Pool League owner Mark Griffin recognized his talent and decided in 2007 to sponsor him as he advances his professional career.

On October 20, 2007, he won the 2007 (32nd annual) US Open Nine-ball Championship, defeating Filipino Champion Ronnie Alcano in the finals, 13–10. Van Boening remained undefeated in the double-elimination format of the championship, held in Chesapeake, Virginia.

At the Reno Open Nine-ball Championship, held on December 9, 2007, Van Boening and Johnny Archer were in the double-elimination finals. Archer was up to that point undefeated, and Van Boening had to beat Archer twice; Van Boening won the first set, and 83 minutes later, claimed the championship.

As a capstone to his record year, for 2007 he was declared the male Player of the Year by all three of the major pool publications, Billiards Digest, Pool & Billiard Magazine, and InsidePOOL Magazine (in each case with Allison Fisher as his female co-recipient of the honor), and also ranked #11 in the P&B “Fans’ Top 20 Favorite Players” poll for that year.

He won the WPA World Nine-ball Championship in Cardiff, Wales in 2001. That same year, he was the runner-up to Corey Deuel in the US Open Nine-ball Championship.

He has represented Team Europe on twelve occasions in the Mosconi Cup, most recently in 2009. During 2008 event Mika was crowned MVP, forever banishing bad memories of a costly miss in the final game of the 2006 event.

In early 2009, Mika was awarded the title of Player of the Year. Subsequently, he also claimed that title for season 2009 and was awarded early 2010.

Mika is the current (2009) two-time Men’s Division title-holder of the US Open Nine-ball Championship, where the worlds top professional billiard players compete in Chesapeake, Virginia. This year Mika won 14 straight matches, finishing with a close 13-10 victory over Ralf Souquet in the finals. In last years event, Mika claimed the 13-7 victory and pocketed the first-place prize of US$40,000 on October 26, 2008 against runner-up Filipino Ronato Alcano, who settled for $20,000.

Immonen nearly won his second world title at 2009 World Straight Pool Championship, but was defeated in the finals by Stephan Cohen of France. Also in 2009, Immonen bested Darren Appleton to win the International Challenge of Champions, a tournament where he once reached the finals in 2002 but lost the sudden-death rack to Efren Reyes.

In Late November 2009 Mika finally won his second World Title in Manila at the WPA World Ten-ball Championships. He Dominated the Philippine hope Lee Van Corteza in the finals 11-6.