The WPA Heyball World Championship 2026 brought the international Heyball community together in India, with players from 39 countries competing across four days of world-class competition.
For a sport that continues to expand its presence across the global cue-sports landscape, the championship was more than just another tournament on the calendar. It was an opportunity to bring some of the biggest names in Heyball to India, introduce the sport to a wider audience, and demonstrate that the country can host an event of true international scale.
Across the championship, 254 matches were played, with 128 international athletes from across the world competing for a share of the US$400,000 prize pool, equally divided between the men’s and women’s categories. The field brought together some of the biggest names in Heyball, including world No. 1 Jack Whelan, defending champion Gareth Potts, top-ranked women’s player Wendy Jans and reigning champion Kelly Fisher.
India was also strongly represented, with 26 players competing on home soil, including Pankaj Advani, Shivam Arora, Sundeep Gulati, Laxman Rawat, Divya Sharma, Vidya Pillai, Anupama Ramachandran, Amee Kamani, Brijesh Damani, Paras Gupta, Kamal Chawla, Himanshu Jain, Abhinav Dhiman, Aarav Sancheti, Natasha Chethan, Varshaa Sanjeev, L. Shruthi, Neena Praveen, Keerthana Pandian, Gianna Rego, Pushpender Singh, Ranveer Duggal, Jiya Sehgal and more.
Four Days of World-Class Competition
The men’s and women’s championships produced two closely watched battles for the title, with both defending champions ultimately retaining their crowns.
In the men's competition, Gareth Potts emerged as champion, with Jordan Shepherd finishing as runner-up. In the women's championship, Kelly Fisher took the title, while Sukrithanes Waratthanun finished runner-up.
Their presence, alongside players representing different countries, reflected the international reach of the championship. Heyball is no longer confined to a handful of established cue-sports markets. Its competitive field continues to grow, and the World Championship provided a clear snapshot of that expansion.
For India, having that international field compete on home soil was significant. Hosting a championship of this scale gives Indian audiences the chance to experience the sport at its highest level while giving international players and fans an opportunity to experience the country's growing cue-sports ecosystem.
Taking Heyball to a Wider Audience
The championship's reach extended well beyond those inside the venue.
The live-streaming figures underline just how much attention the event attracted. The tournament recorded 2,114,670 sessions and 134,027 unique viewers, alongside 88,749 in total watch time. The event also recorded a potential reach of more than 200 million.
These numbers are important for a sport that is still building its global audience. A World Championship is not only about what happens on the table; it is also about how many people get the opportunity to watch, follow and eventually become part of the sport.
The scale of the digital audience meant that the action in India could reach viewers far beyond the venue and beyond the countries represented in the competition. For Heyball, that visibility matters. Every new viewer is another person introduced to the sport, its players and the level of competition that exists at the very top.
A Championship Built Together
A championship of this scale is never the work of one organisation alone. Behind the 254 matches and the action on the tables was a wider network of organisations, partners and teams working together to bring the event to life.
The championship was supported by WPA, BSFI, Jairaj Sports & Convention Centre, Rajan Khinvasara National Billiards & Snooker Academy, Joy Billiards, Liberwin and Dynaspheres, with each contributing to the wider tournament ecosystem.
The event also reached audiences around the world through WPALive.tv, the official streaming platform for the tournament matches. With more than 2.1 million streaming sessions and a potential reach of 200 million+, the championship's story extended far beyond the venue in Pune.
For Apex Sports, being part of this collective effort was particularly meaningful. From the planning and preparation that began months before the first break to the many moving parts required during the championship itself, the Apex Sports team was closely involved in bringing the event together.
The result was a championship that was not simply played on the tables, but built around them. Built through collaboration, preparation and a shared commitment to giving Heyball a platform worthy of its growing international presence.
India as a Host
There is also something important about where the championship took place.
2026 marks the centenary of the Billiards and Snooker Federation of India (BSFI), making this a landmark year for Indian cue sports. As the federation completes 100 years of organised cue-sports governance in the country, hosting a World Championship of this scale adds another significant chapter to that history
Hosting an international World Championship means bringing together athletes, officials, organisers, volunteers, broadcasters and fans from across the world. It requires much more than simply providing tables and a playing venue. The event has to create an environment where international players can compete at their best while giving audiences a professional and engaging experience.
For Indian cue sports, successfully hosting an event of this scale is another step towards becoming a more prominent destination for international competitions.
It also creates an opportunity to showcase Indian sporting infrastructure and event organisation to an international audience. As Heyball continues to develop, events like this can help build a stronger connection between the global sport and the Indian sporting community.
Looking Ahead
The WPA Heyball World Championship 2026 offered a glimpse of what the future of the sport could look like: a strong international field, increasingly competitive tournaments and an audience that is no longer limited to those watching from inside the venue.
With 39 countries represented, 254 matches played and more than two million streaming sessions recorded, the championship demonstrated the scale Heyball can achieve when the world's leading players come together.
For India, it was an opportunity to host that growth rather than simply watch it from the sidelines.
And as more players take up the sport, more countries become involved and more fans discover Heyball, championships like this can play an important role in taking cue sports to an even wider audience. The 2026 World Championship was not just about crowning Gareth Potts and Kelly Fisher as world champions. It was about showing how far Heyball has come, and how much further it can go.
