Entering a tournament, and how formats work.

How amateurs get into events

• Through a league. APA members reach the Las Vegas championships through weekly league play, and tournament slots and entry forms come through the local League Operator. Smaller "MiniMania" events held alongside the championships are open to any APA member. BCA Pool League championships require membership and a minimum number of weeks of league play.
• Open amateur events. The APA's U.S. Amateur Championship is non-handicapped, for players 18 and over, and excludes professionals. Preliminaries are held regionally, the format is double elimination with mixed eight-ball and nine-ball, and men race to 7 while women race to 5. (APA pages disagree on whether non-members can enter, so check the current rules before you sign up.)
• Local weeklies. Many halls run their own tournaments; the format terms below apply to those too.

Handicapped versus open

In a handicapped event, lower-rated players get a head start: they need fewer games or points to win. In an open event, everyone races the same distance. Team events may cap combined handicaps (APA) or combined Fargo Ratings (CSI). Some open events keep the strongest players out with a Fargo rating cap instead of handicapping each match.

Format terms

Race to X

The first player to win X racks wins the match.

The lag

Decides who breaks first: each player shoots a ball to the far rail and back, and the one closest to the head rail wins. A coin flip is the alternative.

Alternate break / winner breaks

Players either take turns breaking or the winner of each rack breaks the next. The Mosconi Cup and Reyes Cup use alternate breaks; the US Open has historically used winner breaks.

Double elimination

One loss drops you to the losers' bracket; a second loss eliminates you. The survivors of each bracket meet in the final, and in a true double elimination, a second "if" match is played if the undefeated player loses the first final. It needs almost twice as many matches as single elimination.

Hybrid formats

Many pro events run double elimination down to a set field, then single elimination, as the 2026 US Open and UK Open did.

Sets

Some WPA events play sets: a 2024 WPA ten-ball event played best of 3 or 5 sets, each a race to 4, with the break alternating between sets and ties decided by a shootout. That event also used a 30-second shot clock with one extension per rack.

Buyback

Eliminated players can pay to re-enter, as at the Derby City Classic.