I want to take a minute to address why a fourth winner was not crowned at the 2025 8-Ball World Qualifier and explain what actually took place.

The plain and simple answer is I made an error during the tournament setup. A player who was not eligible to play was inadvertently included on the roster as an eligible player. I did not discover the error until the finals were underway. It was an oversight on my part, and I feel horrible for what it has caused.

World Qualifiers are run locally as an extension of the World Pool Championships and are subject to oversight by the APA Corporate Office. Once the mistake was discovered and it was determined that the team intended to use an ineligible player’s Skill Level to comply with the 23 Rule, the Corporate World Qualifier Committee was contacted, and no winner was crowned.

After a thorough review by the Corporate World Qualifier Committee, it was determined that this error did not impact any of the other matches played during the tournament, as the team had satisfied the 23 Rule without using the ineligible player. However, the finals would have to be replayed without the ineligible player to declare a winner.

The World Qualifiers are the highest-level tournaments that we run locally. To all of our players, I apologize that my mistake has overshadowed this event. My promise to everyone is to do everything in my power to ensure that this does not happen in the future.

Sincerely,

Don Ward, League Operator

APA Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill