JOY Billiards Uniting The World! On June 20, the sunshine of the southern hemisphere gilded the Gold Coast of Australia, and the "Liber Win · JOY" WPA Heyball U19 World Championship 2025 kicked off here. 56 young billiards players from 20 countries including Australia, Canada, and South Africa gathered together to compete with wisdom and skills on the green billiards - this is not only a youth competition, but also another shining business card presented by Heyball, a "Chinese original sport", to the world, and a "seed plan" for the global Heyball in the next ten or twenty years.
Ms. Greta, Secretary of the World Pool-Billiard Association, Mr. Olav Skreudland, Youth Division Director of the World Pool-Billiard Association, Jorgen Sandman, Sports director of the World Pool-Billiard Association, Fu Tingting, International Trade Director of Jiangsu Liberwin Textile Group, Qiao Yuanxu, founder, chairman and CEO of JOY Billiards, and other leaders and guests attended the opening ceremony.
As an original Chinese sport, Heyball has deeply attracted fans from around the world with its unique Chinese core and has evolved into a globally popular sport. When young people of different skin colors stand in front of the same table, Heyball is no longer a symbol of a single country's sport, but a "universal language" connecting Eastern and Western cultures. JOY will use this language to let "Chinese wisdom" go to the world through small balls.
"The love of billiards among young people around the world is developing at an unprecedented speed." Qiao Yuanxu could not hide his excitement in his speech. "JOY has made every effort to build a competition system covering six continents, all age groups, and gender equality, for a clear goal: to let Heyball shine under the Olympic flame in Brisbane in 2032, and even more so, for you!"
Starting from the 2024 season, JOY Billiards signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the WPA, investing more than $ 6 million in the event fund and enhancing the overseas event system, which now covers six continents. The "Liber Win JOY Cup" WPA Heyball U19 World Championship is the key move in this strategy - it is not only a top junior event certified by WPA, but also a "forerunner battle" for Heyball to sprint to the Olympics.
This global layout is receiving positive responses from the international community. World Pool-Billiard Association Sports director Jorgen Sandman said: "WPA supports Heyball's 'Olympic dream' because its popularity, cultural value and development potential are fully in line with the Olympic spirit. The booming development of Junior events is proof that this sport is recognized by more countries and loved by more young people."
The core of any sport's long-term prosperity lies in the continuous emergence of talents. For Heyball, youth events are not only a competitive stage, but also the cornerstone of building a "pyramid-shaped" talent system, and the "future spark" of cultural communication. In July this year, the Heyball Youth Open will be held in China, providing a stage for young Heyball enthusiasts across the country to let their dreams bloom, and providing a star road to the world stage for these boys and girls with dreams.
At the opening ceremony, with the end of the kick-off ceremony by leaders and guests, the "Liber Win JOY Cup" WPA Heyball U19 World Championship officially kicked off! From June 20th to 24th, the Gold Coast of Australia will play the song of youth battle, and the youth story of Heyball has just begun.