The China Billiards Club Professional League (CBL) officially launched its inaugural season at a ceremony in Guangzhou on May 10. The league brings together eight clubs for a competition spanning eight months and 432 matches, structured across group stages, knockout rounds, and finals.
Jiang Shicai, director of the National Sports General Administration’s Small Ball Sports Management Center and chairman of the Chinese Billiards Association, emphasized the league’s strategic role. “The CBL is the pinnacle of our new ‘four pillars, multiple initiatives, optimized services’ framework,” he said. “It is tasked with enriching event offerings, setting a platform benchmark, guiding player development, and driving industry growth. China’s billiards sector has entered a golden age of high-quality development, with recent world champions like Zhao Xintong and Wu Yize giving the league both confidence and momentum.”
Pan Xiaoting, the league’s image ambassador, joined Zhao and Wu at the launch. Having witnessed the sport’s growth over the years, Pan commented, “The CBL offers a sustainable professional platform where talented players can find a stage, earn rewards, and build a future.”
The eight founding clubs — Zhejiang Jiuding, Huajian International, Shanghai Jiushi, Beijing Xingpai, Kangxi Shengshi, Shengsen, Xiaopanda, and Kaichang — have already signed their players. The group stage kicks off on May 20, with a format combining home-and-away double round robin and centralized tournament phases to maximize competitiveness and entertainment value.