The Asia Pool Challenge is an annual competition for AMATEUR expatriate players formed into teams of 12 and representing their respective cities in an event held in a number of Asian cities in rotation.
Players are selected from Asian city pool leagues. There are over 3500 players in our leagues including 2218 expatriates.
The competition is to encourage players to “get to the next level†by participating in an international pool challenge unique to Asia.
And of course it is about more than just playing pool, it is about forming new friendships and, most importantly, having fun.
Jakarta hosted the event in 2011 while Bangkok hosted in 2012 with the cities of Shanghai and Jakarta joining the hosts.
The event was held in Jakarta in September 2013, in Manila in September 2014 with seven cities participating Jakarta, Bangkok, Shanghai, Singapore, Manila, Ho Chi Minh City, and Phnom Penh.
The 2015 team event was held on 6th and 7th November in Jakarta with the existing 7 cities participating. After losing the last four years to Bangkok Heat, who had been the benchmark of Asia Pool Challenge, the Jakarta All Stars finally claimed the trophy.
In 2016 the event which now combines both team and singles competitions was hosted by HCMC in Vietnam for the first time. A new entrant, Seoul Crushers joined the event so 8 cities in total – Jakarta, Bangkok, Shanghai, Singapore, Manila, Ho Chi Minh City, Phnom Penh and Seoul.
The 2017 event was hosted in Bangkok who last hosted the event in 2012. All 8 cities participated. The live streaming views reached over 1.9 Million. APC has risen to a new high.
In 2018 the event moved back to Manila for the second time. It was held at the prestigious Winford Hotel & Resort Casino. In what was arguably the best staged APC event to date, Jakarta All Stars won convincingly with back to back victories.
The APC 2019 JAKARTA event was held at Dungeon Pool Lounge. No one could have predicted the finish which saw three teams fight it out in the last round. Jakarta All Stars won by a single frame (102) from Singapore Stingers and Bangkok Heat both scoring 101 frames. It was truly a nail biting finish.
Due to Covid we suspended our annual event in 2020 and 2021.
APC 2022 BANGKOK was our 10th anniversary and it was a special event as players came together for the first time in three years. It was the gathering of APC friends.
The tournament was again a tight contest with Bangkok Heat winning narrowly from the Jakarta All Stars by just 2 frames.
We held APC 2023 in Phnom Penh for the first time. The tournament was a fight in the end between with Jakarta All Stars winning the trophy for the fifth time. Closely followed by Saigon Legends, Bangkok Heat and Singapore Stingers.
APC 2024 was held in Da Nang, Vietnam for the first time. Da Nang was a great location situated on the coast with a beautiful beach. Definitely a contrast to big Asian cities.
This event was history in the making with Singapore Stingers winning the trophy for the first time and ending the domination by heavyweights Bangkok Heat and Jakarta All Stars. Definitely a welcome change! We also welcomed a new team Hong Kong Lions our 9th city in APC.
APC 2025 MANILA was a great event being held in the ballroom of the Midas hotel and casino.
The home town team Manila Patriots played very well but couldn’t overcome the power of the Singapore Stingers who went back to back champions.
This team is now the powerhouse of APC.
APC 2026 moves back to Jakarta and its grass roots origins.