Morocco Claims Its Second World Team Title on Home Soil in Marrakech

On home soil, Morocco’s eightball side beat Northern Ireland 11–9 to win the world team title — and complete an African–world double twelve years after Blackpool.

Before a home crowd in Marrakech, Morocco’s national eightball pool team — the English form of the game, played with plain-coloured balls — won the world team title on Saturday, 26 September, defeating Northern Ireland 11–9 in a final that stayed tight from start to finish.

Coached by Yasser El Amrani, the Moroccans had cleared Ireland 11–4 in the quarter-final and Wales 11–7 in the semi-final. According to MAP, the same tournament also delivered the African team crown — a continental and world double won at home.

The African and world championships ran from 17 to 27 September under the Ultimate Pool Association (UPA) and the International Eightball Pool Federation (IEPF), drawing some eighteen countries across twenty-four categories, from team events to singles, doubles and Masters.

It had been twelve years since Morocco last stood at the summit: their first world team title came in 2014 in Blackpool, England. For Abderrahmane Cherfi, one of the squad’s ten players, concentration and competitive spirit made the difference. For a generation of players, Marrakech will be remembered as the city where Moroccan billiards regained its place among the world’s best.