WPA bans......................
- Thread starter garczar
- Start date
Johann Chua speaks out against WPA.
Going out on a limb(maybe) but i think most pros really don't give an airborne copulation what the WPA says/does.
What 9ball tour are you referring to?
Matchroom's 9 ball tour
Have you looked at the Hanoi field? I don't see many league-level players there. They did have a bunch in US Open because a lot of people just want to play it. Their fields are pretty stout and very few care what the WPA does. Hell, a lot of them don't even know the WPA exists.
Zerksies
Well-known member
EXAC
EXACTLY. As we can see the WPA has done such a lovely job over the years
As I remember, the tournaments in Europe had quite a lot of local amateurs participating.
Also I wonder if this ban includes MR's youth tournaments.
They are open to anyone with entry-fee $$. You'll always have some amateur level players. If it keeps growing there may be a day when players will have to qualify to join the tour much like golf. A ways off but it will happen imo.
That's pure genius right there. I like it.
L.S. Dennis
Well-known member
What an interesting concept, worth exploring to be sure! Maybe the players should consider resurrecting the old MPBA (international this time) to try to get some semblance or representation similar to a players' union.That's pure genius right there. I like it.
Unionizing pool players would be like herding cats. Waste of time.
My perspective: The WPA has failed the pro players over and over again during the course of their reign on top of the pool world. For so many years there were only a handful of sanctioned tournaments and often those got canceled or had their dates changed at the last minute, or the prize money was reduced. In the most egregious cases promoters of WPA sanctioned events failed to pay the players at the end of the event and the WPA did virtually nothing to protect its players. They never failed to take their sanction fee in front though!
What has happened over the last couple of years is that Matchroom has made a concerted effort to elevate professional pool and bring it into the mainstream. In so doing they have pushed the WPA into a corner and forced them to either step up their game (we see this in the new tournaments they have created this year), or get out of the way. The WPA feels threatened by the success of Matchroom and their losing control of professional pool, so they initiate this proclamation threatening bans of players who want to continue to reap the rewards offered by Matchroom.
Where was the WPA the last twenty years or so? They sanctioned a few tournaments a year, collecting their sanction fee each time. It was a nice side hustle for an entity that was one in name only. They did nothing to promote professional pool, instead waiting for the few promoters out there to create events that they could sanction. Nice job if you can get it.
IMO the WPA is the past for pro pool. They had their chance and failed miserably. Matchroom is the present and have already shown they can do a much better job of promoting and producing events that showcase the talents of professional pool players. Matchroom has a long record of success in promoting other sports (snooker, darts, boxing, poker etc.). Compare that with the WPA history of promoting and producing nothing. They have long been only a sanctioning entity.
I will not always agree with everything Matchroom does (changes the ball colors for one), but I will acknowledge the boost they have given to pro pool since the advent of the World Nine Ball tour and the many other free standing events on their annual calendar. If pro pool is to have a future it lays here, not in the past way of doing business.
The one plus in all this is that often competition is good for the marketplace. If somehow the players find a way to organize and dictate where and when they will play, they can be the winners in all this. Without them no pool tour can be successful. Currently there may be less than fifty players who draw the crowds and attract the views on all the various media. If the top fifty guys could all agree on which way they were going, that might make the other side (in this case the WPA) capitulate. Seems like they are off to a good start already in that direction.
As always my heart lies with the betterment of our sport, and the recognition of the skills it takes to be a great pool player. After all these years I still relish watching greatness on the pool table. Carry on
What has happened over the last couple of years is that Matchroom has made a concerted effort to elevate professional pool and bring it into the mainstream. In so doing they have pushed the WPA into a corner and forced them to either step up their game (we see this in the new tournaments they have created this year), or get out of the way. The WPA feels threatened by the success of Matchroom and their losing control of professional pool, so they initiate this proclamation threatening bans of players who want to continue to reap the rewards offered by Matchroom.
Where was the WPA the last twenty years or so? They sanctioned a few tournaments a year, collecting their sanction fee each time. It was a nice side hustle for an entity that was one in name only. They did nothing to promote professional pool, instead waiting for the few promoters out there to create events that they could sanction. Nice job if you can get it.
IMO the WPA is the past for pro pool. They had their chance and failed miserably. Matchroom is the present and have already shown they can do a much better job of promoting and producing events that showcase the talents of professional pool players. Matchroom has a long record of success in promoting other sports (snooker, darts, boxing, poker etc.). Compare that with the WPA history of promoting and producing nothing. They have long been only a sanctioning entity.
I will not always agree with everything Matchroom does (changes the ball colors for one), but I will acknowledge the boost they have given to pro pool since the advent of the World Nine Ball tour and the many other free standing events on their annual calendar. If pro pool is to have a future it lays here, not in the past way of doing business.
The one plus in all this is that often competition is good for the marketplace. If somehow the players find a way to organize and dictate where and when they will play, they can be the winners in all this. Without them no pool tour can be successful. Currently there may be less than fifty players who draw the crowds and attract the views on all the various media. If the top fifty guys could all agree on which way they were going, that might make the other side (in this case the WPA) capitulate. Seems like they are off to a good start already in that direction.
As always my heart lies with the betterment of our sport, and the recognition of the skills it takes to be a great pool player. After all these years I still relish watching greatness on the pool table. Carry on
Post of the Month material right there.
I like the "gold ball" idea. The game of 9 ball could be changed in name only, or if necessary change the rules slightly. Just enough to stick it to the WPA. Just for instance, and hypothetically only, the 9 ball could be required to be pocketed last. No early 9 ball wins. If 9 is made legally (such as a 3-9 combo) it gets spotted and player continues.
Jay you are one of the most respected voices in the game and your thoughts and opinions are spot on!
If the WPA was not funded pool would not exist in some countries.
WPA is a expansionist organization.
Who here wants to organize prize money in Qatar or China?
Today an America player can travel to every continent except Antartica and find legit competitive action.
100 years ago the only pool being played was in professional mens clubs in mostly white nations.
The emotion directed at the WPA makes sense. What is more important is the free billiard world view the federated billiard world as a system of control.
A WPA ban protects players from being poached or lured over to another organization. America has lured so many pool greats away from staying in the country of their birth.
An example of WPA thinking outside the US:
Thorsten belongs in Germany promoting German player development.
Jasmin Ouschan is never leaving the Austria federation. She is a better example of WPA ideals.
The WPA wants its players to love and promote its country through billiards. Players can only promote at WPA events.
The WPA is successful at expanding pool and plans to continue to do so.
WPA is a expansionist organization.
Who here wants to organize prize money in Qatar or China?
Today an America player can travel to every continent except Antartica and find legit competitive action.
100 years ago the only pool being played was in professional mens clubs in mostly white nations.
The emotion directed at the WPA makes sense. What is more important is the free billiard world view the federated billiard world as a system of control.
A WPA ban protects players from being poached or lured over to another organization. America has lured so many pool greats away from staying in the country of their birth.
An example of WPA thinking outside the US:
Thorsten belongs in Germany promoting German player development.
Jasmin Ouschan is never leaving the Austria federation. She is a better example of WPA ideals.
The WPA wants its players to love and promote its country through billiards. Players can only promote at WPA events.
The WPA is successful at expanding pool and plans to continue to do so.