Lukas Verner wins WNT Ranking Event

The idea Bergman couldn’t scrounge up sponsorship given a modicum of effort is ridiculous. If he doesn’t have a Cuetec in his corner that’s on him.

Bergman may not even care about getting on the Mosconi Cup. I would love to see him get a Predator or Cuetec sponsorship though. Any that might pay his travel expenses, if he might need them paid. He is one of our best, so he should have a top sponsor, I think.

Lukas Verner wins WNT Ranking Event

Yes, I stand corrected. My comment applies only to the years in which there actually were WNT Mosconi Cup rankings, meaning since 2022.

I will probably look like an idiot for asking, but I wonder why Matchroom only looks at WNT events. I wonder how many WNT events are in the US, annually. Players must need a lot of travel expenses, if they have to fly all over the world to play in WNT events, if many are international. Sorry for the dumb questions. Thanks.

Lukas Verner wins WNT Ranking Event

LOL.

Bergman played in one WNT event this year. He failed to get out of the first round of the PLP. He then skipped the European Open, the first WNT major of 2026. Right now, the case for his inclusion on Team USA is near zero.

Lukas, on the other hand, just won a WNT ranking event, beating Naoyuki Oi, whose Fargo of 828 makes him the 18th ranked player in the world, in the race to 13 final. That's twenty times harder than winning an 8ball race to eight against Filler.

You think who plays in the non-WNT events should have any bearing on Mosconi worthiness? I don't. Mosconi spots are based on performance in WNT play. It has always been that way. FYI, Wojciech Szewczyk was not on Team Europe in the year that he won the World 10ball title. Matchroom could care less who is doing what in disciplines other than 9ball, and that is just as it should be. The Mosconi Cup, to be fair, is the 9ball post season.

Only those who show strong form at 9ball deserve any Mosconi consideration. In 2025, Lukas has done so, but Bergman has not. That, however, is likely to change down the road. Wishing both of them the best of luck.

Is it possible that some of the best players in the US do not have the money or backing to play in all of the WNT events? Bergman for example. He does not have a big sponsor, like Cuetec, who might pay for his travel expenses. I might be wrong though. I do not know. He might still not like to travel much though, and that might be the case with Bergman. He is still one of the best US players though, right? And, why does Fedor have the right to play on the US Mosconi Cup team?

Lukas Verner wins WNT Ranking Event

While I agree about Fedor, it’s from a bit different reasons.
America is an immigrant nation, it was built by immigrants and many great Americans were not born in the USA.

The thing with Fedor is that most of his pool was developed in Russia, he represented Europe at the Mosconi before so switching sides feels like cheating. But then he picked the losing side so maybe we let him slide

The thing is, that I just feel bad for the other up and coming players who would have probably loved a spot on the team. Fedor did not need a spot on the team. He could have just played on the Europe team again, if they would choose him again. I just feel that they should have at least waited until Fedor is a US Citizen, before allowing him on the American team. In the mean time, allow some of the other up and coming players to have a spot on the team. Those are just my personal thoughts though. Nobody has to agree with me on my opinions. I really do not care.

Any known Reviews out there about HAMA cues, or their Hybrid Carbon / Maple shafts, from Japan?

I understand that this is a very long shot question, but those out there who might be into the Japanese Custom cue market, may know of HAMA cues, from Japan.

HAMA cues builds a very unique type of Hybrid Carbon / Maple shaft, that I think looks very interesting.

Here is an example of a HAMA cue that a customer had the cue maker build, but that is probably a rare example, because the customer had HAMA make it into 5 pieces, to put into a very compact type of custom case, that they also had HAMA make, I assume.


By the way, the above post is not even a review about how the shaft plays, not to mention, the cue above was made in a very different way, cut into 5 parts. So, I assume that might affect the hit too, compared to a normal 2 Piece HAMA cue.

Oh, and also, I do not even know how to contact the cue maker, but even if I could, I would not want to bother him, about a review on his shafts. Rather see a review from maybe one of his customers anyways.

Anyways, I am mainly just very curious to find any reviews about the Carbon / Maple Hybrid shafts that HAMA does, with all of the HAMA cues that I ever seen.

I just think they look so cool, but I wonder if they are very nice playing cues, or if they have the type of power that the high end full Carbon shafts offer.

I recently learned that there are a few guys here in the US that also build these Hybrid Carbon / Maple shafts, but the better one is kind of pricey at around $400.

Anyways, maybe there might be some members on here from Japan, who might share their thoughts about one of these shafts, or maybe someone out there might see this post, and share their thoughts about HAMA cues, or their Hybrid Carbon / Maple shafts.

I just think they look really interesting, and I love the look of the long straight taper, that does not appear to get much thicker at all, before it goes into the Maple section, which is probably at least 16" (or maybe more) down the shaft.

Thanks for any thoughts.

PGA Player Mic'd Up/Pool Why Not?

I enjoy hearing the chat between the caddie/player in match play.... before Shot choice/then execution.
Awhile back I saw this PGA situation in Play/they may still do it, players are mic'd up and talking about their up coming shot as they walk to it.
I think it could work in pool, because I Know I talk to myself saying such.... ''make sure I stay on This side of my next ball/shot".
Or more concerning, take care of Whitey more than the shot.
I'd truly enjoy hearing what Gorst/or any great player, what he's saying to himself when he choses some of his shots.
Often the cue ball placement is waaaaaay more important than the shot and often allot more is going on than just those two concerns.
My pool mentor told me many times, the casual observer of a pool game watches the balls being shot in the pockets, the knowledgeable observer watches where the cue ball goes. Take care of whitey. During my educations, nothing was more frustrating than putting Whitey right where I wanted him....or close....and missing the damn shot.

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