WNT, WPA and 2026
- By VVP
- Main Forum
- 217 Replies
I don't spend much time following pool to speak as an authority. However, I know that Matchroom didn’t discover pool potential in Vietnam. If I remember correctly, I think Matchroom initially wanted to call it Vietnam Open and was forced to change it to Hanoi Open.Research shows WNT launched the Hanoi Open in 2023. Why didn't the WPA and Vietnamese federation "walk in and reap the benefits" earlier if they knew what a great market it would be? The WPA didn't show up until a year later after the Hanoi Open wowed the global pool world.
It's OK for WPA to tell Matchroom where it can and cannot go? What kind of pool-advocating organizations don't want big tournaments in popular locales? Are you saying Vietnam should try to limit the number of big events in the country? Weird way to try to grow the sport domestically.
Clearly, there is plenty of room for both WNT and Predator in Vietnam.
I cannot answer the question as to why the WPA and Vietnamese Federation didn’t try to bring big pool events to Vietnam before Matchroom, but I know they didn't want Matchroom there. I don't know the politics/economics enough to say why the WPA and Vietnamese Federation is protecting the Vietnam turf other than what I stated before in that the Federation thought that it planted the garden and didn't want Matchroom to reap the fruits of their labor.