Jaden said:

I have to call bullshit. I can count the number of times I've played snooker on both hands and have an 83 break and several breaks over 60. I have to think that a top pool player who puts in the time would easily get higher average breaks.

edit: I have played on snooker tables more than that, but not actually the game of snooker. I used to play rotation and 8 ball on the snooker table with the skill balls, which are snooker sized balls in 1-15.

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iusedtoberich said:

I don't think I'll print any more of these. (unless he wants more). They just take way too long, and I was sweating the print failing the whole time. I also don't know how well they will hold up. I designed them thicker than most plastic parts, and the parts were oriented for the most possible strength in the printer, but time will tell.

I might come up with a more universal design, perhaps out of sheetmetal, with plastic only where the balls touch. That way the plastic can be oriented to print quickly, and would not be relied on for strength. It would screw to a flat wall, rather to the underside of an existing shelf as these do. And/or could be carried around like a tray and put on a table or shelf during a match. I doubt there would be much demand, but if a room owner said he wanted one for each table I'd probably do it.

That's all, enjoy

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SBC said:

Yeah...but that is chickenshit money...too much dilution of the market.

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jbart65 said:

You are correct. MR ran it from 2000 to 2007. The event wasn’t held in 2008-2009.

When I did my research earlier in the year, it was hard to find lots of good information on the history of pool tournaments. I knew Matchroom was involved with the WPC in the early 2000s but I couldn’t tell exactly how long. One reason I didn’t mention it before.

This week I’ve been using a more powerful subscription AI to recheck certain things. It’s turned up a lot more info, but I’ve had to verify it. I checked this matter again last night after sjm’s comments.

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KissedOut said:

I was having ticky problems in cases where the ball was more than a couple of ball widths from the cushion and Dave Gross aka @12squared showed me a way to determine the proper aiming point. Unfortunately I'm old and haven't been able to play for a couple of years and I forgot what it was, so I'm hoping that Dave sees this and tells us.

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jbart65 said:

As skogstokig said, it's all about access. He got it from MR a few years ago, then he got cuff off. Around the time, Predator cozied up to him with access to top tour promotors.

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iusedtoberich said:

1 year later, I see more CF now than last year. I did not read the thread...

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skogstokig said:

what is a big tv deal in 2026?

feels like broadcast tv is on its way out and streaming services are the future

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skogstokig said:

wasn't it until 2007? the had it in taiwan and manila a couple of years after cardiff. so eight years?

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SBC said:

They are making money for sure....but without bigger TV deals, it isn't the kind of money Mstchroom is used to or what they envisioned.

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trob said:

That’s what Barry is working towards but it takes time and money. I love the direction matchroom has pool going.

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skor said:

There are too many overlapping events causing the top players to scatter all over resulting in a lot of un interesting one sided matches that are too boring to watch.
Basically as viewers we can skip to the semifinals of the events.

There is already a format that works great, it’s the pro snooker tour and it simply should be copied.

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jbart65 said:

In the long run, I've begun to question whether the WNT survives.

All the new events being put on by Matchroom and Predator are great for the players, but I am not sure the stingy economics of pool can support both entities as things now stand.

TV revenue is pitiful. Dittos for subscription revenue. The same coterie of sponsors largely supports Predator and the WNT. And almost all are associated directly with the game (Simonis, Aramith, Diamond, Rasson, Cuetec, etc)

Neither side is bringing in lots of new sponsors not already tied to the game. So the two entities are drawing money from the same small pool.

In virtually every other major sport, one entity dominates or rules supreme. Can pool really be different?

Predator arguably is in better position now. Its prize money now often tops Matchroom events, aside from the US Open and WPC, and it supports a broader spectrum of the sport: 8, 9 and 10 ball, women’s pool, mixed events and team events.

The stepped-up competition from Predator has weakened the fields of WNT events and taken away part of the story MR sells to sponsors and advertisers.

Two years ago, MR seemed convinced it could sideline the WPA and Predator and become the new kingpin of the sport. That’s no longer the case.

I don’t know how the WNT and MR succeed, but I think it’s clear their strategy has to evolve. Recognizing the staying power of Predator and working actively to coordinate schedules would certainly be a good place to start.

The sport can’t reach bigger and bigger heights so long as Matchroom and Predator are at odds.

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Jaden said:

I didn't say "I" would have those higher average breaks, I said top pool players should have higher average breaks if they dedicated themselves to it.

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