The women doubles in Rome was sponsored by Fujifilm, that’s even bigger

For me after a lifetime devoted to 3 Cushion, my original hand drawn diagrams from 1983 and Simple book cover for my impending Book/DVD's in 2010!

Badpenguin said:

Most of what matchroom is doing doesn't make any sense, from any perspective. They are constantly shooting themselves in the foot. It will be a miracle if they are still operating in 5 years.

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Pool's business model may not be where we'd all like it to be and for Matchroom Pool, great increases in added money are clearly contingent on improving that business model. Who is to say how long the WNT business venture will last? We shall see.

Nonetheless, I think a lot of what they are doing makes perfect sense, and aspiring pro players can now try to earn a living on the WNT without having a huge travel budget. Once they are ready, those who are worthy can travel to all the majors.

In 2023, Matchroom added WNT ranking events in Scotland, Poland, Spain, and Vietnam. In 2024, they added events in Colombia, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Maldives, Finland, Morocco, and Portugal. In 2025, they added events in Sarajevo, Bucharest, Manilla, Orlando, Jacksonville, and Seattle. This year, they added events in Chinese Taipei, Belgium, Costa Rica, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Estonia, Czech Republic, Phoenix, and Yuma.

Things have really improved in America. The US Open 9ball used to be the only WNT major contested on American soil, but now we have the US Open, the Florida Open and the Arizona Open. Matchroom has made good on its promise to invest more and more in America. In addition, Matchroom has produced junior championships in conjunction with each of its three American majors, which, to my knowledge, is more than any American event producer has done for the juniors. Prize money at the Mosconi has doubled since 2018, the year before Matchroom produced its first major in America. Winners used to get $20,000 each, but now that's the loser share.

Has Matchroom made some mistakes? Of course, they have. Have they made significant strides forward. Of course, they have. Have they grown their tour? Yes, they have. Is prize money where we'd all like it to be? No, it isn't, but the money offered through WNT ranking events continues to grow significantly, so there is hope.

Yours is a respected opinion on AZB, but you haven't given us a sense of what you would do differently if you ran the WNT.

Badpenguin said:

The streaming makes no sense whatsoever. If you happen to stumble upon it via this forum is the only way you are going to find it. 1 table via wnttv.com, the same single table via railbirds youtube channel, some random tables from Evo Sports on the Metro Sportz Bar youtube channel, and probably more tables being recorded by railbirds that they might release in a few months (completely pointless). What a freaking mess man.

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Actually it's fairly easy to find. Go to the digital pool site, check live scores, and you'll see a few other tables that have "watch live" listed.

It’s delicate, but you can hook them on the point potentially. I tried it with the OB frozen with about a quarter ball overlapping the side pocket opening. Give yourself maybe 10 degrees of angle with the cueball on the opposite side of the pocket and hit a very soft shot approximately full ball. You need the cueball to barely get the rail but if you do you get a corner hook. Try it at home and see if I’m crazy or set it up wrong.

Bump.

vintagecollectibles831 said:

This guy was following all of the WNT Rules, and the Ref, and his opponent was still giving him a hard time, the entire match, and the Ref eventually calling a foul on him, when he did nothing wrong, and did everything as the rules restricted of him.

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Because he’s a douche that was soft breaking and had been warned earlier. then when he got a foul called on him he actually didn’t soft break he just hit it bad . I don’t know why it’s hard to just have a break speed app near by. The first time is a warning and then the break speed gets monitored and a foul called if you go below it. seems simple.

As far as the op’s question a traditional 9 ball break with the magic rack isn’t a skill set. I’m just a good amateur and I can drop the wing ball just about every time. I don’t use a magic rack at home because I don’t think it gives me an honest assessment of my game.