Agreed. More players from Taipei and the Philippines will go there because the money is good, but so far only the Ko brothers and Chua were major contenders for a WPA-WNT title.
Makes sense.
I don’t think Chua is entirely done with traditional 9-ball. He was messaging FB supporters to watch the U.S. Open on ESPN. I would be surprised if he doesn’t play in the Philippines Open. Doesn’t look like there’s a competing Duya event.
Very few Westerners will defect to Duya, though.
Hope you're right. We both greatly only watching Chua.
It will be interesting to see what young Asian stars do, namely Januarta and Manas. Pool variants in China don’t the same historical prestige as the U.S. Open and WPC. Someday it will if it maintains popularity and big prizes, but that day is far off.
Eyeballing their 2026 results:
Albert Januarta earned about $35,000 this year playing in WNT events, so he has something to show for his play. With 3rd at the PLP, 2nd at the Scottish Open, 5th at the Florida Open and 5th at the Arizona Open, he appears to have arrived as a player that must be reckoned with.
AJ Manas made just $12,000 this year in WNT play, probably only covering a little more than expenses. While we all know he makes plenty from sponsorships and social media, he can make that without ever leaving Asia, where his brand is very strong and where most of the pool-watching world lives. For the most part, pool is watched in three areas of the world, and their populations are about: a) Asian continent 5,000,000, b) The Americas (North and South combined) 1,400,000, and c) Europe 750,000. By percentage, that Asia 70%, the Americas 20% and Europe 10%. I highly doubt that his travels to America and Europe are necessary to keep his brand super-strong, so I feel that unless he progresses further and starts making more money in WNT play, there is a danger he will split the WNT scene. The potential is there, but let's never confuse potential for performance. Despite flashes of undeniable brilliance, Manas, to me, has yet to arrive.
In any case, the WNT and WPA tours will be fine, even if their prize funds pale in comparison.
Meantime, Duya should make their tour super easy for Westerners to access via YouTube and FB, in English. I’d definitely be interested in watching Chua play.
I agree, and while the stars of Asia would be missed, the globalization of the game that took place over the past ten years has ensured that countless great players will emerge from dozens of countries. As we've seen, the last five WNT events were won by a) an Albanian, b) an American, c) an Estonian, d) a Serbian, and e) a Spaniard. The talent pool in the western world is very deep and will get deeper, so tours of the west should be able to remain both healthy and financially viable.
I think it improbable that, given that most of the world's pool fans are Asian, the Duya tour will place much emphasis in marketing its tour to the west, but I'm sure they won't completely overlook the western pool fan, either.
