spartan said:

Bizarre. First time a major is SE format inconsistent with other WNT majors that are DE+SE.
"Goalpost designer" MR again making it up as they go.
They are minoring the "major" cos almost every big event organized by them is a major while other strong events like International is ranking event. More majors in WNT Tour than Lee's family.

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well another time emily labelled the world pool masters as a major, so i take that with a grain of salt. small field invitational cannot be considered a major. in my book it's about field size and prize money, and international is a major.

i think this event is a bit experimental, but i like what i'm seeing so far. the venue adds a variance with the close quarters and the crowd buzz. maybe that makes it uniquely filipino.. that you have to fade some disturbances? it's kind of in the spirit of the filipino money matches. no chickens yet though

Where does Matchroom go from here?

First the company has to solidify its tour and make it more predictable. That's part of how you attract players, fans, partners and advertisers.

Frazer said in an interview the other day that Matchroom will have 15 events in 2026. This year, MR put on 10 major events, including the invitationals (PLP, Reyes, Mosconi).

This is all part of a strategy to have a season of sorts, with a beginning and an end, as opposed to a discrete series of events. Something the fans can identify with.

Do well on the tour, and the best players would get an automatic spot or invite to a premier invitational event at the end of the "season."

While many fans think of the Reyes or Mosconi as glorified exhibitions, MR in its ideal world would like fans and players to see them as a playoffs of sort. Or at least something like the Ryder's cup.

Obviously Matchroom has a lot of work to do in this regard. We've debate the issues here repeatedly, so I won't rehash. It is worth noting that Frazer says the WNT will put on more events in the US, including junior events. The goal is to increase the talent pool to improve the Mosconi, the prize jewel of Matchroom's pool portfolio.

Is this enough to make pool mainstream? Probably not. And maybe pool will never be mainstream.

So what else can MR do?

Frazer's answer is this: Create stars and personalities. Create players fans can identify with. Create showmen who can draw crowds, advertisers and, who knows, maybe even TV cameras and media coverage.

Pool's own Luke Littler, if you will. You know, the young Darts star who got a big writeup in the New York Times recently.

This is why AJ Manas was added to the Reyes. Frazer has admitted as much. Matchroom wants a show. Matchroom wants drama. Matchroom wants controversy. Most of all, Matchroom wants stars - especially young ones who can attract a younger audience and have a big social media presence. Expect the WNT to push even more young and rising stars in the the future.

That's why Frazer loved the controversy over AJ's inclusion on the Reyes Asia team. From her viewpoint, controversy is great if it gets people talking. The worst thing for the sport is to be ignored, in her view.

Can she succeed? Will it work? I think the MR strategy is a sound one if properly executed, but I have my doubts.

Bump.

jbart65 said:

Agree on all of this. I think a participation rule is fine, but make it less stringent as you said. Say 50% of big events in a year. And no rule saying you have to play in the last big event before an invitational.

Filler played in the European Open, UK Open, WPC and European Open - four of the top 7 WNT events. That should be enough.

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What? If PBS WPA event does not have participation rule, why does MR? In past year or so, MR has been implying or saying that WPA have draconian rules but now they have egg on their faces.

Vahmurka said:

There is a tiny chance someone from MR team gets a glimpse of all the good points here. Like there is a member who is in touch with AZB for their streaming app. Emily personally does not care too much about emails addressed to her in regard with what she is doing wrong.

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really teeny tiny chance like 0.000001%.
You can count on 2 hands the number of people reading azb these days

VVP said:

Matchroom also needs to get off its high horse like it owns pool and 9 ball is it. Its commentators do not even consider someone to be a World champion if it's in 10 or 8 ball. Sickening!

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Yes absurd. Commentators definitely told not to mention World champions in other discipline.

The pin is likely made from Garolite G-10 Phenolic. The striation lines are from the layers of reinforcing fiberglass cloth. Nice looking cue, especially for $100. Do you mind sharing how much the pin change cost?

Regards,
Bill