★★Qatar gets right to host World 9-Ball Championship For Four Years★★
★★Qatar gets right to host World 9-Ball Championship For Four Years★★
- Thread starter cmbwsu
- Start date
greenroomms
Registered
you mean the qatar in the middle east? cousin was stationed there in the air force and would not leave the base for fear of being killed because he is an american
There shouldn't have been any expectations given how bad to non existent the streams have been out of the Mideast for these WPA championships the past few years. Maybe by 2017 they will have laid some cable out there in the sand dunes.
I'll finish that sentence for you: ..."and pulled some out of their a$#"
Bob...Sounds to me like there were some seriously "greased palms" involved in this...including moving the 'world HQ' for the WPA to Qatar. Next thing you know the Mosconi Cup will be moved there too. :frown:
Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com
Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com
I agree with Mr. Lee.
I hate to say this...but I think all American & European players should 'boycot' the events....unless they are moved to a more friendly neutral sight.
They can keep the rights but should be made aware of a boycot unless the events are moved.
Just my take, but I could be wrong.
I hate to say this...but I think all American & European players should 'boycot' the events....unless they are moved to a more friendly neutral sight.
They can keep the rights but should be made aware of a boycot unless the events are moved.
Just my take, but I could be wrong.
thought!
Not all Middle Eastern states are considered equal. I know people who have worked in Qatar and it is a very safe place relatively speaking compared to other areas in the Middle East. The people I know who have worked and lived there have had no issues and do not cower in a camp behind armed guards, if a person went there and worked there and did that then that is more of an issue with their own issues then Qatar itself.
The reality is that the sport is going to go where A) the money is. If Qatar is willing to up the prize fund and make the event more profitable for the players then that is where it is going to be. B) where fan support is. Lets face it, America and Europe both do not support pool, they have not done so for decades, and as such why the heck would you put a WPC event on in either area so that you can have empty seats in the stands and paltry prize funds due to the lack of sponsor support?
The sport has to grow somewhere, America had decades of control over the future of pool and they screwed up and watched the sport spiral down into obscurity for decades without doing anything to stem the collapse. Now they lost it to other places that are doing the job of growing the sport better then America has been able to manage. That is how it goes.
If America wants the sport back they better start proving they can actually start doing things a lot better and atm pool in America is worse off then it has been in any of the previous decades, the payouts for what major events remain are less then they ever were while inflation has further reduced the actual true value of the payouts, the stands at all events are empty, the US Open 9-ball year after year delays payment and is threatened by the American run professional organization of boycott, and American players largely skip playing in WPA events as it is and few have a legitimate chance to even compete against a WPA field. Why in the hell would the WPA want anything to do with America atm for pool? It is a dead market full of old retired former pros and top end amateur players who torture local tours and rarely ever compete against true stacked professional fields, it has no sponsorship outside of pool related companies, and it has no in person fan support and normally has empty stands during the finals of the main events.
The reality is that the sport is going to go where A) the money is. If Qatar is willing to up the prize fund and make the event more profitable for the players then that is where it is going to be. B) where fan support is. Lets face it, America and Europe both do not support pool, they have not done so for decades, and as such why the heck would you put a WPC event on in either area so that you can have empty seats in the stands and paltry prize funds due to the lack of sponsor support?
The sport has to grow somewhere, America had decades of control over the future of pool and they screwed up and watched the sport spiral down into obscurity for decades without doing anything to stem the collapse. Now they lost it to other places that are doing the job of growing the sport better then America has been able to manage. That is how it goes.
If America wants the sport back they better start proving they can actually start doing things a lot better and atm pool in America is worse off then it has been in any of the previous decades, the payouts for what major events remain are less then they ever were while inflation has further reduced the actual true value of the payouts, the stands at all events are empty, the US Open 9-ball year after year delays payment and is threatened by the American run professional organization of boycott, and American players largely skip playing in WPA events as it is and few have a legitimate chance to even compete against a WPA field. Why in the hell would the WPA want anything to do with America atm for pool? It is a dead market full of old retired former pros and top end amateur players who torture local tours and rarely ever compete against true stacked professional fields, it has no sponsorship outside of pool related companies, and it has no in person fan support and normally has empty stands during the finals of the main events.
Celtic,
I don't know about safety for any American there. Personally, I would not go there & I have zero notoriety.
Almost all of what you say is true. If I were SVB, I'd boycot & then throw out a challenge to the winner to play in NYC for hopefully a televised event.
That's just me & as I said, I have zero notoriety.
Regards & Best Wishes,
Rick
I don't know about safety for any American there. Personally, I would not go there & I have zero notoriety.
Almost all of what you say is true. If I were SVB, I'd boycot & then throw out a challenge to the winner to play in NYC for hopefully a televised event.
That's just me & as I said, I have zero notoriety.
Regards & Best Wishes,
Rick
You would think by this point in time the WPA would mandate it to bring some viewership to the event. I could understand if a local network were to pay for rights, but at the very least you could stream other tables and or have a streamer on site to stream the matches live if the TV company won't.
Rick,
Qatar, Dubai, UAE are much safer than any other country on earth, Everyone in these countries have one mission, make money, go vacation for two months and back at it. Mainly because you cannot own guns in these cities, and so many none native live and work their. Almost all big US companies have branches their, and one of the biggest US military bases are in Qatar.
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Mr. Naji,
I understand what you say, but what is safe today can be a hell hole tomorrow morning given the relative location.
What you speak of, making money, is Capitalism, which is what we represent & what many in the region have been brain washed to despise. Why do you think we have one of the largest military bases there?
Law abiding citizens are never a threat. It's the law breakers that can kill you...& it only takes one.
I hope you can see my point.
Regards & Best Wishes,
Rick
I agree with that. It is mind boggling that the WPA is putting on these events and almost no one can actually see them live. What is it they are even trying to accomplish by putting on an event when no one can see it? Future TV coverage? What TV coverage? It is completely pointless to put on these events when they are impossible for the viewing public to see them, it does nothing to promote and advance the sport or bring interest and viewership. I would love for someone from the WPA attempt to explain what these events that almost no one is able to see is even trying to accomplish. What are they trying to create?
I can only come to the conclusion that there are certain people who make their living putting these events on and that they are paid out of the total budget to create the event and their interest in these events extends only so far as their ongoing paycheck. I can see absolutely no other value to an event that no fan is able to watch.
I would agree. In my travels with companies over the years (e.g. Intergraph, Cognizant, HP, etc.), I know many folks that live and work over there. And, in fact, I hope to visit there and experience the food, culture, etc.
For those that've never been there or may have "preconceived notions" of what it's like over there, one of my favorite world travelers, Anthony Bourdain (a NYC chef who took his show on the road) has a TV show called No Reservations. And that's EXACTLY what the show is about -- pushing your reservations aside, going to certain parts of the world, and experiencing it first-hand.
Anthony Bourdain's "Explore Real Dubai — No Reservations Dubai 2013"
http://youtube.com/watch?v=b4Xpg9ne7FU
Summary? Anthony had his preconceived notions BLOWN AWAY. He loved the place.
The problem we have in this country (and, to be fair, in other parts of the world) are preconceived notions of what another part of the world is about. And most often, those preconceived notions are DEAD WRONG.
Having traveled the world myself (as part of my U.S. Navy military service, as well as subsequent employers), I got to experience this firsthand. Some of those parts of the world that, before I was actually there, "would have been" "boo/hiss" "off-limits" to me as a "dumb American." But now? They're some of my favorite experiences, and now they are places I want to go back to!
-Sean
Because it is one of the most stable states in the Middle East and generally does not have the security issues that other areas in the Middle East inherently have, while at the same time offering close proximity to other areas of the Middle East where quick response from military stationed in Qatar may be needed.
Maybe, just maybe the scene is really on fire there. Who knows what is going on other than the good ol' US of A can't and will not support the sport of billiards. The companies will not support it, the players will not support it. What it comes down to is the few people, and by few I mean non-existent, that go out of the way to purchase a stream, or see one live. Out of the members here how many have purchased a stream? %1, %10, %80? I don't know but IMO it can't be more than %5 of them. We lost. Qatar has the chance to do something more than we can, give them a chance, boycott? Sure we can't do it so lets not get behind someone (anyone please) to save and resurrect the game of pocket billiards. We have not been able to gain viewers here, and it is a business, which we lose sight of, MLB, PGA, NBA, all businesses, if they didn't have the revenue to support the leagues people would be watching pop warner, exactly what us Americans are doing now with pool. No one has an idea to fix this, only wishes that it happens. Good luck Qatar!
They do it for one reason there in Qatar, because the money is flowing and they can say they staged a world championship. They don't give a sh!t if one single person watched it. Were there any fans in attendance in that little athletic club that it was held at? Did they let all their Pinoy inported slave labor enter to watch their players kick a$$? Won't know because there was virtually no coverage.