Anybody know why these Eurotour events are missing from the schedule at https://matchroompool.com/schedule/?
Matchroom Pool will have 30 ranking events in 2023
- Thread starter Bob Jewett
- Start date
telinoz
Registered
What are you gibbering on about?
This press release just arrived. More ranking events....
NINEBALL WORLD TOUR EXPANDS WITH LAUNCH IN OCEANIA
The launch of the tour underlines Matchroom's commitment to offering a fair and transparent system for all players wherever they are in the world to earn vital Nineball World Ranking points which opens the doors to the most-valued tournaments in the sport.
Pocket Sports is Oceania's largest professional English 8 Ball Pool Promoter looking to venture into 9 Ball. The company hosts over 18 weekends of competitive and professional grade 8 ball and have over 160 contracted players, featuring players from all over Oceania.
NINEBALL WORLD TOUR EXPANDS WITH LAUNCH IN OCEANIA
- Nineball Oceania Tour launches in partnership with Australia's Pockets Sports
- Minimum of four ranking events for 2023
- Aim for Oceania Open to take place in 2024 joining other Matchroom major multi-table events
The launch of the tour underlines Matchroom's commitment to offering a fair and transparent system for all players wherever they are in the world to earn vital Nineball World Ranking points which opens the doors to the most-valued tournaments in the sport.
Pocket Sports is Oceania's largest professional English 8 Ball Pool Promoter looking to venture into 9 Ball. The company hosts over 18 weekends of competitive and professional grade 8 ball and have over 160 contracted players, featuring players from all over Oceania.
MR is certainly following through. A worldwide expansion. I’ve never seen anything like it in the pool world.
This is groundbreaking. An Asian tour and now an Oceania Tour. Wow! Matchroom has put together the first truly global tour in pool history and by making Matchroom ranking points available all over the globe, they are enabling players from all over the world to qualify for the most prestigious Matchroom events.
It's a good time to be a young talented pool player. The future looks bright. Thank you Matchroom.
The Finals of one of the ranking events is being played right now. Unfortunately, it is yet another event where the last matches have run into the wee hours of the next morning. It is the McDermott Classic, being played at Amazin Billiards just north of Boston. It's Woodward vs. Thorpe in the final match for the title.
Pretty cool, but how many of those are events that would have been held no matter what and were just added to the ranking list and how many were new events that would not have been done previously?
I also think they should have some sort of Europe vs US vs Asia provision for players for point accumulation due to prohibitive travel costs for anyone out of the top 20. Anyone playing outside of their area gets reduced points (to keep the advantage smaller). So if a Euro player plays in the US, they get 50% of available points they would get if they played in Europe, since the sport has funding issues for players to travel if they don't have many sponsors. Otherwise the top players have an even bigger advantage in accumulating points than finishing higher and it ends up being like a tax on the poor.
I also think they should have some sort of Europe vs US vs Asia provision for players for point accumulation due to prohibitive travel costs for anyone out of the top 20. Anyone playing outside of their area gets reduced points (to keep the advantage smaller). So if a Euro player plays in the US, they get 50% of available points they would get if they played in Europe, since the sport has funding issues for players to travel if they don't have many sponsors. Otherwise the top players have an even bigger advantage in accumulating points than finishing higher and it ends up being like a tax on the poor.
Without a large number of tables to play at, and a day or two limit, no way around the time it takes to get through a field. This has kept me from entering a good number of local events. A couple of things I refuse to get sucked into doing now, places with different table setups (6 slow tables, 4 fast tables, 3 tables with tight pockets you get to swap between playing at during the day) and places with lack of tables for the expected entries. As much as I enjoy playing, I am not going to waste my day sitting for 4+ hours between my first and second match.
Don't think for a minute Matchroom is some benevolent organization, looking to save pool. They are looking to sanction pool and be the dominant broadcaster....to make money.
I expect there will be negative outcomes. Some foreseen, some not. We will see how this plays out over the next few years.
I expect there will be negative outcomes. Some foreseen, some not. We will see how this plays out over the next few years.
People from other countries primarily, as we have already seen. Our pool of top talent is well under 20 guys.
telinoz
Registered
If you want to see into the future for pool and how this plays out.
Look no further than history.
Snooker.
Matchroom worked with the WPBSA.
The split between governance and commercial has worked out just fine.
One set of rules, standard table specs and balls.
If that model and path is followed, future looks fine to me for Pool.
Well they pretty much stole American pool....which was in the dumpster.
I'm afraid the bar for players has been raised so high that we don't have more than 2 Americans left who could ever win a Matchroom event. So I don't know if that's going to make more American pros or less over time.
We are lucky to have a team as visionary as Matchroom. They are so very good for pool.
telinoz
Registered
I honestly have zero sympathy for American pool players now.
Globally, most amount of league players, venues, pool is everywhere.
Decades to work on development programs.
BCA not done much.
The fact other countries have flown past the USA now, and where they are based and therefore where most tournaments are is a product of American complancy and laziness.
If more effort is made, good.
If not, USA will stay as a has been force in pool.
All fine and good but fine AND good is gonna get expensive.
i have reconciled with the fact that straight pool and one pocket never will be included in any of the two emerging pool tours. the positives is that they have gone to lengths to make 9/10-ball more challenging so that it includes more moving
interesting take. getting ranking points is what's getting you to the invitationals, having sponsor exposure, etc. if those invitationals were only mosconi cup and world cup of pool, it wouldn't matter point-wise if euro or asian players won these US based minor ranking events, because players in those invitationals are choosed from american players standings. but there may be a problem here, as you write, with top players potentially robbing "local" MR ranking events. maybe they should be closed for non-nationals?