Matchroom WNT 2025 - Problems and progress

[sjm]

i don't care much for elite pros playing 8-ball personally, it's boring. breaking contest

Honestly, if the World 8ball event disappeared permanently, I'd be fine with it. Over fifty years ago, the legendary Irving Crane offered that, on the big tables, the game is too easy for the pros. It still is.

 

[Island Drive]

I don't see the money in semi-pro. Matchroom first has to get its act together on the WNT before it spends much effort on the minor leagues.

That's my comment.... have 8 semi-pro events ea yr in the US. Utilize $200K of the $500K added prize fund payout at the US Open 9 ball. And create your player tour followers.

 

[Bob Jewett]

That's my comment.... have 8 semi-pro events ea yr in the US. Utilize $200K of the $500K added prize fund payout at the US Open 9 ball. And create your player tour followers.

As was pointed out before, the US Open is not $500,000 added. Please catch up.

In my view Matchroom has no obligation to promote pool in a country that seems to have only a mediocre interest in playing the game. As a business, they need to invest their effort where it will have the most return. Otherwise, they go out of business.

 

[Badpenguin]

I don't see the money in semi-pro. Matchroom first has to get its act together on the WNT before it spends much effort on the minor leagues.

Frazer sees junior opens as the Matchroom approach to younger players. The Florida Open will have a junior event. I found that surprising given there will be another one at the U.S. Open later in the same month.

Well, what MR is missing, and predator/CSI/WPA (by association) has, is the ecosystem of vendors and amateur players attending their events who actually spend $$ on pool and equipment. A market of 50+ year olds and retirees in not exactly sustainable. They need younger players and a fan base that won't be dead in 10-20 years, lol.

 

[sjm]

Well, what MR is missing, and predator/CSI/WPA (by association) has, is the ecosystem of vendors and amateur players attending their events who actually spend $$ on pool and equipment. A market of 50+ year olds and retirees in not exactly sustainable. They need younger players and a fan base that won't be dead in 10-20 years, lol.

Where are you getting your information? Certainly, live attendees make up just a small piece of Matchroom's market, with those buying the stream and/or watching on Sky Sports making up the bigger part of their audience. I must concede that I know little to nothing about the demographics of those who watch Matchroom events on stream or television. Also, the vendor presence is substantial at Matchroom events, at least at the US Open 9-ball and the Mosconi Cup.

 

[Badpenguin]

Where are you getting your information? Certainly, live attendees make up just a small piece of Matchroom's market, with those buying the stream and/or watching on Sky Sports making up the bigger part of their audience. I must concede that I know little to nothing about the demographics of those who watch Matchroom events on stream or television. Also, the vendor presence is substantial at Matchroom events, at least at the US Open 9-ball and the Mosconi Cup.

My information is entirely anecdotal, using my own eyes to see the audience in the streamed MR events. The US Open might be an exception towards the end of it.

When I watch the Predator events, the room is almost always packed, and not by a significant majority of grumpy looking old men. Ditto with the Ultimate Pool USA events.

 

[sjm]

My information is entirely anecdotal, using my own eyes to see the audience in the streamed MR events. The US Open might be an exception towards the end of it.

When I watch the Predator events, the room is almost always packed, and not by a significant majority of grumpy looking old men. Ditto with the Ultimate Pool USA events.

Gotcha, no doubt your sense of things is accurate for live attendees.

 

[JAA]

MR has a few major shortcomings in my opinion.

The tie-in with amateurs via leagues that allows players to get experience before crossing over to being a pro. The Predator sponsored events coincide with CSI-based pool leagues in the US, Ultimate Pool is its own league, etc.

Women. Zero women or support for them. MAJOR problem.

"WNT.TV" - never mind that it is actually wnttv.com, not wnt.tv. They have a weird marketing propensity to put dots in word strings that make no sense. Regardless, their online streaming platform is complete garbage. And in case you missed the memo, streaming is where it is right now, whether you like it or not. They still lock markets out, there is no coherent scheduling, can't rewind/pause, can't watch all previously streamed matches, the issues are numerous. Their streaming efforts are a bastard stepchild and poorly implemented.

I hope they continue to improve, but I would think they need to address these issues before their bottom line can improve.

Sorry for the long post garczar, you should probably just go fishing or something. Your attention span is obviously not conducive to this place. Someone should train an LLM on you and name it BESOAM - bitter empty shell of a man. It would be hilarious, kind of like Debbie Downer but the old grumpy white guy version.

With regards to WNT TV I have to step in to correct you on a few points but also take note of your feedback:

- Live streams can be scrubbed back up to 3 hours whilst live, we were aware of an issue at the UK Open not allowing this but it has now been rectified.
- The only markets that are 'locked out' of live streams are when we have secured a broadcast partner in said markets. E.g. Sky Sports in UK and Ireland. This is always communicated via mail outs, social media, and our website on our 'where to watch' section.
- Previously streamed matches are uploaded to WNT TV in our 'On Demand' section, and also tagged to the relevant event. Similarly to my above point, the only time in which these matches are unavailable on demand, is when a broadcast partner is in place.

We hear your feedback on the site and by no means is it the finished product. We're constantly looking to improve it with each passing event, so any further comments are welcome if done so in a constructive fashion.

 

[SEB]

There's a lot of truth in the original post, but I'm inclined to give Matchroom a pass for 2025, because it began in complete disarray and it made it difficult to plan things for Matchroom. Regardless, they continue to add a lot of WNT ranking events all over the world and that is a big positive. The also added a major in America called the Florida Open, and that's a big deal to this fan.

In 2024, Matchroom announced both its roster of players under contract and its tournament schedule early in the year. This was ideal for both players and fans alike. The continuity was largely maintained and when some opted to skip Hanoi because they knew it would result in a WPA-imposed ban, Matchroom went on full tilt. That tells me that stability and continuity of their professional offering meant a lot to them, but there's little evidence they feel this way in 2025. Again, I give them a pass because the political landscape was so murky entering the year.

Suddenly things are pretty confusing. For example, I've never seen a roster of WNT players for 2025, and yet, I read in AZB Headline news today that Felix Vogel, with whom I am very familiar, is a WNT pro. When did that happen? Who are the other WNT pros? Attendance of pro players at the Matchroom majors in 2025 has been a big disappointment. Who can we expect to see going forward? It is all very confusing.

The scramble to fill the field at the European Open that included solicitation of all WNT.TV subscribers to play in the event, is something few of us will soon forget.

What happened to the World Pool Masters and the World Cup of Pool? Neither appears on the Matchroom schedule on their site. Perhaps these events have been discontinued, but if so, it has never been announced.

All of this aside, I believe that Matchroom is continuing to grow our sport and are on a very productive course. I just hope that 2026 is less of a mess than 2025. With the rift between WPA and Matchroom now resolved, I am optimistic.

They are completely and utterly dropping the ball. The moment they announced the Reyes Cup without any semblance of a plan that made any sense, it’s all gone downhill from there.

Reyes Cup was a disaster, Filler chose WPA, World pool masters cancelled, world cup of pool never spoke of again, no road to tour card, dazn ditched for a proprietary system no one cares about, players stopped showing up for events, and I’m absolutely positive I’m missing another half dozen relevant failures.

It’s the beginning of the end of this experiment.

 

[Badpenguin]

With regards to WNT TV I have to step in to correct you on a few points but also take note of your feedback:

- Live streams can be scrubbed back up to 3 hours whilst live, we were aware of an issue at the UK Open not allowing this but it has now been rectified.

Not once have I been able to successfully pause a live wnttv.com stream and rewind and/or fast forward. Ever. This is just not a true statement in my experience. Also note, watching wnttv.com requires me to use an HDMI adapter on an ipad to watch on my TV, the casting almost never works correctly. So the lack of pause/rewind/fast forward during live streams requires me to get up and walk across a room every time I may want to use them.

- Previously streamed matches are uploaded to WNT TV in our 'On Demand' section, and also tagged to the relevant event. Similarly to my above point, the only time in which these matches are unavailable on demand, is when a broadcast partner is in place.

The on demand section is not tagged in any way by event. You have to scroll endlessly via a MORE button. Please arrange the on demand by event. My recommendation is that you do some UI testing watching wnttv.com on a TV. Not everyone watches on their phone or computer. Have them watch every match with Joshua Filler in the 2024 US Open. Good luck with that.

 

[sjm]

They are completely and utterly dropping the ball. The moment they announced the Reyes Cup without any semblance of a plan that made any sense, it’s all gone downhill from there.

Reyes Cup was a disaster, Filler chose WPA, World pool masters cancelled, world cup of pool never spoke of again, no road to tour card, dazn ditched for a proprietary system no one cares about, players stopped showing up for events, and I’m absolutely positive I’m missing another half dozen relevant failures.

It’s the beginning of the end of this experiment.

Strongly disagree. Yes, 2024 had its missteps and 2025, which began in a fog, has lacked the kind of form or clarity that we had come to expect of Matchroom.

As for Filler, Matchroom would seem to have fully reconciled with him, and it is good for both parties. Matchroom obviously wants the best player in the world in their events, and Josh fully appreciates the quality of the Matchroom majors as both pool productions and earnings opportunities. Of course, if they leave Filler off Team Europe this year, my support for Matchroom pool might just come to an end.

I would agree that the Reyes Cup was a joke, a paid exhibition in which the winners and losers made exactly the same money. Still, my sense of things is that the event will evolve into something special.

Still, the big picture for Matchroom is that their presence has grown in a way that has made professional pool more accessible to players all over the globe. In 2023, Matchroom set up the first ever WNT ranking events in Scotland, Poland, Spain, and Vietnam. In 2024, they set up WNT ranking events in Colombia, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Maldives, Finland, Morocco, and Portugal. In 2025, WNT ranking points could be earned in Bosnia and Romania. Here in the United States, in 2025, Matchroom continues to add more WNT ranking events, including a major in August at the Florida Open. Matchroom pool has become an increasingly global brand, and its superb management team has been following through on its vision.

Yes, there are issues for Matchroom to wade through, and WNT.TV needs to be better, but the big picture is that they continue to grow their professional pool product and are doing a lot to make the sport more remunerative for the players.

Personally, I think the best of times lie ahead for Matchroom.

 

[Island Drive]

As was pointed out before, the US Open is not $500,000 added. Please catch up.

In my view Matchroom has no obligation to promote pool in a country that seems to have only a mediocre interest in playing the game. As a business, they need to invest their effort where it will have the most return. Otherwise, they go out of business.

Thx, just remember Barry telling me this at the last open.
Caught em in the player area tables....
He was hittin' balls, gettin' ready for his match.

If it isn't that speaks for itself.