WNT PREMIER LEAGUE OF POOL 2026, Miami, Fla, Feb. 18-22
- Thread starter jbart65
- Start date
That's one point for Team Europe!!!
Future Team USA lookin' shaky baby
I heard Jeremy Jones say 4", but I don't know whether he was just approximating it.
I think this tournament can just be 16 man round robin, period. Winner is the best record. Plenty of ways to do a tiebreaker so no issue there.
Or if they must have a climax, go from 16 players to 4. And those 4 play a single elimination bracket from there, same as the final day of a major. 1 vs 4. 2 vs 3. Then the final.
Eliminate the multiple rounds of round robin.
IMO
Or if they must have a climax, go from 16 players to 4. And those 4 play a single elimination bracket from there, same as the final day of a major. 1 vs 4. 2 vs 3. Then the final.
Eliminate the multiple rounds of round robin.
IMO
Bergman finished 2-3 on Day 1. Started off well and looked like he belonged. Lost a tight one, 5-4, to Souto that he should have won. Then beat AJ Manas 5-3. His break was subpar but not much else.
He stumbled a bit vs big Kaci, losing 5-3, and got blanked by Neuhausen 5-0. A few bad misses and more trouble breaking. He used too much spin and shot a bit too hard given a slick new cloth and tight MR pockets.
In his final match, he dialed in his break and adjusted to the pockets and cloth conditions. Beat Morra 5-3 and looked very sharp.
Yapp, Capito, FSR and Eklent Kaci looked great. Souto and Duong were almost as good.
Atencio was the biggest disappointment. Too loose on position play and missed some gimmes. Went 0-5. Kledio Kaci also went 0-5.
Labutis struggled again, too.
Crowd and bar was lively.
He stumbled a bit vs big Kaci, losing 5-3, and got blanked by Neuhausen 5-0. A few bad misses and more trouble breaking. He used too much spin and shot a bit too hard given a slick new cloth and tight MR pockets.
In his final match, he dialed in his break and adjusted to the pockets and cloth conditions. Beat Morra 5-3 and looked very sharp.
Yapp, Capito, FSR and Eklent Kaci looked great. Souto and Duong were almost as good.
Atencio was the biggest disappointment. Too loose on position play and missed some gimmes. Went 0-5. Kledio Kaci also went 0-5.
Labutis struggled again, too.
Crowd and bar was lively.
what placing is the cutoff for stage 2? seems he would still have a chance
i haven't seen him play big table 9-ball for seven years, but from the small sample so far he's playing better than tyler, billy, oscar. his position play and shooting is just better imo
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I have a hard time getting used to the Predator format, at least the first stage. Winning two of three sets of four seems too short. I don't mind the format as much when it becomes best three of five.
Maybe, but I couldn't tell. Saw a higher number of hung balls in the pocket than usual in the PLP.
I have a hard time getting used to the Predator format, at least the first stage. Winning two of three sets of four seems too short. I don't mind the format as much when it becomes best three of five.
I actually like the Predator format of best two out of three sets, but I can't stand the shootouts. Best three out of five in the late stages is a good, honest match. Sadly, the final last year, while delivering a very worthy champion, was decided by a shootout. I don't much like call shot games in general, so almost any Matchroom major will top a Predator 10ball event for me. Mike Page's data shows that winning one of these matches is, on average, about as difficult as wining a race to eight, so I don't feel that the format in use randomizes the results.
I attended the PLP just once (the year it was at Jayson Shaw's room) and found it be a bit of a drag. I liked the short races, but until you get to the late stages, a lot of the matches are not super important. I think the switch to four tables probably makes the PLP better than in the past for an attendee.
I'm headed to Vegas today, so I'll catch the last four days of the men's and women's singles. Should be a hoot!
PS I really hope to meet you one day, Jbart. As pool fans, I think we are cut from the same cloth.
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Only info I could find on the format comes from Absolute Pool.
The first stage takes place over three days. Each player plays five times a day.
Before the fourth day of play begins, the bottom six players in the standings are eliminated.
What happens on the fourth and fifth days is not entirely clear. Absolute Pool suggests another round robin.
If so, players would have to play another five or six matches on the fourth day and three or four in the first session of the final and fifth day. Seems pretty rushed.
The semifinalists, on points, would play in the evening in races to 7. It's unclear if MR will stick with alternative break for the final four, as it did two years ago. Or switch to winners break, as it did last year.
I thought it was a bad move to switch to winners break last year in short races to 7. To me it was a near fatal flaw in the event.
If 2 of 3, I'd rather races to 5. But races to 4 might attract a bit more of a general audience. I do think the shootout should be dropped for the final.
Four tables definitely more interesting. I was watching all four at once on my tablet and PC last night.
I still don't think Matchroom has gotten the format right, but switching to five days is a big plus. Eight was way too long.
A Mosconi or Florida Open is almost certainly in my future! My wife would even go if the Mosconi were in London, where she has family.
bergman v melling is first match
See you then!A Mosconi or Florida Open is almost certainly in my future! My wife would even go if the Mosconi were in London, where she has family.
Bergman lost 5-4.
Was up 4-3. Melling then got a golden break, just barely, when it looked like it was going to be dry.
Bergman broke hill-hill, pocketed the one and ran the next five balls.
Made a small positional error on the 7 near the right long rail, getting stuck behind the 9. Tried to jump and hit the 9. Ball in hand to Melling, who ran out the last three balls. Bergman should have played safe or kicked.
Another match Bergman really should have won. The margin for error is thin.
***
This is the most I have ever watched Bergman. Forty-seven racks over two days. My observations:
Bergman is a quick learner. Struggled with his break most of the first day. I think he then pocketed a ball on the break eight or nine times in a row. The 1 ball went into the side all but one time.
He also began to shoot softer and use a bit less spin after a bad miss on a long 2 ball on his first day.
Bergman has shown excellent pattern and positional play. Really top notch. He is calm and controlled and never seems at a loss as to what to do.
What's hurt him are little mistakes. Some of his shots have resulted in the CB coming up short on his targeted position. He's also been too aggressive here or there, as he was on the attempted jump vs Melling.
for him it will only get tougher from here, yapp, duong and capito. i watched duong a bit, he's in dead stroke, plays no miss pool
Thanks At Large, for the format post.
Pretty crazy if you ask me. On Day 4, the players will play nine races to five. They could in theory be involved in 81 racks if each match went hill-hill.
On average, each match involves 7.7 racks, based on the average of the first day. So expect players to be involved in 72 racks on Day 4.
On the final day, the remaining six players would play five matches in the first session.
The WNT listing still doesn't say if the semifinals and finals will be alternate or winner break.
Pretty crazy if you ask me. On Day 4, the players will play nine races to five. They could in theory be involved in 81 racks if each match went hill-hill.
On average, each match involves 7.7 racks, based on the average of the first day. So expect players to be involved in 72 racks on Day 4.
On the final day, the remaining six players would play five matches in the first session.
The WNT listing still doesn't say if the semifinals and finals will be alternate or winner break.
For the 31 races to 5 I tracked last year, the average length was 40 minutes and the range was 20 to 63 minutes.
For the 32 races to 5 I tracked in 2024, the average length was 38 minutes and the range was 25 to 57 minutes.
So if each player on Day 4 plays 9 matches, they would probably be playing for about 6 hours each. But it would be 45 matches in total on Day 4, so if they have just 4 tables they'll have to play 11 or 12 matches on each table, which would take longer.
As for alternate vs. winner breaks for the semifinals and finals, note that the format screen says alternate break for all group matches. I'm going to guess that they'll switch again to winner breaks after the group matches. Everything else seems to be the same as last year, just compressed into 5 days instead of 8.
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