jax_joe
Well-known member
Right, but it is one of his main long time sponsors and he would be there for appearances and all that.
EUROPEAN OPEN 2026, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, March 10-15
- Thread starter jbart65
- Start date
Perhaps SVB is tiring of Matchroom's politics. I'm sure his banishment from the Reyes Cup in 2025 (guaranteed five-digit pay day), a punishment normally reserved for Filler, didn't sit well with him.
It was monopolistic behavior by Matchroom in the wake of the May 2025 reconciliation between WPA and Matchroom, in which WPA pledged not to ban WNT players from its events just because they participated in WNT events. WPA has lived up to that pledge so far, but Matchroom has persisted with its severe ways. Thankfully, they did an about face and allowed both Josh and Shane to play at the Mosconi.
WNT's willingness to play hardball with its biggest stars can possibly come with a price. As a big fan of WNT, I hope it doesn't work out that way. but loyalty is a two-way street, and unless vindictive politics are to go by the wayside, loyalties may be tested yet again in 2026. Right now, Fedor and Josh ARE the WNT. I'll be watching very attentively how Matchroom treats their two superstars this year. As long as these two living legends are the cornerstones of the WNT, I'll a) keep attending WNT events, b) keep buying lots of WNT logo merchandise, and c) keep watching WNT events with my fullest enthusiasm when I cannot attend.
One thing is for sure. Matchroom, an enduring credit to pro pool, deserves a lot better than they got in Sarajevo this week. Yes, the finances of the event producers matter a lot to me, and the fortunes of the players are inextricably tied to those of the event producers. Yes, Asian players may be handtied because of travel issues even in May, but if the American-based players sit the event out the way they sat out the European Open, it will be very discouraging.
Yes, Matchroom deserves better!
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Well, one approach is for Pongers to get the ref together with Marcel and explain exactly what he did, and ask what the foul was. I suspect that the ref who made the call was using a snooker or carom rule. In both of those games, the shot would have been a foul. English 8-ball is the same.
Yes, I agree. But maybe they interpret their rules such that with a Table Referee you can’t call the head referee even for that purpose. I would hate that (and it’s not consistent with snooker which often influences Matchroom, where I’ve seen the more senior ref be called when there was a rules question).
Every time I turn around, it seams that AJ Manas either has some visa issues, or he wins his first two matches, losses his third match and is eliminated from a double elimination tournament.
Mabe he needs to get away from that "mentor" Pilipino comedian who's supposed to be helping him. Visa issues stopped him from going to U.S. in time for Open, now visa issues for European open...WTF is going on?
While at it can someone explain to me why they don't have a true double elimination tournament, instead of this BS where if you
WWL your eliminated, and if you WLW or LWW you advance of may advance?
Mabe he needs to get away from that "mentor" Pilipino comedian who's supposed to be helping him. Visa issues stopped him from going to U.S. in time for Open, now visa issues for European open...WTF is going on?
While at it can someone explain to me why they don't have a true double elimination tournament, instead of this BS where if you
WWL your eliminated, and if you WLW or LWW you advance of may advance?
It is a two-phase tournament. The "qualification" phase is double elimination that gets rid of half the players, then the "main" tournament is single elimination. Matchroom has been doing this for a while, but previously it was double until they were down to 64.
This two-stage format has been in use for over 30 years old in our sport. It has been the norm in WPA and Euro-tour events for decades. You need to qualify for the main tournament, and most of the good players do, but once you do, it's single elimination from that point on. The "true double elimination" events are pool's dinosaurs and, thankfully, there are fewer and fewer of them.
At Fargo 794, Manas is rated as the #88 player in the world. If he wants to go deeper at the majors, let him hit the practice table and become a better player.
Are you referring to Busty?
This may come as a surprise to you, but it is very difficult for someone in a foreign county to get a Visa in the US, especially in today's climate. We are not all privileged, unfortunately.
The earlier start of single elimination has pluses and minuses.
The good: fewer top players will get knocked out early in the loser’s bracket. There were two events last year in which SVB knocked out Ko Pin Yi in the loses side, and then Ko returned the favor in the U.S. Open. This won’t happen now. Virtually all the best players will get to single elimination. IMO I don’t want to see SVB eliminated early from the U.S. Open.
The bad: the first two days have a lot of dead money and there aren’t any compelling loser side matches.
On day three, the first set of matches will be uneven, but most top players will get to the final 64. Then the real games begin.
The good: fewer top players will get knocked out early in the loser’s bracket. There were two events last year in which SVB knocked out Ko Pin Yi in the loses side, and then Ko returned the favor in the U.S. Open. This won’t happen now. Virtually all the best players will get to single elimination. IMO I don’t want to see SVB eliminated early from the U.S. Open.
The bad: the first two days have a lot of dead money and there aren’t any compelling loser side matches.
On day three, the first set of matches will be uneven, but most top players will get to the final 64. Then the real games begin.
He was at the PLP a couple of weeks ago in Florida, so he must know how to get a visa.
Here, 63% of the field reached Stage 2. Surely, that's a world record.
The round of 128 will likely be yet another snoozefest. As you say, the real games begin when the field is pared down to 64.
Thanks for your answer, that was a good read! I'm impressed by your pool knowledge, especially after only following pro pool for 5 years. If all APA and BCA league players had this much interest for the game, our sport would definitely evolve and gain some traction. Someone who plays in a league and doesn't know who Efren or SVB is kinda blows my mind (not you). It's like playing golf or poker and not knowing about Tiger Woods or Chris Moneymaker/Phil Ivey/etc.
I remember years ago top Pinoys like De Luna and Chua were not able to get visas despite invitations from US promoters of big events.
the first two days are boring in either format
I wonder how long Matchroom will continue to have large fields when only a few fans will be interested in the matches the first two days.
For snooker, they have started having qualification rounds away from the main venue for some events. I think 16 qualifiers join 16 top seeds in the main venue for the "real" tournament. Running a 32-player single-elimination tournament is a lot less overhead and most of the matches are good "product".
yea, lots of donuts and lopsided matches. puts things in perspective. these guys are not bangers. these are the guys that when you're a 600 player, most of the time, will just pummel you. badly. a 730 - 740 player just never misses. locally they're like demi-gods, in the WNT big events they're deadwood..
uk_9_ball_convert
Member
They are hosting the event in a hotel and the players must stay in that hotel so I'd say less players probably has economic impacts to venue cost. Even if no one is watching the first few days.
Not sure it matters to WNT, Bob, that the first few days of a big tourney are slow. I would imagine the local entries all pay an entry fee and spend some money in and around the venue to support the local economy.
An Open in theory would also serve to drum up interest. Get local players, their families, maybe even some local media involved. If I were a 700 Fargo, I'd want to play in one of these tourneys too. See how I stack up.
Amazing to see just how many of these good local players with 700-plus Fargoes turn out to be cannon fodder, though. The best of the best are uncannily good.
On the flip side, WNT is clearly playing around more with the number 128. The size of the field in the Philippines and Arizona opens. The start of single elimination at 128 in the European Open.
Maybe MR is trying to determine if it's really worth the cost to have a 256-player field for all major events.
An Open in theory would also serve to drum up interest. Get local players, their families, maybe even some local media involved. If I were a 700 Fargo, I'd want to play in one of these tourneys too. See how I stack up.
Amazing to see just how many of these good local players with 700-plus Fargoes turn out to be cannon fodder, though. The best of the best are uncannily good.
On the flip side, WNT is clearly playing around more with the number 128. The size of the field in the Philippines and Arizona opens. The start of single elimination at 128 in the European Open.
Maybe MR is trying to determine if it's really worth the cost to have a 256-player field for all major events.
interesting time to take a cheap shot at American pool. By dead money, do you mean like Manas at the PLP or even deader than that?
FYI, what is best for everyone, Americans included, is that as many highly skilled cueists as possible show up at every one of pool's majors. That's what makes the sport more exciting to watch and what makes it grow.