PBS St Louis 2026 (Men’s World 8 Ball Championship, Mixed Doubles, Women’s Open, Bank Pool), 1-8 April, Half Million Prize Fund

Predator has done a good job growing their vision. At first I didn't like the shootout. Now I do, and it seems the pros do, as way more are participating. The 8 ball discipline was still boring as far as pool goes. I only watched the final, and had a hard time staying awake.

The mixed doubles was the treat. Rooting for Fu and Bergman made the whole tournament.

The camera work was A+. It showed the audience, showed the shots, and showed the players. Commentary was pretty good too.

Simonis being the cloth sponsor rather than Predator was an interesting change. It reminded me of an interview with Mark Griffin about 20 years ago, where he said something to the effect of he'd have all Valley tables in CSI events if they were to sponsor it. (he had some ownership of Diamond at the time)

Overall I'd give the event an A.
 
Hard to believe Yapp won another big one, especially given the luck involved in 8 ball with the rack for breaking. Wow.

Albin Ouschan self destructed in the semis. Terrible safety down 9-8, then an astonishing miss when he got another chance.

Fu really should have won the women’s title. Jasmine was clutch at the very end, but she missed a flurry of makeable shots in the third set. Fu simply failed to capitalize by making some poor decisions. Pressure and not being a tour regular finally got to her. Hope she comes out to play more.

Still not a fan of 8 ball, but bank pool. Mixed Doubles and the women’s event were excellent. Matchroom should look to create an event in St. Louis. Predator scored big.
 
iusedtoberich said:
Predator has done a good job growing their vision. At first I didn't like the shootout. Now I do, and it seems the pros do, as way more are participating. The 8 ball discipline was still boring as far as pool goes. I only watched the final, and had a hard time staying awake.

The mixed doubles was the treat. Rooting for Fu and Bergman made the whole tournament.

The camera work was A+. It showed the audience, showed the shots, and showed the players. Commentary was pretty good too.

Simonis being the cloth sponsor rather than Predator was an interesting change. It reminded me of an interview with Mark Griffin about 20 years ago, where he said something to the effect of he'd have all Valley tables in CSI events if they were to sponsor it. (he had some ownership of Diamond at the time)

Overall I'd give the event an A.
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The new Predator cloth is made by Simonis.
 
jbart65 said:
Still not a fan of 8 ball, but bank pool. Mixed Doubles and the women’s event were excellent. Matchroom should look to create an event in St. Louis. Predator scored big.
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Ditto. Eight ball is, to me, the least exciting game to watch on a pool table, but all the credit to the great Yapp. That said, however, the Predator Pro Billiard Series is exciting and seems to be bringing out most of the international stars of the game.
 
sjm said:
Very well done, Aloysius Yapp! A dominant performance, with a 10-4 win in both the semis and the final. He was, quite simply, unbeatable in the World 8ball.

To Jasmin, Yapp, Zielinski, Seo and Gorst, this week's five winners, congratulations,

The pace of this event was slow, but the last three days brought some truly memorable pool. With four events in one, Predator seems to have hit on a winning formula, and the players are making some meaningful money. Nice to see.

For me, personally, I am growing very fond of the mixed doubles events and really look forward to the next one. I always loved the Matchroom World Cup of Pool, an exciting scotch doubles event with a deep international field, but these Predator mixed doubles events have filled the void left by the sudden disappearance of the World Cup of Pool.
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I also am enjoying the mixed doubles.
There seems to be more emotion, watching the teams rely on their partners brings in comedy, personality and emotion.

Seeing the game from a global perspective makes me proud to be a part of it.
 
Only the old timers like me will remember this, but in 1992-93, with future BCA Hall of Famer Ewa Mataya leading the charge, steps were being taken to have the men (of the PBT) and the women (of the WPBA) share a lot of tournament dates and venues. Unfortunately, despite many efforts, it just did not happen. Fast forward 30+ years, however, and we are starting to see it. I like how it is turning out for Predator, the players and the fans.
 
Scratch85 said:
Great production by Predator! They may have overstated the attendance for the week but looked like great attendance today.


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My only real complaints about the production are

(a) they could have done a better job posting on the web or social media what matches were coming up;

(b) they need a director who understands pool. Way too many shots of the ball going in the pocket and ignoring the key issue of the CB. Are they getting shape? Getting the breakout? Who knows!
 
GideonF said:
My only real complaints about the production are

(a) they could have done a better job posting on the web or social media what matches were coming up;

(b) they need a director who understands pool. Way too many shots of the ball going in the pocket and ignoring the key issue of the CB. Are they getting shape? Getting the breakout? Who knows!
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I thought both of these things more than once.
 
GideonF said:
My only real complaints about the production are
...
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Ummm... What about the announcers?

I agree about the director (who chooses the view). This seems to be a pretty common problem. Let's see the opponent's reaction instead of the cue ball which is going towards a cluster. It really requires pool understanding and I think they are often stuck with whoever the video production company provides.
 
Bob Jewett said:
Ummm... What about the announcers?

I agree about the director (who chooses the view). This seems to be a pretty common problem. Let's see the opponent's reaction instead of the cue ball which is going towards a cluster. It really requires pool understanding and I think they are often stuck with whoever the video production company provides.
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I kinda like Tim whispering from a closet
 
Bob Jewett said:
Ummm... What about the announcers?
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Yes, the arena announcer would tell you what was coming up next. But that only helps if you are watching at that moment. A Facebook post that had the order of play etc would’ve been helpful (to me at least).
 
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sjm said:
Only the old timers like me will remember this, but in 1992-93, with future BCA Hall of Famer Ewa Mataya leading the charge, steps were being taken to have the men (of the PBT) and the women (of the WPBA) share a lot of tournament dates and venues. Unfortunately, despite many efforts, it just did not happen. Fast forward 30+ years, however, and we are starting to see it. I like how it is turning out for Predator, the players and the fans.
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She mentioned that in the Legends of the Cue interview. She implied that the guys let them down by insisting they should be paid more. Still seems to be quite a discrepancy in that regard- Jasmin won $27K while Yapp won $90K
 
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