The success of the St. Louis event has naturally raised questions about whether the Predator Billiard Series is overtaking the WNT. Fair question.
As I posted in the St Louis thread, Predator did an excellent job. I wrote:
"The competition between Predator and MR is really heating up ... Predator has found a winning formula in pairing several big events together AND in pairing the men and women together. The men and women really seem to enjoy playing with each other. No surprise, since there are so many pool couples these days. Fans seem to like it, too."
On the most recent DogginIt podcast, MM dogged Matchroom again and said Predator was surpassing WNT. He touted the sets format, said it attracts more fans, and said MR needs to shake things up - if only its big ego wouldn't get in the way.
Mike Pannozo was, again, the voice of reason. He he likes different formats and said Predator and the WNT are apples in oranges. He also pointed out that the WNT doesn't really start holding most of its big events until the second half of the year.
There's no doubt Predator has stepped up. It's a great thing, too. I just don't think Predator alone can build a successful year-round pool tour to satisfy the financial need of most top players.
The combined effort of Predator and Matchroom also isn't probably enough, but the two together get the pro pool world closer to the mark.
Do shorts sets really attract more nonhardcore fans? There's no evidence of that, but it's possible, Molina Mike pointed to attendance at the Las Vegas and St. Louis Predator events. But Las Vegas is Vegas, and thousands of amateurs were also there for the BCA tournaments. St Louis, for its, part is considered one of the best pool cities in the U.S.
Next year there will apparently be some big amateur event to coincide with the return of Predator to St. Louis. It's a smart strategy. Predator is trying to turn avid amateur pool players into actual pro pool fans. It's probably the best potential way to try to bring more fans into the sport. For a long time amateur players have been clueless about the pro game.
Frazer has repeatedly said her strategy is to try to lure in more casual fans. Such an approach, aimed to mirror darts, requires stars. Hence her effort - imo misguided - to try to tout youngsters such as AJ Manas. MR is putting more effort into trying to popularize stars.
The downside of such an approach is the potential alienation of hardcore fans or pro players. MR could be seen playing favorites which, of course, they do.
I don't consider myself a partisan of either side. WNT and PBS are trying to do different things, but grow the game. I think there is room for both, and hope they somehow find a way to give each other some breathing space. Neither is strong enough by itself to do for pro pool all that it needs.
The one surprising thing in common is how much both entities are putting into the U.S. Frazer said in a recent interview a chief goal now is to rebuild the game in the US and create new stars. That's why all the new events are being created.
The PBS director also said there is a big focus on the US because Predator is a US company. It wants more people in the US playing and watching.
What Florida, Las Vegas and St Louis show is, there is still a big audience and money to be found in the U.S. when it comes to pro pool. More fans and money than in Europe, and more money than in Asia (China excluded).
Frankly, WNT should consider a big major in St. Louis, too.
Competition is great, but modern pro pool (21st century) is still in its infancy. It needs some cooperation too, especially from Matchroom.
PS: Frazer said Matchroom has already generated half a million gate in Florida, with 70% of tickets sold. I assume she was referring to the Mosconi.
