Recent content by jbart65

No, I don't know as much about snooker as you do. Pool would be lucky to be as big on TV as snooker is in the UK and China. If the sport is to grow, however, I don't think it can mimick much about snooker. As for the Chinese snooker numbers, I treat as suspect all numbers coming from China. I...

I don't generally state absolutes, but you are absolutely wrong on length of games. They quite clearly do matter. People only have so much time. All major sports, for example, have sped up OT or changed the rules to shorten games. Tennis, hockey, baseball, college football. Only pro football...

The sets approach by Predator just doesn't excite me all that much. I applaud the company for trying something different, but I just can't cotton to it. Especially the early rounds. I might like it a bit better if it was races to 5 in a best two of three sets. Races to four seem too short in a...

Sorry, I don't believe those numbers for a second. A core fan base of 500 million people? Come now. In any case, pro pool is not going to get much bigger with long or longer races and long matches.

I don't think it's relevant. Snooker is only a big viewing sport in a few countries. Pool has the chance to be bigger globally, especially if the games are shorter imo. Not big, mind you, but bigger than it is. Also, the U.S. market clearly is crucial for Matchroom. I doubt any casual American...

In an unrelated matter, I watched a new instructional video by Ko Ping Chung recently on pool stances. He just changed his to more of a snooker stance. He explained the switch by noting the difference in traditional 9 ball and Chinese 9 ball. "When I used to play American 9 ball ..." Chung...

Not sure this is possible. WNT rankings should be based strictly on 9 ball play. Excelling at 10 ball or 8 ball should have no bearing on 9 ball rankings. The big question for WNT is, should its rankings include 9 ball events NOT sponsored by Matchroom. Tough one. The conditions might not be...

Race lengths have to be shorter to attract a modest increase in fans globally, not to mention any form of mainstream media. Pool has to evolve from just satisfying the diehards or the players. That's the only way pro pool will find a somewhat bigger niche and deliver more prize money. WNT...

Comparable to the single-elim WNT events - Arizona and Philippines opens. Prize funds of $150,000 and smaller field to start. UK, European and Florida Opens were $225,000.

Correct on the Filipinos. Feijen, of course, is not a full-time pro anymore. One of his daughters prepped some kind of celebration for him, his social media account showed. Tyler said on FB he is going home to attend the wedding of his younger brother. I'd prefer consistent 2 of 3 sets to 3...

Not sure how I feel about the set format. I like some things about it - players can fall behind big early and still win, for instance. Yet I find two of three sets too short, and three of five sets too long. Some might think 3 of 5 is perfect for a "World" championship, but pool does need to...

Total prize fund in Bali is $150,000, with 128 players competing. The World 10-ball Championship had a $300,000 prize fund, with 96 players competing. Winner got $80K, kaci got 40K.

Pretty much every top player who played in Vietnam is in Bali. Only notable exceptions are Chua, Feijin ... and Styer. Also, Pecelj was not in Ho Chi Minh City and he's not in Bali. AJ Manas was not in Vietnam, but he is in Bali. Interesting to see back-to-back big 10 ball events by Predator...

As for Polish players ... Since the WNT was established, Matchroom has held 26 "major" events. Polish players have had just four semifinalists among 104 semifinalists overall (Woj twice, Maciol and Fortunski). They have won none of the 26 events. Polish players have only made 14 quarterfinal...

I ended up watching the semis and finals in the morning after they were over. No way I was going to watch live! So little separated Kaci from Filler, or Woj from Kaci. Kaci's break - and the lack thereof for Josh - gave him a close win in the semis. His break wasn't great, but it was a small...