Recent content by MattPoland

I have a suspicion that the decision to not extend an invitation to these two junior players goes deeper than “they gamble” and very likely extends into specific incidents and behaviors that very few are privy to. I don’t know details. You can just smell when there’s more to a story by how...

The tournaments here are all flip for the break. When neither of us have a coin, I offer to lag for it. To me that’s fun like dressing up as a firefighter for Halloween. Some people bite. Some are completely against doing it and will insist we get a coin. And so I let them track one down...

I don’t even think they should ensure he can make a living. That’s still on him. He needs to pay his own phone bill, rent, food, car, etc. But that sponsorship is to turn him into a walking billboard. They don’t need to be his mommy waking him up on time by rubbing his tummy. But what...

However they opt to handle it surely would be their business. It’s just not a great look for him to be publicly saying he can’t afford to get to events and they’re his top sponsor.

From my optics you’re sponsoring a player that says they can’t afford to get to events. And you’d want them to be seen out there using your equipment. And Billy’s brand merits are very tied to Mosconi Cup. Heck even if he went to Yuma, could he also afford to go to the Philippines Open? As a...

They have Tyler too. But still….

I know some international players get government support/federation support and not everyone gets Filler/Fedor/SVB treatment. But Billy is a six time US team member and two time winner. When he says he can’t afford to even attend the domestic events, it’s not a good look. They don’t sponsor...

1. Matchroom isn’t great at being transparent with the fan base so they deserve all heat they get from the fan base including being accused of moving the goalposts all the time. 2. Billy is a big boy. Shame on him for not keeping up on the eligibility criteria. 3. This I don’t hear much...

On the Joe Rogan podcast with Fedor Gorst (8/27/2025)… Right near the beginning, they were talking about Matchroom’s current 9-ball break format: 9 on the spot and the break box. Rogan referred to Fedor having shown him the break earlier that day and said: “You have to hit it with draw and you...

I think SVB’s achievements always had a small asterisk that he failed to translate US dominance into overseas success. His two world championships got that monkey off his back. I think he would have gotten in because 5x US Open Championships were significant and offsetting enough. Some would...

Corey is funny to me. I don’t think we need to judge players in the 70s, 80s, 90s, 00s, 10s and 20s all different from each other based on what was happening in the landscape at the time. To start the further back you go the less you see on Wikipedia. But also the level of international...

The width of the tip changes the player's visual of what a tip of english is. And the radius of the tip (dime, nickel, quarter) changes where that "tip of english" contacts the cueball. So I'm just not a fan of this this conversation at all. This is an aim small, miss small topic for me...

I think the blackball championship only gets credited because we want him in. In general the BCA HoF has not had a history of inducting players that have dominated in that arena like Mick Hill or Gareth Potts. Or does it make more sense for those disciplines to just have their own HoF...

You gotta start by differentiating the people getting in on “Meritorious Service” vs getting in on the “Greatest Player” category. Then you have to remember that pool is deep in an international era these days with multiple major opens and world championships available. That’s very different...

I think people debated FSR after his historic 2022-2023 run. He achieved more than most in a single year. There was a debate whether if he accomplished nothing else would he likely get in once eligible. Some saying yes for getting 8-ball WC (1st), 9-ball WC (1st), US Open (1st) and 10-ball WC...