Conditions to participate in the upcoming U.S. Open

jay helfert

Shoot Pool, not people
Gold Member
Silver Member
This was brought to my attention today. What do you think?
 

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Tin Man

AzB Gold Member
Gold Member
Silver Member
I am going with my pal who also is playing the International Open. We have paid entries and secured hotels. It is a little late to start throwing out conditions now. So my first point would be anything like this should be highlighted well in advance.

As for their goal, I can see it both ways. The US Open was kind of split the last few years. Matchroom has the official name, but Flemming has the traditional venue. They are trying to secure their position as the authentic US Open.

Still, I am generally not in favor of anything diminishing player's options unless they are compensated. If Matchroom was sponsoring the players, paying them a salary, etc, that is one thing. But to revert to these types of moves isn't very appealing.

In the end though my expectations of pool right now are so low that I don't much care. Let it all burn and I'll practice at home on my own table. Or do something good for the game and I'll participate. But there are so many things so broken it would take more than this for me to feel any sting of disappointment anymore.
 

ideologist

I don't never exaggerate
Silver Member
I think the restriction has nothing at all to do with the International Open, but I could be wrong. Pat has never tried to use "US" and "Open" together since the title was sold to Matchroom.
It says "style" not "name"

This is a draconian restriction.

You want to play a double-elimination tournament? Hmm, not if it is a rotation game.
 

JAM

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
First off, who is to determine what is a U.S. Open Championship-style pool event? Notice the missing hyphen in the descriptive adjective between "Championship and "style" as well in 12.1. Not a clear description at all for a legally binding agreement.

And the last parenthetical is misleading: (such consent shall not be unreasonably be withheld). What does this mean? Two "be" words in the same phrase? Legal interpretation could have a field day with this mumbo jumbo.

Hire a professional if you're going to ask people to sign a legally binding document.

As an aside, I remember one year when Greg Sullivan was trying to create a summer Derby City Classic down South, and at the very last minute, some pros pulled out and wanted to go to Vegas to compete in the Bonus Ball league, which as we all know failed to succeed. It was a slap in the face to Greg Sullivan. He was going to create a second Derby City Classic in the summer season. I know Greg Sullivan felt some hurt from how some pros deserted him, the same pros who promised him they would show up, the same pros who he gave FREE entry and FREE lodging to in Louisville. But pro players are free agents and independent contractors, not employees. There is no professional organization for professional pool players. The Billiard Congress of America deserted professional pool, even though they are supposed to be the governing body of professional pool. They should change their name. What he hell kind of congress of America is a billiard entity that does not support professional pool? They should change their name to Billiard Industry Member Association. They have no right to continue to be the governing body of professional pool when they don't do much, if anything, for North American professional players.

Everybody says you need BCA and WPA in order for pool to get in the Olympics. Well, by golly, make these entities do more for professional pool. WPA just wants to get their hand greased by wealthy Middle Eastern entities so they can travel around the world for free, and BCA? Shame, shame, shame on you for deserting our players. You industry members need to step and support professional pool or give up the name "Billiard Congress of America." What does that name have to do with the industry member membership? Nothing. If they lived up to their name, they would be addressing issues like the subject of this thread instead of hiding in the bushes counting their profits while professional pool continues to circle the drain.

In my opinion and according to the IRS, you cannot dictate rules and restrictions like this on independent contractors. Most pro pool players are unsponsored and free agents. They are, by the definition of the IRS, independent contractors. You can, however, make these rules and restrictions on employees. Big difference! This agreement cannot be legally binding, in my opinion, unless the pool players who sign it are employees.
 
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9ball5032

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
This isn't good for our sport.
We don't have enough tournaments as it is.
I don't think any other pool tournament in the world hurts (or could ever hurt) their branding.
I am sure The BCA & WPA have nothing to say on the matter.
 
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9ball5032

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
That's what I was gonna post. Vague. It should be spelled out clearly. Otherwise its even more ominous.
 

greyghost

Coast to Coast
Silver Member
Looks like brand protection to me. I suppose it applies to the events Mark Griffin promotes. Is there some penalty specified elsewhere in the document?

With the “style” wording seems like it could go either way. They don’t own the title “US Open” it’s US Open 9 ball.

Matchroom couldn’t give less of a dam about one pocket, 14.1 and banks.

This is smelling like the makings of some Colin Ponder AAU bullshit when he threatened shorter and prefontaine with being sanctioned as professionals if they went run in oulu instead of Helsinki…..they wanted to compete against the best competition to prep for the games but Ponder had extracted a 10k$ show up fee for the two runners…that got 3$ a day for food while Ponder drank wine and ate caviar.

all matchroom has to do is jelly up the WPA and have them sanction players. Many of the American pros probably wouldn’t care because we don’t travel internationally except for a select few. But the rest of the pool world would be, effectively owning their ability to compete….and making a hostile takeover of pro pool possibly complete….matchroom will be giving our dead beat of a parent the BCA orders soon enough.

Big sports in America and especially internationally is nothing but mafia. AAU, NCAA, FIFA….the IOC.

I love the worlds athletes but the games and these organizations have been corrupt for many years and it’s not a conspiracy theory fable.

Theoretically matchroom will do whatever they want, the wpa will let them because they have the money. The pros are and never have been together unionized as one to protect themselves…well the PPA happened and you know how that turned out lol.

The courts won’t help either there’s too many examples of the organizations shitting squarely on athletes and gaining no glimpse of anything righteous from the legal system.

Our athletes were technically clear to go compete in Moscow in 1980 during the Olympic boycott. The Carter administration then threatened revoking international passports to our athletes who wanted to go compete.

Case closed.

I’m not trying to say Matchroom is going to be bad for pool…but watch out cuz they are moving on us and gonna go 8 and out faster than most of us realize.

That’s the only Area JAM is not quite right on the independent contractor thing. We might not be employees but we fall under a governing body. All that has to happen is said governing body now demands sanction fees for those “styled” events…they get given the finger and thd WPA slams down the gavel in the players in retaliation.

It’s like the ESPN fiasco…we pissed them off they been laughing at us ever since. They don’t need us. The WPA and Matchroom will throw away as many players and people in the way to get what they seek, they will groom new ones among the herd and market them.

Shadows loom,
-Greyghost


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LowRight

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
It's obvious they're trying to hurt the US International Open and the US 10-Ball Open, etc. My pal and I were thinking of going to this year's event as spectators. Not anymore.
 

skogstokig

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
It's obvious they're trying to hurt the US International Open and the US 10-Ball Open, etc. My pal and I were thinking of going to this year's event as spectators. Not anymore.

either that or they are completely ignorant about these other "US open style" tournaments existence, which would mean they are incompetent.
 
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