Poll: What kind of pool do you prefer watching, whether virtually or on-site?

Poll: What kind of pool do you prefer watching, whether virtually or on-site?

  • Pool tournaments whetherby Matchroom, Predator, WPA, and/or regional events that are live-streamed.

    Votes: 28 65.1%

  • Action or a challenge match between two players giving it their all.

    Votes: 8 18.6%

  • None of the above. I like pool best when I'm the one playing.

    Votes: 4 9.3%

  • Other (Please share.)

    Votes: 3 7.0%
  • Total voters
    43
JAM

JAM

I am the storm
Silver Member
Oscar Dominguez posed a great question on Facebook: Do you prefer watching action or tournament play?

For me, that’s a tough one. I honestly enjoy both, but for different reasons. I can still remember those long nights sweating a one-pocket action match, driving home at sunrise with scratchy eyes and a grin on my face. The hours flew by like minutes. That’s how much I loved it.

Fast forward to 2025, and those hustling, road-warrior days are mostly behind us. The internet, Facebook, and digital tech changed everything. But big-money challenge matches still pop up now and then, and thanks to live streaming, we can still catch the action from anywhere.

Live streaming really changed the game. Pool fans around the world can now watch top-level play at any hour, whether it’s free or pay-per-view. Still, the purists out there seem to lean toward that formal, tournament-style atmosphere, a little more like snooker.

So if you had a free day to watch whatever you wanted, which would you choose? And if you can't pick a favorite because you like action and tournament play, choose the option you enjoy the most. This is a blind poll, so lurkers can feel free to vote.
 
Living here in Montana watching top players playing live and in person is a rare treat , so for me I turn to You Tube for my fix for top flight pool matches .
Locally there are only bar tables that are readily available and yes I miss playing on a 9' table , if mine was a perfect world I'd have a 10' table and a house large for it and have friends over for pool and some BBQ !

So until I win the lottery I'll be satisfied with bar tables and YouTube ha ha
 
The best watching experience I think would be in the round, with a table in the center, seats high enough to see,
pretty girls bringing drinks and snacks for tipsy old men who tip well. I can dream, so it ends up being YouTube for me.
 
I'm a terrible pool spectator with the exception of 1pkt. Watching any other game, I can take about two minutes and I leave to go play. One pocket videos and streams I can watch and enjoy, and most especially if the commentary is good. If it happens to be a particularly slow player (Hennessey comes to mind), I will watch matches at 2x speed and make use of the skip ahead button, too. Rotation games don't get any of that sort of consideration.
 
In person or streaming, I only like watching 9 ball, 10 ball or one pocket. Can't stand 8 ball, straight pool, or any full rack games other than one pocket. 9 ball banks is somewhere in the middle, but I seldom want to watch it unless it's a tournament final or semi-final.

As for tournaments vs action, in person I prefer action matches if it involves a player or players I either know personally or at least have played against them or seen them play in person. My ideal form of an action match is a 10 game freeze out, as opposed to a race.
 
garczar said:
21 votes is an awfully small sample. The apathy/lack of votes could be its own vote in a way.
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I used to follow the viewership market (long story) look to YouTube which is a world stage.
The views are quite telling.
The numbers of Pool Players that don't view are quite huge is the short story. Most prefer to play instead.
It would take a severe reversal of this to get sponsors interested in developing Pool as a Sport.
One person can be responsible for multiple views on the same video.
Apathy is huge in Pool. Pool is a hard way to make a living as we all know.
 
Either live stream from a major tournament, preferrable world/european title level or 1p high stakes challenge match. Additionally snooker world championships live. EPBF used to cover all tables from European Championships so watched a lot of fellow Finnish players playing live so if my friends are playing, I am definitely tuning in. Oh, Mosconi Cup because of the atmosphere, players nerves showing and traditions.
 
mjantti said:
Either live stream from a major tournament, preferrable world/european title level or 1p high stakes challenge match. Additionally snooker world championships live. EPBF used to cover all tables from European Championships so watched a lot of fellow Finnish players playing live so if my friends are playing, I am definitely tuning in. Oh, Mosconi Cup because of the atmosphere, players nerves showing and traditions.
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BetVictor Northern Ireland Open starts tomorrow. Kyren Wilson is the defending champion. No Ronnie O'Sullivan and no Mark Williams.
 
mjantti said:
Either live stream from a major tournament, preferrable world/european title level or 1p high stakes challenge match. Additionally snooker world championships live. EPBF used to cover all tables from European Championships so watched a lot of fellow Finnish players playing live so if my friends are playing, I am definitely tuning in. Oh, Mosconi Cup because of the atmosphere, players nerves showing and traditions.
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same. there are so few high level 1p matches played nowadays though. the rotation tournament schedule is a blessing and a curse in that regard. maybe we get to see alex vs fedor or filler vs fedor at some point. bergman, lunda are other contenders
 
Though my tendency has always been to favor tournament play, there's no doubt that an action match can be every bit as exciting as a tournament match as long as it features elite players.

Watching two Fargo 720s play for a million dollars doesn't interest me in the least. I would rather watch a couple of Fargo 810 players play for five hundred dollars.

For me, the trend toward longer and longer matches in action is what has steered me further and further away from watching action matches. These long matches simply do not capture my attention. On the other hand, when Filler and JL Chang matched up for a race to seventeen 10ball match in the action room during the 2019 Derby City classic, I found it electrifying.

To each his own.
 
Tournaments all the way. Action/money games really aren't that interesting because they are at the heart of it a private thing between two people's egos and bankrolls. I'd rather watch a video replay of me handling or not handling a situation in a tournament than playing in some money match where what transpires tells me little about both players other than who won the money match.
 
if i am not in action on it then only with two exciting players to watch.
like tony, earl, mellon, efrin, busti, and a couple others.

why watch two uninteresting robot acting duds, pocketing balls over and over again.

it falls from both the players and spectators stand point of, the alcohol anonymous quote from 40 or so years back of

"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results"
 
JAM said:
BetVictor Northern Ireland Open starts tomorrow. Kyren Wilson is the defending champion. No Ronnie O'Sullivan and no Mark Williams.
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Too bad many players are not very consistent over the whole season, but surely most of them are firing with all cylinders just before World Championships.
Also there are a lot of exciting qualification matches for the snooker worlds, and I think there are 3 rounds BO19 (race to 10) before the final event. Playing at the Crucible Theater is a dream for many young and older players so you will see a lot of nervy matches, especially in the final qualification round. Even seasoned veterans show nerves.

What I meant to say, other than WC and majors, there are so many snooker ranking events that it’s difficult to get excited as they are the bread and butter for all snooker pros and provide nothing extra to any snooker match in general in terms of greatness, drama or nerve meltdowns.
 
maha said:
if i am not in action on it then only with two exciting players to watch.
like tony, earl, mellon, efrin, busti, and a couple others.

why watch two uninteresting robot acting duds, pocketing balls over and over again.

it falls from both the players and spectators stand point of, the alcohol anonymous quote from 40 or so years back of

"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results"
Click to expand...
The "robots" bore me, no matter how good they play.
 
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