jax_joe
Well-known member
That's fashionable of them. Of course they are in eastern Eurooooope.
EUROPEAN OPEN 2026, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, March 10-15
- Thread starter jbart65
- Start date
This is really the crux of the matter. They players have more choices than ever before. For the first time, they can make a living without chasing down most every big first prize. The WNT remains the best pool tour this century, but the growing calendar of world pool events presents new challenges for them and, in the Predator Pro Billiard Series, they have a formidable rival.
Prize money growth must, in a sustainable pro pool business model, track revenue growth. If Matchroom is going to have to deal with the kind of reduced participation we have seen this week in Sarajevo, it could obstruct the growth in prize money.
At a time when Matchroom has been increasing its investment in pro pool in the USA, the absence of four of the five members of the 2025 Team USA at the Mosconi at the first WNT event of the year is both discouraging and alarming. Perhaps this is a one-off, but anything close to a repeat of this at May's UK Open would have to be interpreted as a decline in America's commitment to the WNT, a scenario that, to me, would be horrific.
It's an interesting question - why does anyone get into pool. I've asked every regular at my pool hall when and why did they start playing? Pool players in my experience are some of the most interesting people around.
It all started for me ... in the early 1970s. My dad brought home a decent 8-foot table when I was six. I have no idea why. He was a WW2 vet. Maybe he played in the military.
Whatever the case, I was the only one of three boys to take an interest. My dad even bought me a nice two-piece stick with a case at my request. I played a few thousand hours, from 6 to 18, before I went to college.
I remember watching Fats and Willie play, live I think, on ABC's Wide World of Sports with Howard Cosell announcing.
***
As a teen, I became a terrific shotmaker. I could make the thinnest cuts. But I never learned much of fundamentals, so my shotmaking had to be good. Still, I was decent enough to beat anyone I played. My older brothers would bring friends over. They would think, this little kid can't beat me. But I did, usually for money (beer money in high school).
I played some in college, but started to lose touch after I got a job and met my future wife. When it came time to buy a house, I had to choose. A house with a sunny yard for gardening. Or a house with a basement big enough for a pool table. I couldn't find a house with both at the price my wife and I wanted to pay.
The house with a garden won out.
Fast forward to the 2010s. We vacationed every year in the Outer Banks with friends. We always got a house with a pool table so the kids could play. Every time I played, I kept thinking: I want a table. My love for the game was resurfacing.
During the pandemic in 2021, I cleared out my cellar and bought a cheap 7-foot table (all I could fit). Did I really want to play pool regularly again? After a few months, the answer was a resounding yes. So I upgraded to a much better 7-foot table.
Somehow I can across some Youtube videos of DrCue. Short 2-minute clips teaching the game. Appetite whetted, I searched out more videos. That led me to Robert Byrne, Jerry Brisesath, Bert Kinister, DraDave, Tor Lowry, Sharivari, Niels Feijin. I spent hundreds of hours watching videos and hundred more doing drills.
Before long, I found myself watching pro matches live on Youtube. That's how I learned about SVB. Then I learned about this guy named Efren that everyone called The Goat. So I started watching matches of Reyes and other old players.
Now here I am. I practice every day for at least an hour - my kids are grown - and I watch a ton of pro pool. Probably more than anyone wanted to know, but there it is.
Skyler and Tyler, as I mentioned, are playing in an Ultimate Pool event in Iowa. Justin Bergman said he had already committed to the event before the date for the European Open was announced.
It's possible Sky and Tyler committed early, too, but who knows. MR did not announce the date for the the European Open until Jan. 30. Ultimate Pool officially announced Sky as a player on Feb. 5.
Billy Thorpe chose to play in the Griff's US Open bank pool event this week. Ditto for Shane Van Boening.
SVB has now missed the European Open, Philippines Open and previous Hanoi Open. He also skipped the UK Open last year - the only Team USA Mosconi player to do so.
He indicated last month he would travel less in the first half of the year and that he would play in most big WPA/Predator events in 2026.
SVB appears to have committed to the Arizona Open. I'd be shocked if he's not in Florida, too. He seems to have already ruled out the Philippines.
The UK Open, in late May, was announced with much more lead time than the European Open. It's also taking place close to London this year in a nearby suburb. The last few years it was much farther away near Birmingham.
Yup, I'm staying patient here, but if this is the beginning of a trend in which the commitment of American pros to the WNT will decline, it's going to stink. We shall see.
jax_joe
Well-known member
SVB probably not hitting the UK Open again this year. Who knows. He stated he wasn't going to Buffalo's. Presumably that meant to UK. But then he stated he is going to the VNEA championships (5/21-5/30) for an appearance. Maybe he will just go to the first part of that and then fly out to the UK.
The four ranking events for the Eastern European Billiard Council "Best of the East," are in Czechia, Poland, Georgia, and Romania
Dynamic Billard Best of the East
Polish players tend to dominate those rankings.
The four ranking events for the Eastern European Billiard Council "Best of the East," are in Czechia, Poland, Georgia, and Romania
Dynamic Billard Best of the East
ebc-billiard.com
Polish players tend to dominate those rankings.
View attachment 888965
it is also what basically all other europeans would consider those countries. cultural/historical differences in languages and traditions etc. it's not controversial to me, i'm partly from the czech region and i love the culture.
isn't VNEA an amateur league? i know he doesn't do buffalos often but the way he plays 1p now, he's a top 3 favorite. and if this war bs continues to affect the asian players travelling, he should like his chances in UK too
Here's what the internet had on the subject:
Several definitions of Eastern Europe exist in the early 21st century, but they often lack precision and may be anachronistic. These definitions are debated across cultures and among experts, even political scientists, as the term has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, cultural, and socioeconomic connotations. It has also been described as a "fuzzy" term, as the idea itself of Eastern Europe is in constant redefinition. The solidification of the idea of Eastern Europe dates back chiefly to the French Enlightenment. There are almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region.
OK, looks like I learned something here. Never too old to learn. Thanks to all for their input here.
6 days for this? they should just televise last 2 days and last 32 single elimination and spare us the boredom. Who wants to watch slow matches , lots of dead money massacre first few days, Joke is MR press release announcing so called World Number 1 Gorst thrashing 9-0 his dead money opponent like it is big deal 
bpeacock
Well-known member
@dr_dave is this a foul or no? It looked good to me, but ref said no good.
https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&href=https://www.facebook.com/reel/1246230760988379/&show_text=false&width=560&t=0
https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&href=https://www.facebook.com/reel/1246230760988379/&show_text=false&width=560&t=0
That was Quinten Pongers' shot against Glont. If the balls had been declared frozen, there was no foul in the contact itself. Shooting into a frozen ball is legal. The speed is irrelevant.
Pongers called over the ref and he said something after inspecting the balls. I have to assume he called it frozen or Pongers wouldn’t have shot through the balls.
If so, shouldn’t be a foul (nothing in the WNT Rules overrule the WPA rule on this). My only guess as to Marcel is that he might have said he can’t overrule the referee. WNT rules say:
“If Table Referees are in charge of the matches, there shall be no right for either player to ask for a second opinion; the referees are in sole charge of the matches and their decision is final”.
single elim starts tomorrow right?
i know the frozen rule. but it looked totally crazy. it's very hard for me to say it looked good, even if it was. wild.
must surely have been frozen. if not, quinten is a madman
Yes.