I think that tournaments should be top heavy with the prize pool. I don't pretend to know the structure as such but with a 128 sized field, it seems that the top 64 should some financial incentive to attend, like some expense monies to help with airfare, hotel and meals. This will keep them incentivised to compete.
SJM Trip Report: 2026 WNT UK Open a Big Hit
- Thread starter sjm
- Start date
It's always relative B.H. Added money events are tough action for all. I read a PGA pro spends about 50K per mth to keep his lifestyle functional.
i read today that jerry garcia spent 60K per month to keep his lifestyle functional. we all choose different paths
I don’t know why WNT keeps undercutting the most prestigious 1P in the world. Buffalo has had the tournament the same weekend since before WNT was even a thought. I wish Filler would have skipped the UK tournament. Come on Filler, put you superior abilities over Fedor to work.
the worst thing for many not national tournaments is to have very top players show up. they dont live there and take most of the money away never to be seen again.
i understand many want to watch them play or think its great they win all the time.
but think about all the others that spend most of their disposable income to show up with no chance of bringing home anything.
what if you had a nice gambling ring game going everyday at your local pool room. and someone like a filler showed up and busted the game every day. how long before the game went away or they had to bar him from it.
i understand many want to watch them play or think its great they win all the time.
but think about all the others that spend most of their disposable income to show up with no chance of bringing home anything.
what if you had a nice gambling ring game going everyday at your local pool room. and someone like a filler showed up and busted the game every day. how long before the game went away or they had to bar him from it.
Predictable food chain.
Wow. While some have suggested that WNT and Predator should do their best to avoid scheduling clashes with each other, asking the major event producers in pool to schedule around an independent one-pocket event is a bit much.
As we saw, there were a few that played both events. The world pool calendar is so busy these days that expecting event producers to work around each other is unrealistic. As we have often noted on AZB, collaboration between WNT and Predator in setting the schedule would help, but it seems very unlikely at the moment.
Finaly, Josh did put his superior abilities to work and won $40,000. He is better than Fedor at rotation pool, but Fedor is probably still just slightly better than Josh at one pocket. Josh made the right choice.
It would have been better to watch Josh and Fedor battle it out at Buffalo’s where the winner gets $40,000 and the Calcutta worth $150,000 that gets split up. If Josh and SVB would have been there the Calcutta probably would have been $250,000 to the winner. Not bad for an independent tournament.
WNT is doing the same thing next year.
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We know exactly when the tournament at Buffalo’s will be in 2027 already.
There is no date yet for next years WNT UK Open.
There is no date yet for next years WNT UK Open.
Yes, the prize fund is big at Buffalos. So what?
You have argued that WNT should schedule around Buffalos and I can't see any reason they should. Historically, some events in American WPA sanctioned tours (such as PBT and UPA) had date protection, but I'd guess that no independent event has ever had it since the formation of the WPA in the 1980s.
I can appreciate that as a fan, you are disappointed that Buffalos didn't draw a better field with defending champ Filler and 2026 Derby City one pocket champ SVB in the mix, but we have reached a point in the game where the top few players can pick and choose their events and still earn a good living.
Several WNT pros I have talked to have said that the undercutting is intentional.
You guys really paid $40 to watch a One Pocket tournament?
He shoulda chose music school instead of hose and acid...
as said by sjm independent events need to schedule around the major events not the other way around even if they are big.
otherwise other ones will pop up and it will be a nightmare. and a few players they lose to buffalo's doesn't hurt one bit. and probably improves the event as others can make it big and come in the money when they normally are totally dead money.
otherwise other ones will pop up and it will be a nightmare. and a few players they lose to buffalo's doesn't hurt one bit. and probably improves the event as others can make it big and come in the money when they normally are totally dead money.
yes, every year. it's a great event.
and there was no scheduling conflict, they did not overlap. also khalid played great against fedor. that was not just fedor being jetlagged
That's cool bro. I just don't know if I have it in me to watch 7 hour matches. To each his own though.
Well, there was a flight from NOLA at noon on Monday that got into London at 6AM on the first day of play (Tuesday). The current format has all 256 players playing on the first day. The first match was at 11AM. Tight but possible. It seems that Fedor was on a later flight from NOLA. I think he finished at 3AM Monday there.
I doubt it. Very few players appear to have any real insight into what WNT does. Matchroom keeps things buttoned up. The event is also too small for Matchroom to care. Scheduling big events like the UK Open is a tough task.
In the case, small events like this will have to adjust. Global pool scheduling has become much more crowded, and not just because of MR-Predator competition.
The Ko brothers playing in China for the Duya Chinese 9 ball tour has opened the door to other top pros doing the same. Now MR and Predator both have to contend with these big Chinese events. Given the prize money, I'd expect more Asian players to play in China.
We are already seeing it with Pinoy players. Johann Chua just won $50,000 at a Duya event, and he and other Filipino players plan to play in the big Duya tourney with $750,000 in prize money this summer.
what was first prize? and who won it