The new U S. pro pool tour

jay helfert

jay helfert

Shoot Pool, not people
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In case you hadn't already noticed there has become a non stop stream of healthy added money poolroom tournaments. They are being promoted by Ray Hansen of Pool Action TV, most of them in the South or Southeast with a few in the Midwest.

A core group of players (maybe two dozen) follow this tour from stop to stop. The best guys are making a few thou at each one. Tony Chohan comes to mind first. It's a prime opportunity for an upcoming player to get experience and improve his game. I strongly suspect that if any really strong player emerges he will have cut his bones here.

The competition can be high level with full length matches. This is our version of the Korn Ferry golf tour. A stepping stone to all the other larger ($$$ & fame) tournies we have here now thanks to the WNT and a few more. I for one am glad to see the big rooms supporting these events and creating this opportunity for young players.

Pool is alive and well here!
 
jay helfert said:
In case you hadn't already noticed there has become a non stop stream of healthy added money poolroom tournaments. They are being promoted by Ray Hansen of Pool Action TV, most of them in the South or Southeast with a few in the Midwest.

A core group of players (maybe two dozen) follow this tour from stop to stop. The best guys are making a few thou at each one. Tony Chohan comes to mind first. It's a prime opportunity for an upcoming player to get experience and improve his game. I strongly suspect that if any really strong player emerges he will have cut his bones here.

The competition can be high level with full length matches. This is our version of the Korn Ferry golf tour. A stepping stone to all the other larger ($$$ & fame) tournies we have here now thanks to the WNT and a few more. I for one am glad to see the big rooms supporting these events and creating this opportunity for young players.

Pool is alive and well here!
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There's tournaments but nothing like a real named tour. A US only big table tour would be great but i don't see one happening soon. Still the lion's share, by FAR, is barbox events.
 
maha said:
more tournaments thin out each other and the big ones.

but ultimately it will create more and better players. time will tell.
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the country is big enough for multiple local/regional tours but a real no-shit national traveling tour like the old Camel/PBT would be awesome. Seeing how B-wick is owned by big money EscaladeSports now would be awesome time for a all GoldCrown7 tour to fire up.
 
garczar said:
the country is big enough for multiple local/regional tours but a real no-shit national traveling tour like the old Camel/PBT would be awesome. Seeing how B-wick is owned by big money EscaladeSports now would be awesome time for a all GoldCrown7 tour to fire up.
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Ain't gonna happen. We need a billionaire to get involved, like Paul Allen who rescued pro bowling.
 
Bob Jewett said:
According to some reports, bowling isn't doing all that well. It's a bad idea to depend on a single person or company. If the whim leaves them, the effort ends.
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jay helfert said:
Ain't gonna happen. We need a billionaire to get involved, like Paul Allen who rescued pro bowling.
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Just watch the recent documentary hbo did on pro bowling.. they are in a worse situation then pool . Those guys are sleeping 4 to a room to try to afford to compete and thats top players who have won titles. In fact at the end of the documentary fox told them they were no longer sponsering them and they didn’t even know if there would be a tour anymore. I was stunned. I thought bowling was doing well.
 
maha said:
if it makes no money or loses it. it is dead in the water no matter who backs it.

that's why you need a dedicated person or business with tremendous business acumen ,that will devote themselves to making money from pool.
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Exactly. A deep pockets sponsor usually already has the business sense to know a losing venture when they see it.

How he got his money is irrelevant to this matter, although I'm sure someone will raise the topic, but when Kevin Trudeau founded and funded the IPT in 2006, everyone thought that because he had very deep pockets, that tour was certain to last for a long time. In truth, the IPT venture was the umpteenth business which he financed, and the moment he knew the IPT venture wasn't financially viable, he pulled the plug.

If there is a billionaire sponsor who sees pro pool as a charity and doesn't care whether financial participation would bring any profits, great, but the odds would seem against it. Any other billionaire, at least in theory, might roll the dice on pro pool, but would pull the plug at the very instant the venture looked unprofitable.

Hence, the only meaningful path forward is the one of which you take note. What is needed is a person or company that has the business acumen and dedication to make pool profitable. Maybe it's Matchroom, Predator, or some other current investor in the pro game. Maybe it's an individual or company that has yet to invest in pro pool but will do so in the future.
 
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Bob Jewett said:
According to some reports, bowling isn't doing all that well. It's a bad idea to depend on a single person or company. If the whim leaves them, the effort ends.
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Multiple tourneys that pay 100K for the winner. A full fledged Tour. Television coverage of the final matches on regular TV, not pay per view. I go by what I see, not some report.

They'll be okay as long as Allen doesn't pull the plug. He's already supported them for many years, unlike two and done Trudough.
 
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sjm said:
Exactly. A deep pockets sponsor usually already has the business sense to know a losing venture when they see it.

How he got his money is irrelevant to this matter, although I'm sure someone will raise the topic, but when Kevin Trudeau founded and funded the IPT in 2006, everyone thought that because he had very deep pockets, that tour was certain to last for a long time. In truth, the IPT venture was the umpteenth business which he financed, and the moment he knew the IPT venture wasn't financially viable, he pulled the plug.

If there is a billionaire sponsor who sees pro pool as a charity and doesn't care whether financial participation would bring any profits, great, but the odds would seem against it. Any other billionaire, at least in theory, might roll the dice on pro pool, but would pull the plug at the very instant the venture looked unprofitable.

Hence, the only meaningful path forward is the one of which you take note. What is needed is a person or company that has the business acumen and dedication to make pool profitable. Maybe it's Matchroom, Predator, or some other current investor in the pro game. Maybe it's an individual or company that has yet to invest in pro pool but will do so in the future.
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There is a very wealthy man who loves Three Cushion. Every year he puts on his own Invitational event paying huge money. It's a gift to the sport he loves! SJM knows who I mean.
 
sjm said:
Exactly. A deep pockets sponsor usually already has the business sense to know a losing venture when they see it.

How he got his money is irrelevant to this matter, although I'm sure someone will raise the topic, but when Kevin Trudeau founded and funded the IPT in 2006, everyone thought that because he had very deep pockets, that tour was certain to last for a long time. In truth, the IPT venture was the umpteenth business which he financed, and the moment he knew the IPT venture wasn't financially viable, he pulled the plug.

If there is a billionaire sponsor who sees pro pool as a charity and doesn't care whether financial participation would bring any profits, great, but the odds would seem against it. Any other billionaire, at least in theory, might roll the dice on pro pool, but would pull the plug at the very instant the venture looked unprofitable.

Hence, the only meaningful path forward is the one of which you take note. What is needed is a person or company that has the business acumen and dedication to make pool profitable. Maybe it's Matchroom, Predator, or some other current investor in the pro game. Maybe it's an individual or company that has yet to invest in pro pool but will do so in the future.
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Just look at the last real US tour, The seminole pro tour. The minute they started to expand that one out of Florida, the tribal council outed the leader and bam no more tour.
 
jay helfert said:
There is a very wealthy man who loves Three Cushion. Every year he puts on his own Invitational event paying huge money. It's a gift to the sport he loves! SJM knows who I mean.
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Yes, I am familiar with the event. Every business could use an investor that has no desire to turn a profit, but in the real world, such investors are few and far between. Any business that is dependent on the presence of such investors to be financially viable is unlikely to be sustainable.
 
sjm said:
Yes, I am familiar with the event. Every business could use an investor that has no desire to turn a profit, but in the real world, such investors are few and far between. Any business that is dependent on the presence of such investors to be financially viable is unlikely to be sustainable.
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I know it's a one shot deal, but a damn good one for the players. I guarantee you they love it. I might do something similar here. Guarantee good money and take a tax deduction for my loss.
 
Bob Jewett said:
According to some reports, bowling isn't doing all that well. It's a bad idea to depend on a single person or company. If the whim leaves them, the effort ends.
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Lots of the blame can be placed on the feet of the Bowlero company. It has taken many bowling alleys and converted them to family centers were bowling is not the focus. That move alone has helped kill off the next generation of pro bowlers.

As for the original post, this isn't anything new. Zuglan's northeast tour has been going strong for what seems like decades now and the top players make some good money playing there. I believe first place is usually around $1200.

The only thing that would turn off so many people about these tours is the fact that many are handicapped. I truly believe there is a place for tours without the need of handicapping. But it would take someone with some deep pockets and running in the red for a while before something like that takes off.
 
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