WNT Grand Prix of Pool in 2027

J

jbart65

Well-known member
Matchroom just announced a new event in January. The World Grand Prix.

Sixty-four invitees, single elimination, $100,000 prize fund. Takes place in Barcelona from Jan 18-20.

www.facebook.com

Matchroom Pool

It’s official. The World Grand Prix is coming next year. Here’s what Emily, FSR, David and Jonas had to say about it! The countdown starts now. 👀 #WNT | ICE Barcelona #WorldGrandPrix👑
www.facebook.com www.facebook.com
 
The announcement says eight tables, so probably 4-4-3 rounds on the three days (Monday - Wednesday). I wonder if they will stream all eight.
 
Matchroom calendar in 2027 is shaping up. Big January for the first time in WNT’s short history

*January 6-10. CHINESE TAPEI OPEN. 128 players, double elimination, Taipei. $107,000 prize fund.

*January 12-14. WORLD POOL MASTERS (returns from two-year hiatus). Twenty players, 14 based on WNT rankings and six wild cards. Taipei. $125,000 prize fund.

*January 18-20. WORLD GRAND PRIX. Inaugural event. Sixty-four players, single elimination, Barcelona, Spain. $100,000 prize fund.
 
Dates have also been set for the Premier League of Pool from Feb. 16-21 and the Florida Open (Aug 3-8).

The PLP finishes before the large Predator event in Las Vegas that runs from Feb. 23 to March 6. I could have sworn these two events conflicted when the 2027 PLP was first announced, but maybe Predator switched its dates.

Whatever the case, the PLP could have its strongest field in several years.

What we still don't know:

*Frazer said WNT wants another big event between the Florida Open and the second Arizona Open to lighten the travel load on players.

*Frazer has said she would like a another big WNT event in Texas aside from the presumptive return of the US open to Frisco. She did not specify if it would happen in 2027.

*No date has been set yet for the US Open. but Aug. 24-29 looks likely.

*WNT has not said if it will return to Vietnam for a Hanoi Open. There is a small ranking event in Ho Chi Minh City in November this year.

*WNT has not set a date for the World Pool Championship or given further indication of whether it will take place in 2026.

*WNT has not said if the World Cup of Pool will return. If it doesn't come back in 2027, might as well kill it. Predator is stealing its thunder.

*The Philippines Open will be back based on the original contract.
 
If they don’t have the World Championships in 2026 it will be a travesty. Assuming that the Saudis gave their sponsorship money despite their backing away (which I think is the case), for WNT to not find a new venue and hold the biggest money event would be terrible.
 
GideonF said:
If they don’t have the World Championships in 2026 it will be a travesty. Assuming that the Saudis gave their sponsorship money despite their backing away (which I think is the case), for WNT to not find a new venue and hold the biggest money event would be terrible.
Click to expand...

agreed.
 
Most of this sounds great. Thank heaven the World Grand Prix doesn't conflict with Derby City. Derby City without Josh, Fedor and Shane would have taken a giant step backward.

Honestly, I am less invested in the continuation of the WPC than some others. Of course, I'd prefer to see it on the schedule than not, but if Matchroom is getting the money no matter what and is not contractually obligated to produce a WPC (pure speculation here), I would rather they add multiple majors rather than have one giant prize fund event. The more 9ball majors the merrier!

Matchroom is doing a much better job of scheduling over the past year than in the past and I am very pleased about it.
 
Last edited:
jbart65 said:
Matchroom calendar in 2027 is shaping up. Big January for the first time in WNT’s short history

*January 6-10. CHINESE TAPEI OPEN. 128 players, double elimination, Taipei. $107,000 prize fund.

*January 12-14. WORLD POOL MASTERS (returns from two-year hiatus). Twenty players, 14 based on WNT rankings and six wild cards. Taipei. $125,000 prize fund.

*January 18-20. WORLD GRAND PRIX. Inaugural event. Sixty-four players, single elimination, Barcelona, Spain. $100,000 prize fund.
Click to expand...
Then with DCC starting Jan 22, the jet lag will be real for many of the top guys.

Let me be the first to predict a higher number of upsets (and/or no-shows) at DCC.
 
sjm said:
Most of this sounds great. Thank heaven the World Grand Prix doesn't conflict with Derby City. Derby City without Josh, Fedor and Shane would have taken a giant step backward.
Click to expand...
Don't say this too loudly.

Emily likes scheduling WNT tournaments to conflict with the dates of other long-standing events. :oops:
 
penguin said:
Don't say this too loudly.

Emily likes scheduling WNT tournaments to conflict with the dates of other long-standing events. :oops:
Click to expand...
You're allowed your conspiracy theories, but I've never bought into this.

At bare minimum, Matchroom schedule conflicts with WPA/Predator have really not been an issue in 2026. The one major exception was in February when Matchroom scheduled the PLP over the same dates at the Predator Las Vegas Open, but Shane, Josh, Fedor and Jayson all skipped the PLP in favor of the Las Vegas Open 10ball. The result was a badly watered-down PLP that I barely even watched. It was a miscalculation that has already been attended to for February 2027.

WNT and WPA/Predator are doing a pretty good job right now of not stepping on each other's toes. Avoiding conflicts with independent events like Derby City, Buffalo's One Pocket, or any regional event (like the European Championships or a Euro-tour event) is a courtesy, not even close to an obligation for pro pool's two superpowers. To be fair, the two superpowers in event production will probably only pay attention to independent and regional events if they fear greatly reduced participation in their own events.

All that said, given the unprecedented breadth of the world pool calendar, there will be the occasional scheduling conflict between Matchroom and WPA/Predator. It's unavoidable.
 
Bob Jewett said:
The DCC nine ball was a WNT ranking event in 2025. It was not a ranking event in 2026. It is not on the current WNT event schedule for 2027.
Click to expand...

That’s disappointing. I think it was a WNT event in 2024 as well but I could be wrong.

Any idea why it’s no longer a WNT event?
 
Bob Jewett said:
I'm guessing that they will have separate semifinals on the third day.
Click to expand...
Ah! That has certainly been the standard way in WNT and WNT ranking events. The recent Phoenix Open played both semifinals at the same time. So did the just-ended Predator events. I prefer them being played at different times, in order to watch and have stats on both. But I think playing them at the same time is a bit more fair to the players, as the two winners then go on to the final match after roughly the same interval from their prior matches.
 
Last edited:
sjm said:
Darn. After reading post #12, I was hoping they had realigned with Matchroom. Apparently not.
Click to expand...

My bad (as the kids say). I knew it was added as a WNT a year or two ago. I didn’t check to see if it had stopped being one.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top