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I am happy the WPA is speaking more openly. But the representatives REALLY need to work on their elevator pitch ahead of time. They need to be able to answer questions succinctly and clearly about their mission and purpose without using the words “governing” or “body”. They also need to have...

Matchroom has 51% ownership of the WST (formerly World Snooker) and 25% ownership of the WPBSA which is the governing body of professional snooker and English Billiards. To be clear, Matchroom didn’t start this organization. They existed when Matchroom was basically just Barry and Steve Davis...

There was a book on this actually but I’ll need to dig it up to see the title. It’s a mixture of right time, right people and right players. The short version is that BBC was looking to build its programming and snooker presented an opportunity. But to take advantage of that over the years...

Sure, but the question is what type of work does the WPA need to do to maintain that position. What role do they play in securing those funds each and every time? And shouldn’t the objective be to sustain the game through private sponsorships and not government funding? And if that is the...

Agree. If we envision a perfect outcome, let’s imagine Matchroom is tremendously successful and manages to grow to a point where they have a major ranking event every other week (full production, 60-100k first prize). In order for that to happen, they will inevitably steam roll the competition...

I certainly recognize they are all volunteers. But volunteer led and operated organizations can achieve a lot if it is well organized with a sufficient number of people. This is from experience as a (unpaid) senior leader in a volunteer org. I did around 5-10 hours a week on top of my full...

I have no background or knowledge about organizing pool events, so take this as a genuine question. Why is it that Turning Stone is able to host two big tournaments a year at the Turning Stone casino but the CBSA can’t even get a pool room? Obviously part of the answer will have to do with...

Tony Drago won the world pool masters in 2003. Though arguably it was more of a exhibition event at that time. Daryl Peach is the only snooker crossover to win an indisputable major with the 2007. But he had been playing pool for at least a decade at that point.

Only speaking for myself, but I find my best high run attempts are often my first few or my last one lol. It’s not surprising if she may have had a decline in focus and confidence as it wore on.

It’s still a fair guess whatever the outcome is. The conditions are ideal so the balls will spread better than normal and the pocket will receive more errant shots. It’s fair to add on a rack or two (or more depending on the caliber of player) above and beyond what they should normally expect...

W What do you think was driving that statistic? Were players slugging each other? Different rules about the break in play? Equipment differences? Or less knowledge about the rack or the break?

Trial and error. Start by aiming a laser pointer at his ferrul and go from there. I don’t know the theory, but if I had the data at my disposal I could compare winning percentages across different skill levels, formats, tournaments, venues etc. The human element would be baked into those...

That’s interesting. Though a few things come to mind, For equipment difficulty, As you say, different players aren’t equally affected by equipment. Looking the stats between the UK and World Championships this year, the pros maintained a similar break and run percentage despite the UK Open...

This was my thought too. And then also Turning Stone has a fairly low break and run percentage compared to other major events. According to Atlarges stats for the recent Turning Stone, there was a 22% break and run percentage which is lower than I usually see for winner breaks events. This may...

I like this. Kids are really good at mimicking what they see. It’s possible to hurt their progress by forcing them to adhere to text book fundamentals. And then, in there is no better way to burn them out on the game than pushing them into regimented practice drills. If you want her to do...

Their marketing and manufacturing budgets are separate. Pulling back on advertising wouldn’t result in a cost reduction because their prices are likely influenced by cost and demand. If they used their marketing budged to try to reduce the price this year then they will have less revenue next...

If you begin deciding after the fact to include scores it can bias the data. Let’s say player A asks Fargo to include a match because they won 21-0 (or lost 21-0) but stays quiet on matches with a undesirable result. Or you only know about a match because it was notable. While that isnt what is...

You can always expect a transitionary period when the tables are toughened up. But the pros adapt soon enough. I remember when diamonds became the norm there were conversations about how difficult those 4.5” pockets were. But before long we were seeing no miss pool again. Tight pockets are a...

I think there is a not insubstantial amount of people who do it for the experience of “being a pro”. Pool is a pretty unique experience where you can watch the UK Open in 2023 and then sign up in 2024. Imagine showing up to Wimbledon racquet in hand.

I’ve also been a big fan of him since before he qualified for the tour. It’s been a lot of ups and downs but I’m pretty excited to see him get a world championship. While I don’t see him as heir to the Ronnie/Stephen/Steve or anything lofty like that, I can see him being the next major crowd...