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Broadcasters reported two days ago Efren was ill and would not be playing. He was wearing a mask at the Reyes Cup. Who knows. Maybe he had a bad bout with covid in the past and is being very cautious. Gorst played maybe the worst match I've ever seen in his loss to Busty, but Busty broke very...

They briefly changed the tiers earlier this year to gold, silver and bronze, but quickly junked that terminology. Now it's back to Blue Ribbon (Mosconi), Major and Ranking. Doesn't matter much since each dollar of prize money equals a point. The winner of the Peri got as many points as the...

Thanks, Mike. I actually thought I was neutral on Predator, but I can see why you might not be convinced. I see Predator's business model as fairly simple and quite sound. That said, growing the sport to make money, as you put it, still involves growing the sport. From that standpoint, Predator...

All opens have qualifiers. The top 128 "WNT pros" get automatic spots if they want them. Correct. Below was the selection process in 2024: *** All those players who meet the following criteria are eligible to get a direct entry in Stage-2. • WPA Ranking 28 • ACBS 20 • BCA 10 • EPBF 20 • AAPA...

This is not true. Keep in mind, there are two kinds of MR events. Those organized and held by Matchroom and those organized by separate partners. All non-invitational MR events are considered majors. All events organized by partners are consider second or third-tier ranking events. Matchroom...

To your point, most of the big events the last two months have been in Asia. But Asia is, uh, a big place!

No business plan, to rephrase an old saying about war, survives first contact with reality. Add in volatile human emotions, and actions sometimes drift far from stated goals. Frazer is impatient for success. She wants the WNT to take off like darts did. In rare moments of pubic doubt, she's...

See first post in this thread.

I am puzzled by this event. Surprised Qatar hasn't tried to form an event in partnership with Predator especially or even Matchroom. Curious about what Qatar is trying to accomplish long run with a standalone event like this.

I bet Moritz and Chua, among others, are a bit worn down by all their recent play. That's why Yapp skipped The Philippines Open and Qatar. Chua is going to Qatar. Now he has 5-6 days to rest.

It is. https://matchroompool.com/ Scroll down.

I am not expressing approval or disapproval in my series of posts on Matchroom, sjm. Just describing as best I can what Frazer and WNT are trying to do based on interviews with her as well as company financials. I have read or listened to almost every interview she has done in the past few...

I think all pool venues should sell beer. The rowdier the crowd, to me, the better. So long as they shut up during a shot. most of the time.

I don't entirely agree with your characterization here, but yes, MR has to improve the selection process or players will lose interest to its detriment. Preaching to the choir, but this is part of my broader point. MR (and Predator) aren't really making money, or much money. Reminds me of the...

Where does Matchroom go from here? First the company has to solidify its tour and make it more predictable. That's part of how you attract players, fans, partners and advertisers. Frazer said in an interview the other day that Matchroom will have 15 events in 2026. This year, MR put on 10...

So how has Matchroom done? Not bad, but it has a long way to go. Three years since the WNT was created, for instance, the tour makes very little if any money. The most recent Matchroom financials suggest billiards contributed negligibly to sales and profits in fiscal 2024. Just a blip, really...

The business model of Matchroom more traditional. The closely held for-profit media company does not sell equipment. Its goal is to create the first, true professional billiards tour in history. Matchroom wants to grow the sport, reach a mass market and make money. A good comparison is Nascar...

The Predator is a very simple one. It's not really trying to make money with its Pro Billiard Series. Its goal is to make playing pool more popular so more people will buy its products. It gives most of its revenue to the players in the form of prize money once it covers its production costs...

I've been a journalist for decades writing about business and economics. When I got back into playing pool five years ago, I wondered how the sport had fallen off the map. I remember seeing it on ESPN when I was younger and then it just disappeared from view. Well, no need to rehash what I...

Agree on all of this. I think a participation rule is fine, but make it less stringent as you said. Say 50% of big events in a year. And no rule saying you have to play in the last big event before an invitational. Filler played in the European Open, UK Open, WPC and European Open - four of the...