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... The eventual showdown between Matchroom, the WPA and Predator, as we all know, took place in 2024. It’s still inexplicable in some ways. As Matchroom grew in power, the WPA clearly felt threatened. The organization believed a global structure with uniform rules - with the WPA in charge -...

... Why did Predator choose to become a competitor to Matchroom? Maybe it planned to become the sport’s biggest promoter before it knew what MR was really up to? Maybe it thought Matchroom’s ambitions were too limited (no women’s pool). Maybe it thought Matchroom’s ambitions were, instead...

… After their last collaboration in 2021, Matchroom and Predator went their separate ways and quickly became competitors. At the same time, though, neither seems to go out of the way to step on each others’ toes. Before their falling out, Predator appeared to indicate support for MR’s desire to...

No, I am not. There simply is no evidence historically 8-ball would be a bigger hit than 9 ball. I get your argument. The popularity of 8-ball will always be a hurdle for any pro tour focusing on other varieties of the game. Maybe, if it grows and grows in Asia. I am skeptical of its global...

Wiki is good for some things, but not for others. Since there is so little money in pool, the sport does not have the same record keeping as other major pro sports. Darn shame, but understandable.

... Predator started its own tour of sorts for the same reason Matchroom did. It was trying to grow a stagnant sport and protect its existing interests (sales of cues, racks, balls, cloth, eventually tables). Predator leaders are also passionate about the game, just like Barry Hearn. The first...

Don't agree. Eight-ball is fun to play, especially for intermediate players like me. But it is boring to watch the pros play. A World 8-ball Tour would not succeed any better, and might do worse, than a 9 ball tour. You might gain more casual fans and lose more hardcore ones. Pro pool will...

MR knows big TV deals won't be its main source of revenue. That's why WNT TV was created. But as you note, they mishandled its opening act. I found WNT.TV to work much better this year, especially during the Euro Open. But as you note, still too many problems and shortcomings. Since I am only...

I should have interviewed you when doing my research! No surprise, you are a fountain of great info. Please keeping adding and correcting as necessary. I do wonder if Hearn was already thinking a global tour when MR got involved in the early 2000s with WPC. We had two recessions, in 2001 and...

Panozzo also said ... SVB likes Asia and will travel to some events in the region this year. After listening to SVB on the Boomer and Freezer show, my sense is he will play in all big events in the U.S., plus all "world" title events. So WPA 8-ball and 10-ball. He seems obsessed with winning a...

You might be right, but hardcore fans do like to see lots of established players in big tournaments. I know I do. That said, there is no other sport whose history is very useful to figure out a likely path of pro pool/the WNT.

You are correct. MR ran it from 2000 to 2007. The event wasn’t held in 2008-2009. When I did my research earlier in the year, it was hard to find lots of good information on the history of pool tournaments. I knew Matchroom was involved with the WPC in the early 2000s but I couldn’t tell...

Matchroom did not buy the long term rights (in perpetuity) to the WPC in 2000, as it did in 2020. So I viewed the 2000-2007 period (corrected) as a one-off well before the company committed to a global tour 20 years later. Going into detail about that interlude didn’t seem necessary to me, but...

... The creation of the WNT was obviously a pivotal event. Matchroom gained momentum, most of the top players in the world joined the tour and the company tried to flex its muscles. It soon became quite clear MR had little further use for the WPA. It came to view the association as a roadblock...

... Matchroom had created several big pool events over the years - the World Pool Masters (1993), the Mosconi Cup (1994) and the World Cup of Pool (2006). But that seemed to be the extent of its ambition. Then … MR decided to expand. Barry Hearn always had a dream of creating a global pro sport...

I am a history buff. Mostly military and economic history these days, but sports history when I was young. Naturally when I rediscovered pool in 2020, I eventually set out to learn the history of the sport. Sjm suggested in another thread the WPA was an effective calendar authority from 1989 to...

We'll see. Rumors are rumors. He still could qualify for one of the three auto spots. Still, his absence from the Euro Open was notable. The UK Open is not in Telford this year. It's in Brentwood, much closer to London.

So would I! MR should copy it.

As skogstokig said, it's all about access. He got it from MR a few years ago, then he got cuff off. Around the time, Predator cozied up to him with access to top tour promotors.

Matchroom and Predator cooperated for years, then had a falling out after 2022. The conflict between the two is hazy. No will talk on record and give a full explanation of what happened. It's not even clear they directly talk to each other any more. So we are left to guess.