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... The early days of euphoria having worn off, WNT might have a bigger mountain to climb. It’s lost influence with players. The Mosconi Cup is withering on the vine. And stiff competition from Predator has narrowed Matchroom’s path for financial success. The biggest mistake Matchroom and...

I think Predator and Matchroom will try to avoid obvious toe-stepping on scheduling, but there’s bound to be more conflicts given their bigger ambitions. They are competing to build out their tours and surpass each other, and they want the best dates possible. The competition has been...

Which brings us to the present. In some ways, WNT and Predator/WPA seem to be cooperating. For the most part, the dates of their big events aren’t in direct conflict. Predator has not planned any big events around the timing of the UK, Arizona, U.S. and Philippines opens or the WPC (likely...

You are right. I briefly mentioned in one of my posts. The Polish players in particular stick to all WPA events over WNT ones for this reason.

... The other big mistake Matchroom has made is its handling of the Mosconi and Reyes Cups. We’ve hashed over this quite a bit on this board, so no need to say much. The selection process for the teams needs to be revamped to be less political and more "automatic." Player captains didn’t work...

... Given the damage the WPA/Predator-Matchroom dispute caused to both sides, a compromise was inevitable. In 2025, the WPA agreed to “ratify” WNT events it did not explicitly sanction. Bans were also lifted. The two sides pledged to work together. Far from having won the fight, though...

... 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...