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... 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.

I can't see another entity filling WNT's spot, at least not in the West. Its failure would be a warning sign to anyone else. Predator would have to pick up the slack, perhaps joined by Cuetec or other major billiard brands. Maybe a financially strong Asian entity could get involved. Nine ball...

That's the crux of the matter. Can Matchroom make the WNT a successful, moneymaking tour given the recent path of events? A few years ago, the goal was to bring all the best players in the world into a single tour. It worked, but only briefly. Now the WNT faces stiffer competition from an...

I covered business as a journalist for a long time. Rare the media company that sells products, too. The business models are just far too different. Disney is the only one I can think of.

Concerned, no. My life will be fine with or without pro pool. Why bother? Why not? The subject obviously interests me, and, well, this is a forum to talk pool. My kids are grown up, and evidently I have a lot of time on my hands. Besides, if we only talked about things we could actually...

I have mixed views on Emily Frazer's leadership. She's dedicated. She has a ton of energy. She's obsessed with making the tour a success. Yet she is trying to popularize the sport and make the WNT succeed by sheer force of her personality. It won’t work. It doesn’t work in any sport. If...

The business models are very different, too. Matchroom sells tickets to its events. It runs a paid subscription viewing service. And it has scattered deals with TV stations around the world. It's trying to make money, or at least generate more money. Predator generally doesn't sell tickets -...

The two businesses are too different. A maker of cue and cue products and a media broadcast company. Matchroom would never get into the product-making business. The revenue and margins are too small. If Matchroom did decide to exit the pool business some day, it conceivably could sell the...

True enough, but SVB is going to age out of the sport in the next three to five years. The American pool scene was going to move on anyway. Either young new stars will emerge. Or they won't.

In the long run, I've begun to question whether the WNT survives. All the new events being put on by Matchroom and Predator are great for the players, but I am not sure the stingy economics of pool can support both entities as things now stand. TV revenue is pitiful. Dittos for subscription...

I don’t listen to DogginIt much anymore because Molina rubs me wrong. Spends too much time bashing Matchroom, especially the person he tends to refer to as “she.” Embarrassing, really. The industry needs a better independent podcast, but then, is there really any demand for it? Probably not. I...

Oops. I meant to say he was 35 in 1989, not 1999, when he was 45 as you note. The first match of decent video quality I saw of him was from 1988. I suppose my view of his skill in rotation games was colored by watching videos of him when he was on the downswing.

I thought that's basically what I said. Or at least what I meant. I have seen a ton of Reyes matches the past few years. I started with the earliest ones I could find, and then worked from there, to see if I could detect any evolution in his game. I am not sure I can. Most of the better vids...

Who knew? A thread about the 10 best players in the world becomes a thread about the best player ever! I never saw any of the past greats play live. I didn’t start watching pool live until 2020. I’ve watched a lot of past matches involving Reyes, Sigel, Strickland and so on. Yet I'm not...

The Viking extension sucks. For that reason alone, Cuetec.