2024 UK Open 9-ball, May 7-12, Telford

Bob Jewett

Bob Jewett

AZB Osmium Member
Staff member
Gold Member
Silver Member
This just in from Matchroom. The full text is here:
matchroompool.com

UK OPEN POOL CHAMPIONSHIP HEADS TO TELFORD FOR THIRD EDITION MAY 7-12 2024 - Matchroom Pool

The 2024 UK Open Pool Championship, a World Nineball Tour Ranking event will take place at the Telford International Centre, Telford, England May 7-12, live on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom & Ireland. PURCHASE YOUR TICKET HERE! The WNT, Matchroom Major boasts a total prize fund of $200,000...
matchroompool.com matchroompool.com

The 2024 UK Open Pool Championship, a World Nineball Tour Ranking event will take place at the Telford International Centre, Telford, England May 7-12, live on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom & Ireland.​
​
The WNT, Matchroom Major boasts a total prize fund of $200,000 with an impressive field size of 256 competing players, also featuring the top 128 World Nineball Tour professional players.​
...​
In the first Matchroom Major event of the year, Eklent Kaçi will head to the United Kingdom as the defending champion, after defeating Joshua Filler 13-4 in a dominant finals performance in 2023. Kaçi's victory in London last May saw him make a sizeable leap in the WNT Rankings by landing the $30,000 top prize, with Filler having won the inaugural event the year before.​
​
Situated in the heart of the UK, Telford International Centre offers a hugely accessible location from all corners of the country, with direct rail links from London and Birmingham. Following a £250 million investment, the purpose-built venue features a host of restaurants, bars, hotels and leisure facilities within Telford town centre, on the doorstep of the stunning Shropshire countryside where fans can take in breath-taking views.​

Rooms seem to be about half of what you would pay in London, and multibedroom apartments are available for about $700 for the week.
 
Bob Jewett said:
This just in from Matchroom. The full text is here:
matchroompool.com

UK OPEN POOL CHAMPIONSHIP HEADS TO TELFORD FOR THIRD EDITION MAY 7-12 2024 - Matchroom Pool

The 2024 UK Open Pool Championship, a World Nineball Tour Ranking event will take place at the Telford International Centre, Telford, England May 7-12, live on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom & Ireland. PURCHASE YOUR TICKET HERE! The WNT, Matchroom Major boasts a total prize fund of $200,000...
matchroompool.com matchroompool.com

The 2024 UK Open Pool Championship, a World Nineball Tour Ranking event will take place at the Telford International Centre, Telford, England May 7-12, live on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom & Ireland.​
​
The WNT, Matchroom Major boasts a total prize fund of $200,000 with an impressive field size of 256 competing players, also featuring the top 128 World Nineball Tour professional players.​
...​
In the first Matchroom Major event of the year, Eklent Kaçi will head to the United Kingdom as the defending champion, after defeating Joshua Filler 13-4 in a dominant finals performance in 2023. Kaçi's victory in London last May saw him make a sizeable leap in the WNT Rankings by landing the $30,000 top prize, with Filler having won the inaugural event the year before.​
​
Situated in the heart of the UK, Telford International Centre offers a hugely accessible location from all corners of the country, with direct rail links from London and Birmingham. Following a £250 million investment, the purpose-built venue features a host of restaurants, bars, hotels and leisure facilities within Telford town centre, on the doorstep of the stunning Shropshire countryside where fans can take in breath-taking views.​

Rooms seem to be about half of what you would pay in London, and multibedroom apartments are available for about $700 for the week.
Click to expand...

supposedly also less potential ticket revenue.. why not go further west and have it in cardiff, which had great crowds when MR had events there before? or north to the (8-ball) pool hotbeds?
 
They need to take more consideration for fans when they pick the venues. I'm sure they get a great deal but going to venues in the middle of nowhere isn't an enjoyable experience. Fulda, Hanoi (lessor extent Atlantic City and Las Vegas) are great examples of venues that are walkable distance to the rest of the city and an enjoyable place to visit in their own right.

Predator 8b in klagenfurt Austria (to far outside the city, otherwise would have been great) , this Telford pick , and SBE in oaks (are examples of horrible choices.
 
Last edited:
My first reaction here is disappointment. I've visited England countless times and I've never even heard of Telford, although I was able to find it on a map.

My second reaction, however, is that Matchroom has done pro pool a service by bringing it to emerging markets. In 2023, they brought pool to Kielce (Poland), Lugo (Spain) and Hanoi (Vietnam). Perhaps central England is a potential hotbed for pro pool.

Whether Matchroom is moving the event to pursue a new market or just to reduce production costs, I'm sure there are good reasons for the relocation of the event out of London.

Can't imagine I'll attend the next UK Open, but you never know.
 
Relax guys, that's pretty easy. Same story as with low-cost air carriers. They have to use small airports adjacent to big cities (adjacent usually equals to 30-40 minutes with a bus) to keep their costs as low as possible. Less costs = more income.
Don't forget MR is a private business. Had it been a sponsored official pool organization, it could have very well been a big city like a capital. For instance, the WPC at the Philippines was run in Manila (rather than some other city at one of 1,000 islands).

When MR holds their event in a city which is easy to reach in terms of transportation, consider that as the fans (and players) got lucky.
 
sjm said:
My first reaction here is disappointment. I've visited England countless times and I've never even heard of Telford, although I was able to find it on a map.

My second reaction, however, is that Matchroom has done pro pool a service by bringing it to emerging markets. In 2023, they brought pool to Kielce (Poland), Lugo (Spain) and Hanoi (Vietnam). Perhaps central England is a potential hotbed for pro pool.

Whether Matchroom is moving the event to pursue a new market or just to reduce production costs, I'm sure there are good reasons for the relocation of the event out of London.

Can't imagine I'll attend the next UK Open, but you never know.
Click to expand...
In the first Copper Box event, there was no significant audience. They had to restrict seating to the first few rows at the start so the spectators were visible on camera. I think they have a chance to have a much larger audience in Telford, but we'll have to see. Perhaps there are not as many competing events.

In any case, the number of local spectators is probably not interesting to Matchroom until admissions pay for the production. At the level of a few hundred in the audience -- as at the Copper Box -- the spectators are just part of the scenery. I imagine Matchroom are getting a much better deal for venue rental in Telford. If the event gets a large following, I'd expect a move back to London.

I agree with you in that Telford was not on my A list of travel destinations. o_O
 
  • Like
Reactions: sjm
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top