2026 WPA Predator Men's World 10 Ball Saigon

[sjm]

Best match I watched was the Final. Both guys played well!

The final was a good one, but for me, the match I won't forget anytime soon was Capito vs Kaci in the quarterfinals. When Capito took a 2-0 lead in sets, Kaci had to find his very highest gear to avoid elimination, and the level he managed to find to escape was just breathtaking.

Of course, to each his own and I have no idea whether you watched Capito vs Kaci. The late rounds really delivered. Glad you enjoyed the show!

 

[jay helfert]

The final was a good one, but for me, the match I won't forget anytime soon was Capito vs Kaci in the quarterfinals. When Capito took a 2-0 lead in sets, Kaci had to find his very highest gear to avoid elimination, and the level he managed to find to escape was just breathtaking.

Of course, to each his own and I have no idea whether you watched Capito vs Kaci. The late rounds really delivered. Glad you enjoyed the show!

Missed that one. Thnx

 

[iusedtoberich]

I thought it was over, and a whole other men's tournament popped up on my youtube when I got home from the pool hall last night. I understand the reason for putting many tournemantts back to back, but sometimes it just drags on too long, imo.

 

[skogstokig]

I thought it was over, and a whole other men's tournament popped up on my youtube when I got home from the pool hall last night. I understand the reason for putting many tournemantts back to back, but sometimes it just drags on too long, imo.

the ongoing men's event in indonesia is not a major, more a side event to the women's world championship and team world championship. fairly tough field.

i agree that these jamborees could be way shorter.

 

[sjm]

the ongoing men's event in indonesia is not a major, more a side event to the women's world championship and team world championship. fairly tough field.

i agree that these jamborees could be way shorter.

A Predator PBS event with a superstrong field like the Bali 10ball with a first prize of $42,000 easily qualifies as a major in my books.

 

[iusedtoberich]

*Edit, my mistake, the video says Bali.

It's the "Aramith Men's Open". Looks the same venue in Vietnam? Goes from Sep 28 to Oct 5. Live now:

 

[skogstokig]

A Predator PBS event with a superstrong field like the Bali 10ball with a first prize of $42,000 easily qualifies as a major in my books.

42k is more than i thought. it's just south of las vegas open in prize money then. good stuff.

 

[skogstokig]

*Edit, my mistake, the video says Bali.

It's the "Aramith Men's Open". Looks the same venue in Vietnam? Goes from Sep 28 to Oct 5. Live now:

it's the same tables, balls and all the rest, so that's probably why it looks the same.

 

[jbart65]

A Predator PBS event with a superstrong field like the Bali 10ball with a first prize of $42,000 easily qualifies as a major in my books.

Pretty much every top player who played in Vietnam is in Bali. Only notable exceptions are Chua, Feijin ... and Styer. Also, Pecelj was not in Ho Chi Minh City and he's not in Bali.

AJ Manas was not in Vietnam, but he is in Bali.

Interesting to see back-to-back big 10 ball events by Predator. Usually its events are more spaced out. They have basically crowded the WNT from September and the first half of October.

Lot of complaints about rainy season in Vietnam. The 10-ball championship was affected this year. The Hanoi Open last year.

Makes me wonder if WNT has given up on Vietnam - or whether they are looking to hold the event in the non-rainy season. Seems hard to believe WNT would give up on Vietnam entirely.

 

[jbart65]

42k is more than i thought. it's just south of las vegas open in prize money then. good stuff.

Total prize fund in Bali is $150,000, with 128 players competing.

The World 10-ball Championship had a $300,000 prize fund, with 96 players competing. Winner got $80K, kaci got 40K.

 

[jbart65]

Not sure how I feel about the set format. I like some things about it - players can fall behind big early and still win, for instance.

Yet I find two of three sets too short, and three of five sets too long.

Some might think 3 of 5 is perfect for a "World" championship, but pool does need to grow its audience to some degree. Three and a half hour matches, or longer, is not going to do the trick.

 

[sjm]

Pretty much every top player who played in Vietnam is in Bali. Only notable exceptions are Chua, Feijin ... and Styer. Also, Pecelj was not in Ho Chi Minh City and he's not in Bali.

AJ Manas was not in Vietnam, but he is in Bali.

Interesting to see back-to-back big 10 ball events by Predator. Usually its events are more spaced out. They have basically crowded the WNT from September and the first half of October.

Lot of complaints about rainy season in Vietnam. The 10-ball championship was affected this year. The Hanoi Open last year.

Makes me wonder if WNT has given up on Vietnam - or whether they are looking to hold the event in the non-rainy season. Seems hard to believe WNT would give up on Vietnam entirely.

Yes, Feijen, Chua and Styer missing is disappointing. I don't think Filipinos Aranas and Ignacio played in the World 10ball but both are in this field, just like Manas, of whom you took note.

 

[sjm]

Not sure how I feel about the set format. I like some things about it - players can fall behind big early and still win, for instance.

Yet I find two of three sets too short, and three of five sets too long.

Some might think 3 of 5 is perfect for a "World" championship, but pool does need to grow its audience to some degree. Three and a half hour matches, or longer, is not going to do the trick.

Agreed. I also do not favor extended race finals in any tournament. Why must WNT finals be a race to 13? Really long matches can get boring and, as you note, are not the way forward in fan engagement. Two out of three races to five in World 10ball Stage 2 would be more than enough for this fan.

 

[Rocket354]

Yes, Feijen, Chua and Styer missing is disappointing. I don't think Filipinos Aranas and Ignacio played in the World 10ball but both are in this field, just like Manas, of whom you took note.

Margaret without Tyler seems odd.

 

[skogstokig]

Total prize fund in Bali is $150,000, with 128 players competing.

The World 10-ball Championship had a $300,000 prize fund, with 96 players competing. Winner got $80K, kaci got 40K.

150k is still good prize fund. i think las vegas open is their biggest stop that's not a world championship, and the bali prize money is similar or equal to las vegas. i like this evolution.

the set format is ok with me, but they should get rid of the aerorack and strive for more fairness in the racks

 

[jbart65]

Yes, Feijen, Chua and Styer missing is disappointing. I don't think Filipinos Aranas and Ignacio played in the World 10ball but both are in this field, just like Manas, of whom you took note.

Correct on the Filipinos.

Feijen, of course, is not a full-time pro anymore. One of his daughters prepped some kind of celebration for him, his social media account showed.

Margaret without Tyler seems odd.

Tyler said on FB he is going home to attend the wedding of his younger brother.

Agreed. I also do not favor extended race finals in any tournament. Why must WNT finals be a race to 13? Really long matches can get boring and, as you note, are not the way forward in fan engagement. Two out of three races to five in World 10ball Stage 2 would be more than enough for this fan.

I'd prefer consistent 2 of 3 sets to 3 of 5.

If a five-set match went the distance, a match could involve a maximum of 34 games - plus a shootout.

By contrast, a race to 11 could be a max of just 21 games. A race to 13 could only have a max of 25 games. A race to 15, 29 games.

 

[jbart65]

150k is still good prize fund. i think las vegas open is their biggest stop that's not a world championship, and the bali prize money is similar or equal to las vegas. i like this evolution.

the set format is ok with me, but they should get rid of the aerorack and strive for more fairness in the racks

Comparable to the single-elim WNT events - Arizona and Philippines opens. Prize funds of $150,000 and smaller field to start.

UK, European and Florida Opens were $225,000.

 

[Jaden]

What's interesting is she and some other women play better against male opponents. Seen that more than once.

Most people play better when they play better players. There's a mental condition in pool that I like to call play at opponent's level. This is where you have a tendency to play closer to your opponents level, up to the level of your ability. It's right up there with can'tcloseoutitis.

 

[btal]

Szewczyk's jump shot 3" from the obstructing ball (deep in the end table corner) was one of the best I've seen under the circumstances. The looong drawback of his cue to get "over" ... and the resulting cutback completion near the end of that last set drew a big WOW from Kaci himself. Notably, Szewczyk beat Kaci on the way to his 1st World 10 Ball championship in a 10-9 thriller. That match took "forever" (Kaci typically stalling in that one with the "no shot clock"). Szewczyk exemplified his nerves of steel once again. Kudos to Woj!

 

[GideonF]

Agreed. I also do not favor extended race finals in any tournament. Why must WNT finals be a race to 13? Really long matches can get boring and, as you note, are not the way forward in fan engagement. Two out of three races to five in World 10ball Stage 2 would be more than enough for this fan.

My own preferences are the opposite of yours here.

The biggest events with the most prize money should have the longest races. World 9b used to be race to 17. Wu and Alex (just to pick two that spring to mind) both would have lost if you’d stopped the match earlier - ignoring whether the opponent might have tightened up earlier. As the players get better and we see more packages, I like giving longer for the players to fade a few ups and downs.

So for me, I like stepping up the races as we get to the last stages of the major events. 9 for preliminary rounds, 10 for knockout rounds, 11 for 1/4 finals, 13 for semis and 15 for finals would be great from my perspective, but I can live with race to 13 for a major final.

I don’t like sets, with a shootout, especially for a world championship. But if you’re going to do them, 2 out of 3 is way too short for a world championship, IMO. 3 out of 5 is long (especially with breaks between each set) but I don’t have a better option if you’re going to do sets. Actually, I guess you could keep it 2 of 3 sets but make each set longer - like going to 6 each set, but I suspect that would be more confusing to spectators than just extending the number of sets.