The ABP in Chicago issued a statement that their Ranking List would be used to determine the US Open seedings.
The WPA had already agreed to sanction the event but it is their policy to only recognise national associations of the host country (for the US that is the BCA). So Barry Behrman finds himself between a Rock and a Hard Place again. Faced by the prospect that he might lose a large contingent of his overseas stars he issued a statement that was at odds with the ABP Press release.
This was always set up to come to this. The ABP by it's very existence is always going to be confrontational.
But let us face it, how can a tournament be seeded by 1) ABP rankings 2) WPA Rankings 3) BCA Points List 4)The Promoters Discretion Ranking.
The only rankings that the majority of players get an opportunity to benefit from are Matchroom's Mosconi Cup points.
Perhaps Barry should throw all the names in a hat and have an Open draw, that would get rid of the problem.
Barry is trying to be diplomatic but he knows that there are a great number of players (potential entrants) who have no ties to the ABP.
He has done a great job building this tournament to be an international event which commands more affection than any otherthat I know.
Naturally he doesn't want to lose it.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------By Barry Behrman - 2012-10-05
the press release this morning from the ABP has put us in a very difficult position that unfortunately endangers the future of the U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships. Many of the players from the 25 or more countries that attend the U.S. Open are dependent upon WPA sanctioning of our event in order to acquire the funds required to travel to the United States. If we lose the WPA sanctioning we would lose the ability to feature these great international players. I have been informed that the WPA will only accept co-sanctioning from the home federation of the country in which an event is held. The WPA does not accept co-sanctions. As accepting a sanction from the ABP would force the WPA to pull their sanction of the U.S. Open we must now state that we have not sanctioned our event with anyone other than the BCA and the WPA. We will be seeding the top players form the WPA and BCA rankings and the spots that are left over will be distributed fairly and in accordance with the wishes of my Tournament Directors. We are happy to continue to co-operate to the limits of our abilities with the ABP. This is in no way a rejection of their organization or its goals. We are simply adhering to internationally accepted standards of sanctioning World Ranking events.
The WPA had already agreed to sanction the event but it is their policy to only recognise national associations of the host country (for the US that is the BCA). So Barry Behrman finds himself between a Rock and a Hard Place again. Faced by the prospect that he might lose a large contingent of his overseas stars he issued a statement that was at odds with the ABP Press release.
This was always set up to come to this. The ABP by it's very existence is always going to be confrontational.
But let us face it, how can a tournament be seeded by 1) ABP rankings 2) WPA Rankings 3) BCA Points List 4)The Promoters Discretion Ranking.
The only rankings that the majority of players get an opportunity to benefit from are Matchroom's Mosconi Cup points.
Perhaps Barry should throw all the names in a hat and have an Open draw, that would get rid of the problem.
Barry is trying to be diplomatic but he knows that there are a great number of players (potential entrants) who have no ties to the ABP.
He has done a great job building this tournament to be an international event which commands more affection than any otherthat I know.
Naturally he doesn't want to lose it.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------By Barry Behrman - 2012-10-05
the press release this morning from the ABP has put us in a very difficult position that unfortunately endangers the future of the U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships. Many of the players from the 25 or more countries that attend the U.S. Open are dependent upon WPA sanctioning of our event in order to acquire the funds required to travel to the United States. If we lose the WPA sanctioning we would lose the ability to feature these great international players. I have been informed that the WPA will only accept co-sanctioning from the home federation of the country in which an event is held. The WPA does not accept co-sanctions. As accepting a sanction from the ABP would force the WPA to pull their sanction of the U.S. Open we must now state that we have not sanctioned our event with anyone other than the BCA and the WPA. We will be seeding the top players form the WPA and BCA rankings and the spots that are left over will be distributed fairly and in accordance with the wishes of my Tournament Directors. We are happy to continue to co-operate to the limits of our abilities with the ABP. This is in no way a rejection of their organization or its goals. We are simply adhering to internationally accepted standards of sanctioning World Ranking events.
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