Appleton Suspension?

[trob]

I agree with everything she said honestly. They are trying to build pool to the level of snooker. Professionalism and consistency is key for that. It’s what Barry did to elevate snooker and I appreciate matchroom dumping money into pool to do the same.

As far as pockets I kind of agree. You want the tables tough enough that’s its not to easy but you don’t want them missing to much. I know in golf the us open has been so tough some years it’s not fun to watch . They make all but impossible for the best in the world to shoot par and it’s just not fun to watch for me.

 

[Chili Palmer]

I agree with everything she said honestly. They are trying to build pool to the level of snooker. Professionalism and consistency is key for that. It’s what Barry did to elevate snooker and I appreciate matchroom dumping money into pool to do the same.

As far as pockets I kind of agree. You want the tables tough enough that’s its not to easy but you don’t want them missing to much. I know in golf the us open has been so tough some years it’s not fun to watch . They make all but impossible for the best in the world to shoot par and it’s just not fun to watch for me.

At the professional level I like the 4" pockets. Watching people run rack after rack may be fun to watch for the core but, the public would/does get bored with it very quickly. You have top create tension/excitement to keep people interested.

 

[JAM]

While I was a fan of Matchroom's effort to effect a change for the better in pool, I am not a fan of a purple 5 ball or the shark-gray cloth. I do wonder why snooker has never changed their cloth and ball colors after all these years. The schedule clashes is unfortunate, but I think it's great that Matchroom has posted their schedule for 2022.

That said, in recent times, I have detected a distinct shift in Matchroom's pool mission, which I have ascertained from social media posts and video-recorded interviews. Maybe Matchroom would be better served to have a public relations person, someone who knows how handle an international public. We pool public are a rough crowd sometimes.

Appleton's suspension is a huge disappointment. He was just making his way back into the thick of it, and to have this happen is an outrage. He's an asset for pool, no question, a Hall of Famer, and, well, just a nice guy. My other half even mentioned him yesterday saying that he was one of the good guys, in his opinion, from the other side of the pond.

I read that the 24 World Pool Masters' invitees each received $1,750 just for showing up ($42,000 expense for Matchroom), win or lose, but that they had to pay their own airfare and lodging expenses. Poor Mika who was a pinch shooter at the last minute must have paid a high airfare for not scheduling it in advance, but I am quite sure that he was pleased to be included in this event.

The race-to-7 format is not a good format for a masters. It's a crapshoot, but it's Matchroom's court, their ball, and their rules.

The air has been taken out of my pool tire in recent days for a variety of reasons, some of which are mentioned by the astute AzBilliards members in this very thread. My thoughts today after this past week? Bye-bye, American professional pool. There's a new sheriff in town, and there's a class system, with Americans treated differently than their European brethren by Matchroom and pool fans around the world.

 

[Chili Palmer]

While I was a fan of Matchroom's effort to effect a change for the better in pool, I am not a fan of a purple 5 ball or the shark-gray cloth. I do wonder why snooker has never changed their cloth and ball colors after all these years. The schedule clashes is unfortunate, but I think it's great that Matchroom has posted their schedule for 2022.

That said, in recent times, I have detected a distinct shift in Matchroom's pool mission, which I have ascertained from social media posts and video-recorded interviews. Maybe Matchroom would be better served to have a public relations person, someone who knows how handle an international public. We pool public are a rough crowd sometimes.

Appleton's suspension is a huge disappointment. He was just making his way back into the thick of it, and to have this happen is an outrage. He's an asset for pool, no question, a Hall of Famer, and, well, just a nice guy. My other half even mentioned him yesterday saying that he was one of the good guys, in his opinion, from the other side of the pond.

I read that the 24 World Pool Masters' invitees each received $1,750 just for showing up ($42,000 expense for Matchroom), win or lose, but that they had to pay their own airfare and lodging expenses. Poor Mika who was a pinch shooter at the last minute must have paid a high airfare for not scheduling it in advance, but I am quite sure that he was pleased to be included in this event.

The race-to-7 format is not a good format for a masters. It's a crapshoot, but it's Matchroom's court, their ball, and their rules.

The air has been taken out of my pool tire in recent days for a variety of reasons, some of which are mentioned by the astute AzBilliards members in this very thread. My thoughts today after this past week? Bye-bye, American professional pool. There's a new sheriff in town, and there's a class system, with Americans treated differently than their European brethren by Matchroom and pool fans around the world.

View attachment 640983

100% agree, they have excellent ideas and the means to put them in action but, they seem to be more of a marketing tool than pool aficionado's.


That being said, I also agree with your statement of it's Matchroom's court but I would add that people get to make their own choices on what to accept.

 

[bbb]

anyone have a link to Darren's outburst?
my search didnt find anything

 

[The_JV]

Americans treated differently than their European brethren by Matchroom and pool fans around the world.

View attachment 640983

I've been thoroughly entertained by this thread. The personal bias being penned as either disdain for 'the good of game' or conspiracy has been well done. I was wondering if someone would waltz in and claim some level of Matchroom favoritism toward everything but Americans. Thank you for not disappointing me...lol.

I suppose I should be upset as well. Seeing as there was no Canadian representative at the World Pool Masters. Even though we have 2 players with Fargos that would place them in the field. Hold on, I just realized I'm not a fan of the 5 ball either, or short race winner break formats. That must mean Matchroom is trying to ostracize me as a fan as well. That's it... I'm lighting the torches.

 

[Black-Balled]

Yes, and he's not the first to have to deal with this. Without naming names, I'm aware of a situation in which a top ten player in the world was denied a chance to warm up for his match in a big event because he was selected for random drug testing between his matches.

This sounds identical to what I saw in cycling in the early 2000's.

Riders were awakened in the middle of the night and earlyEARLY morning for wada room searches and doping controls.

There was push-back from the riders and in many occasions, they sat down on the road and delayed competition in protest.

Point being: this is absolutely NOT the first time wada has been down this road. It has ABSOLUTELY been able to conduct its business (controls) in a manner that does not negatively affect the primary purpose: the sporting event.

I am sure timing of controls is addressed here:

World Anti-Doping Code - (WADA) Code | (USADA)

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Code is the framework, policies, standards & rules for the strongest anti-doping programs in sport. USADA is a signatory

www.usada.org

 

[jay helfert]

My take on this is first of all Emily likes being on camera. She adores the limelight of being the maestro of pool and the face of Matchroom. She constantly talks about the things "we" have done and yet I get the feeling that these are decisions she has made pretty much on her own. Her long explanation about why "we" changed the colors of the balls and how they "pop" out now is total nonsense. The traditional ball colors have been around for literally centuries and are far more recognizable then the new colors that she happens to like. It's almost as if she thinks she can change the ball colors like she changes her hair style or make-up. Let's see, "this should look pretty today!" For all her enthusiasm Emily is a relative newbie to pool. You don't just come in and change things that are traditional to a sport on a whim. It would be like a new lady commissioner of baseball deciding that round bases would be more aesthetically pleasing on television. There should be pushback on the changing of the ball colors and rightfully so.

I'm all for Matchroom promoting professional pool and creating some new, bigger and better events. How well they succeed depends on more than just adding a little money to the pot. When I see Matchroom events being televised on a network in the United States, which is the largest television market in the free world, then I will be impressed. If I want to watch a pool stream then I will go to Pool Action TV for a better show with a variety of games being played, and the four ball is purple and the five ball is orange! And I don't have to listen to Ray Hansen pontificate on what he is doing to better the sport, while he is styling new duds and a well coifed hairdo. He just keeps giving us good pool week after week!

 

[AF pool guy]

I'm not a fan of it either, but at this point if you can't follow the action, that's on you.

Especially when you have Karl and JJ in the booth saying things like,

"He's come up short on the purple 5 ball."
"He made the purple 5 ball on the break."
"I think he'll have to cheat the pocket a bit when he shoots this purple 5 ball."

Perhaps the reason they feel the need to say the purple 5 ball, is the fact that it’s not intuitive to anyone who has played longer than 5 minutes. They don’t say “good break, he made the black eight ball in the corner and he’s got shape on the yellow one ball.”


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[JAM]

My take on this is first of all Emily likes being on camera. She adores the limelight of being the maestro of pool. She constantly talks about the things "we" have done and yet I get the feeling that these are decisions she has made pretty much on her own. Her long explanation about why "we" changed the colors of the balls and how they "pop" out now is total nonsense. The traditional ball colors have been around for literally centuries and are far more recognizable then the new colors that she happens to like. It's almost as if she thinks she can change the ball colors like she changes her hair style or make-up. Let's see, "this should like pretty today!"

I'm all for Matchroom promoting professional pool and creating some new, bigger and better events. How well they succeed depends on more than just adding a little money to the pot. When I see Matchroom events being televised on a network in the United States, which is the largest television market in the free world, then I will be impressed. If I want to watch a pool stream then I will go to Pool Action TV for a better show with a variety of games being played, and the four ball is purple and the five ball is orange! And I don't have to listen to Ray Hansen pontificate on what he is doing to better the sport, while he is styling new duds and a well coifed hairdo. He just keeps giving us good pool week after week!

Hear, hear --> largest television market in the free world. Right on the money [pun intended]!

 

[Ed13]

I like what Matchroom is doing for pool. What major sport does not have standardization of rules.

Snooker has tight pockets which makes centuries mean more. I find 9 ball gets boring to watch when the table gets run out after the break too often. Make running the table mean more. Big fan of 4" pockets for professionals.

Matchroom has a worldwide audience already that it brings to pool. They know how to promote and market sports they are involved in.

My daughters started to watch darts because the atmosphere during the matches was fun. They didn't even care who won. Both are now teenagers and they play darts with their friends when they are at our house who never would have played otherwise. Matchroom probably has the best chance to get casual viewers which has a chance of more people playing pool. Have read many posts from people lamenting the lack of interest in pool. More people watching should lead to more participation.

Some posts are giving Emily a hard time for her interviews. I find it refreshing she lets everyone know why the decisions are made. May not agree with all of them but at least we have an idea why they were made. Much better than most organizations that hide behind their public statement.

 

[kling&allen]

While I was a fan of Matchroom's effort to effect a change for the better in pool, I am not a fan of a purple 5 ball or the shark-gray cloth. I do wonder why snooker has never changed their cloth and ball colors after all these years. The schedule clashes is unfortunate, but I think it's great that Matchroom has posted their schedule for 2022.

That said, in recent times, I have detected a distinct shift in Matchroom's pool mission, which I have ascertained from social media posts and video-recorded interviews. Maybe Matchroom would be better served to have a public relations person, someone who knows how handle an international public. We pool public are a rough crowd sometimes.

Appleton's suspension is a huge disappointment. He was just making his way back into the thick of it, and to have this happen is an outrage. He's an asset for pool, no question, a Hall of Famer, and, well, just a nice guy. My other half even mentioned him yesterday saying that he was one of the good guys, in his opinion, from the other side of the pond.

I read that the 24 World Pool Masters' invitees each received $1,750 just for showing up ($42,000 expense for Matchroom), win or lose, but that they had to pay their own airfare and lodging expenses. Poor Mika who was a pinch shooter at the last minute must have paid a high airfare for not scheduling it in advance, but I am quite sure that he was pleased to be included in this event.

The race-to-7 format is not a good format for a masters. It's a crapshoot, but it's Matchroom's court, their ball, and their rules.

The air has been taken out of my pool tire in recent days for a variety of reasons, some of which are mentioned by the astute AzBilliards members in this very thread. My thoughts today after this past week? Bye-bye, American professional pool. There's a new sheriff in town, and there's a class system, with Americans treated differently than their European brethren by Matchroom and pool fans around the world.

View attachment 640983

On travel expenses,I thought I read that they are all paid by Matchroom for these invitational events? Otherwise this would have been a loss for any non Euro players. SVB's flight from Alaska probably cost $5k.

 

[Poolplaya9]

Yep, Emily said (in her own words obviously) exactly what I said she was going to say. "The purple 5 ball was a mistake, but it is a Matchroom trademark now and our couple of years of Matchroom ball color tradition is more important to me than the entire pool world's ball color tradition that has essentially been in exclusive use for a period of time that can be measured in centuries (and that is still the tradition that is in use and preferred by 99.9999999% of the pool world), and it is also more important to me than fans and players being able to easily follow the game".

That is an incredibly arrogant and short sighted position and that type of thinking isn't going to serve her well. The only right answer for when you have made a grievous mistake is to admit it, and then fix it, even when it means you have to eat some crow and let your pride take a big hit because you will always come out better for it in the long run. There is still a chance she will come around and do the right thing, but it will only happen if the public continues to make their strong preferences (and the valid reasons for them) known.

That said, I do have to give some credit in a couple of places. First credit goes to Karl Boyes who may be the best pool interviewer in history simply because he isn't afraid to ask the tough questions--the really tough questions--all of them (or at least almost all of them). Nobody else that I can think of has ever had the guts to ask them and the norm has instead always been to tip toe around these kinds of issues and play make believe and pretend they don't exist. Things never get solved by ignoring issues or letting people off the hook so hats off to Karl for being willing to tackle the issues even when he knows it isn't going to be pleasant for, or win favor with, the interviewee because getting it all on the table is best for everybody in the long run.

Credit also has to go to Emily for being willing to address the tough issues. She could easily make lots of topics off limits for questioning or discussion but she has clearly chosen to be willing to answer the tough questions with seemingly no limits or at least very few limits, far fewer than would be typical. That also takes a lot of guts. Another thing she does pretty well is listening to feedback from the public which again, many don't do, or at least won't acknowledge that they are doing. She often doesn't get the feedback in advance before making the decisions, which would usually be prudent, but better to listen after the fact than never at all. And after listening to the feedback she very often still doesn't make the clearly proper choices accordingly, but again, at least she seems to be listening more than is typical and maybe with time her decision making will improve too, but until then being somewhat open to the feedback after the fact is at least a good start and more than we would get from most others.

And the WPA is as worthless as a purple 5 ball. Always has been, always will be. I'm not saying that there isn't a use for an organization of that type, but the WPA has been nothing but an incompetent abject failure for decades and needs to be summarily replaced by a completely new organization who can handle the necessary duties with competence. This is the same organization that kept sanctioning Barry Behrman when he would not have the prize fund available for payout as promised year after year after year. Their last and only usefulness was in protecting the pool calendar and keeping sanctioned events from being scheduled on top of each other and they can't even manage to do that last little task any more (they could, but like with Barry they just aren't willing to do what they should). You could go on and on. They literally serve no real purpose at this point, and worse than being completely irrelevant, they are actually a pox on the pool world that is a strong net negative and desperately needs to be eradicated.

 

[The_JV]

The only time one actually cares about the ball colour is when they're playing with them. It changes literally zero about the game. That said as long as a quality set of balls are available in the traditional colours, I will not purchase the altered set. The romanticists really need to move on.

My thoughts on the balls/cloth are different than the other opinions and Matchroom's explanation. Personally, (and I have absolutely nothing to substantiate this theory) I think that Matchroom is simply differentiating themselves from the other failed attempts at marketing this game. They want to have veiwers tune in and instantly know it's a Matchroom production, and not the old tired and busted crap. There will be a ref and no commentators sucking on their gums.

Emily in front of the camera is also a refreshing change from the old men that typically drive this game into our homes. Heaven forbid the game has a front runner that may still be alive in another 20yrs...lol

It appears the bulk of the grumbling is coming from the NA membership here. So Matchroom has what 20-25 people annoyed enough to make a post on the forum that sways nothing...?...lol

 

[Ed13]

The biggest television market in the world does not mean anything if there are not enough people interested in watching. At least Matchroom has a chance to get people exposed and possibly interested in pool.

 

[JAM]

On travel expenses,I thought I read that they are all paid by Matchroom for these invitational events? Otherwise this would have been a loss for any non Euro players. SVB's flight from Alaska probably cost $5

Darren Appleton posted on Matchroom Pool Forum that players had to pay their own airfare and hotel, but that each of the 24 players got $1,750. I'm pretty sure he was talking about this event because it was on a thread about this World Pool Masters.

I don't post on Matchroom Pool Forum anymore, though, because it's gotten a little toxic, kind of similar to what happened to Google Groups RSB, and there's spammers on there trying to get people to go to their pirated links of the matches.

 

[buckshotshoey]

While I was a fan of Matchroom's effort to effect a change for the better in pool, I am not a fan of a purple 5 ball or the shark-gray cloth. I do wonder why snooker has never changed their cloth and ball colors after all these years. The schedule clashes is unfortunate, but I think it's great that Matchroom has posted their schedule for 2022.

That said, in recent times, I have detected a distinct shift in Matchroom's pool mission, which I have ascertained from social media posts and video-recorded interviews. Maybe Matchroom would be better served to have a public relations person, someone who knows how handle an international public. We pool public are a rough crowd sometimes.

Appleton's suspension is a huge disappointment. He was just making his way back into the thick of it, and to have this happen is an outrage. He's an asset for pool, no question, a Hall of Famer, and, well, just a nice guy. My other half even mentioned him yesterday saying that he was one of the good guys, in his opinion, from the other side of the pond.

I read that the 24 World Pool Masters' invitees each received $1,750 just for showing up ($42,000 expense for Matchroom), win or lose, but that they had to pay their own airfare and lodging expenses. Poor Mika who was a pinch shooter at the last minute must have paid a high airfare for not scheduling it in advance, but I am quite sure that he was pleased to be included in this event.

The race-to-7 format is not a good format for a masters. It's a crapshoot, but it's Matchroom's court, their ball, and their rules.

The air has been taken out of my pool tire in recent days for a variety of reasons, some of which are mentioned by the astute AzBilliards members in this very thread. My thoughts today after this past week? Bye-bye, American professional pool. There's a new sheriff in town, and there's a class system, with Americans treated differently than their European brethren by Matchroom and pool fans around the world.

View attachment 640983

The race-to-7 format is not a good format for a masters. It's a crapshoot, but it's Matchroom's court, their ball, and their rules.

With 4 inch corners, and I assume 4 1/2 sides, I think a race to 7 is more then adequate. Its still plenty of play to see who is the best.

Question...What is the longest string of games put together? 4 pack? 5 pack?

 

[JAM]

The race-to-7 format is not a good format for a masters. It's a crapshoot, but it's Matchroom's court, their ball, and their rules.

With 4 inch corners, and I assume 4 1/2 sides, I think a race to 7 is more then adequate. Its still plenty of play to see who is the best.

Question...What is the longest string of games put together? 4 pack? 5 pack?

Some pro players on Facebook, veterans and current, think this format a "crapshoot," their word, not mine.

One observation was that in a format like this, when you're benched in a winner's break and race-to-7 format, it's like "Feed the monkey and watch him sh*t."

 

[buckshotshoey]

My take on this is first of all Emily likes being on camera. She adores the limelight of being the maestro of pool. She constantly talks about the things "we" have done and yet I get the feeling that these are decisions she has made pretty much on her own. Her long explanation about why "we" changed the colors of the balls and how they "pop" out now is total nonsense. The traditional ball colors have been around for literally centuries and are far more recognizable then the new colors that she happens to like. It's almost as if she thinks she can change the ball colors like she changes her hair style or make-up. Let's see, "this should like pretty today!" For all her enthusiasm Emily is a relative newbie to pool. You don't just come in and change things that are traditional to a sport on a whim. It would be like a new lady commissioner of baseball deciding that round bases would be more aesthetically pleasing on television. There should be pushback on the changing of the ball colors and rightfully so.

I'm all for Matchroom promoting professional pool and creating some new, bigger and better events. How well they succeed depends on more than just adding a little money to the pot. When I see Matchroom events being televised on a network in the United States, which is the largest television market in the free world, then I will be impressed. If I want to watch a pool stream then I will go to Pool Action TV for a better show with a variety of games being played, and the four ball is purple and the five ball is orange! And I don't have to listen to Ray Hansen pontificate on what he is doing to better the sport, while he is styling new duds and a well coifed hairdo. He just keeps giving us good pool week after week!

If you want traditional colors, do you condone going back to green cloth? Blue cloth is ok in dim pool hall lighting, but it is overwhelming when the lights are bright.

I would like to see the change to "traditional" green.

 

[sjm]

I respect that thought. I know WADA is holding firm to their stance on weed for 2022 but soliciting input for going forward. So there is progress. (I don’t smoke but I recognize those who do). But in terms of Matchroom’s interest. They didn’t give a shit when Mario He failed a beta blocker test for heart medicine. They didn’t care about Billy. They half give a shit for Darren. Even Fedor didn’t phase them. If it was Shane, Joshua or Albin then maybe they’d go to bat. But for now this hasn’t affected their show horses. Their stable is as big as they could want to have for suitable contingencies. So it seems they are genuinely comfortable letting WPA do what they will.

I'm not buying into your suggestion that Matchroom doesn't care one way or another about these things, I think you are right in suggesting that the stable of players is so big that the loss of a few players isn't going to make much difference in our game. If, for the sake of argument, half of the world's top 50 players suddenly went to jail for ten-year terms, I don't feel pro pool's marketability would suffer too much and the product would still be a strong one because the talent pool these days is so deep. These days, to be a top 100 player in the world, you need a Fargo of 764 or better. Even to be a top 100 player in America, you need a Fargo of 717 or better.

Remember, pro pool players are outside contractors, not employees of Matchroom, and should not expect Matchroom to fight their battles when those battles fall outside of the arena of play for them. Players who violate the WADA-compliance section of the WPA contract will have to live with the consequences. Whether that's fair or not, neither Matchroom nor any other event producer is forcing any player to sign that contract.