Arizona Open 2026, Yuma, August 13-16

[TheGrandWazoo]

Ok back home from Yuma!

What a fantastic experience. We were ringside for 3 days and saw the best live pool I have ever seen. Learned a ton watching. And we were so close the whole time we could see the effects of the adrenaline on the players. Hell even SVB hand off the rail was shaking at times and still made almost everything. I would go again…

If it wasn’t in Yuma.

Should be in Tucson. If there were 50 paying spectators, in Yuma, at the most, I would be shocked. I see it like this. No one is driving from Phoenix to watch since WNT goes there next. So that leaves San Diego and Tucson where people might be willing to travel from like me and my pals. Thus the low turnout. As well there is, as far as we could find, not one proper pool hall or public 9’ table. So no place to explore as a pool player. We found some great dive bars with 7’ Diamonds and Valleys.

If it were in Tucson you would have at least 4x the spectators since Tucson has a pool scene and 2 proper pool halls. The locals would go nuts to have Tucson be a stop. I think the Pro’s would appreciate Tucson more as well because there is shit to do here.

I read up a few posts and saw that WNT said they were going back to Yuma, I wont be.

 

[skogstokig]

his last 4 tournaments: Florida Open Lost to SVB, finished 17th-32nd; Austrian Open beat Filler to win the tournament; UK Open quarterfinalist 5th - 8th; WPA World 8-Ball Semifinalist 3rd-4th

the ranking they go by is a two years rolling ranking of 9-ball only

 

[Rocket354]

Ok back home from Yuma!

What a fantastic experience. We were ringside for 3 days and saw the best live pool I have ever seen. Learned a ton watching. And we were so close the whole time we could see the effects of the adrenaline on the players. Hell even SVB hand off the rail was shaking at times and still made almost everything. I would go again…

If it wasn’t in Yuma.

Should be in Tucson. If there were 50 paying spectators, in Yuma, at the most, I would be shocked. I see it like this. No one is driving from Phoenix to watch since WNT goes there next. So that leaves San Diego and Tucson where people might be willing to travel from like me and my pals. Thus the low turnout. As well there is, as far as we could find, not one proper pool hall or public 9’ table. So no place to explore as a pool player. We found some great dive bars with 7’ Diamonds and Valleys.

If it were in Tucson you would have at least 4x the spectators since Tucson has a pool scene and 2 proper pool halls. The locals would go nuts to have Tucson be a stop. I think the Pro’s would appreciate Tucson more as well because there is shit to do here.

I read up a few posts and saw that WNT said they were going back to Yuma, I wont be.

I agree with all your points. I really wanted to go, and was in Vegas just before it started, but it was still too much of a logistical nightmare to get there and then home.

My best guess as to why Yuma was chosen, and will reapeat: money, of course. The overall cost of production is likely considerably less there, by a much bigger amount than they'd make by having a few dozen more spectators.

Were there many vendors? Must have been disappointing for them.

 

[Monti]

are you fucking kidding me? his last 4 tournaments: Florida Open Lost to SVB, finished 17th-32nd; Austrian Open beat Filler to win the tournament; UK Open quarterfinalist 5th - 8th; WPA World 8-Ball Semifinalist 3rd-4th

Pardon me but your ignorance is showing

Fair point. I guess when I watch him play - he always looks like he is going to lose because he is so sullen. So yes he should be seeded. Sorry to have got you riled to the point of profanity

 

[sjm]

I agree with all your points. I really wanted to go, and was in Vegas just before it started, but it was still too much of a logistical nightmare to get there and then home.

My best guess as to why Yuma was chosen, and will reapeat: money, of course. The overall cost of production is likely considerably less there, by a much bigger amount than they'd make by having a few dozen more spectators.

Were there many vendors? Must have been disappointing for them.

Your best guess is right on the mark here.

The original poster's story is both intriguing and disturbing.

Intriguing
They share that they saw the best live pool they have ever seen, captivated by the action and the vibe of watching the game's superstars perform up close. For those of us who watch live pool, we understand how different it is from watching pro pool on a stream. The field was strong and the event offered some very memorable matches, not the least of which was Alexa Pecelj's comeback from 9-1 down vs Januarta on Saturday, a quarterfinal match that few of us will forget. When Alexa, similarly, came back from the dead vs SVB in the semis, the story got even better. We then got a final between two players that had never won a WNT title. Who could have imagined a generation ago that the final of a pool major would ever feature a Serbian and an Estonian? It is testament to the game's globalization. Speaking of the pool alone, the Arizona Open delivered in a big way.

Disturbing
... but the rest of the original poster's story is disheartening. If the great pool witnessed still wasn't enough to justify the logistical nightmare endured, it speaks volumes. The fact that a pool fan who just witnessed one of the more memorable WNT events as far as match quality goes doesn't want to return for the next edition of the Arizona Open is a little upsetting.

Conclusion
Why did Matchroom go to Yuma, which is several hours drive from the two nearest international airports, San Diego and Phoenix? As you suggest, it is entirely about production cost. While I am in no position to confirm it, I am sure Matchroom made a sweet deal with the venue sponsor.

As an aside, does anyone think Matchroom has left Harrah's Atlantic City because the US Open 9ball wasn't drawing enough fanfare there? On the contrary, the arena was crowded every day there and vendors sold a lot of merchandise. Unfortunately, it is expensive to produce an event in a high-end hotel, and that's likely why they moved to the Dallas area and the event next week is to be played in an Embassy Suites hotel in the suburb of Frisco. Anybody know how hot it is in the Dallas area this time of year? I just looked at the weather forecast, and it will hit 105 degrees (approximately 40 Celsius) for each of the next seven days and will hit at least 100 degrees (about 38 Celsius) every day from now until the end of the US Open 9ball. Even so, for Matchroom, it is just good business, and the odds are that the business model for the event producer will generate more profit in Dallas than it did in Atlantic City.

Back to the Arizona Open. On the one hand, live attendance and ticket-selling revenue (with the glaring exception of the Mosconi Cup and Reyes Cup) are not the most critical components of the WNT business model. On the flip side, however, Matchroom must deliver a contractually pre-determined number of room nights to the venue sponsor (in this case, the Quechuan hotel) and if few attended, as the original poster has suggested, one must wonder whether the quota was met.

There is a tradeoff in play here. Having five WNT events in five weeks is wonderful, but in the deep heat of summer, a) the Vice City Classic and the Florida Open were in Florida, b) the Arizona Open and the Phoenix Open are in Arizona, and c) the US Open 9ball is in Texas. These are places that few would ever choose as vacation spots in the deepest heat of summer, so some fans will be turned off. For example, the venue for the final day of play at the Florida Open, which offered some great pool, was almost empty.

From my vantage point, if this is what Matchroom must do to ensure that they can continue to add as much money as possible to the prize funds, I guess I am OK with it, but it is sure to frustrate both the players and the fans in the process.

Most of me is delighted that Matchroom continues to invest more and more in staging WNT events in the United States, but the logistics for both players and fans are getting tougher.

 

[jbart65]

joelpope said:
are you fucking kidding me? his last 4 tournaments: Florida Open Lost to SVB, finished 17th-32nd; Austrian Open beat Filler to win the tournament; UK Open quarterfinalist 5th - 8th; WPA World 8-Ball Semifinalist 3rd-4th

Pardon me but your ignorance is showing
Fair point. I guess when I watch him play - he always looks like he is going to lose because he is so sullen. So yes he should be seeded. Sorry to have got you riled to the point of profanity

Albin's recent performance cited by joelpope can't hide a dropoff in Ouschan's level of play.

Ouschan used to be one of my favorite players. Cerebral. Strategic. Cool under pressure. Could make all the shots, sometimes delivering the spectacular.

In 2021 and 2022, he was arguably the best player in the world.

He won the World Pool Championship in 2021 and lost in the WPC finals in 2022 to Shane Van Boening. He won the inaugural Premier League of pool in 2021, beating Josh Filler. He also won the first WNT European Open in 2022.

Since then?

His only major title in nearly four years was the Predator “World” 8-Ball Championship in 2025. Even that was a surprise. Ouschan has publicly made clear his dislike of 8-ball. He has said he never really practices the game except before a major tournament.

Albin still looks the part of a great player. He’s only 36 and is one of the fittest players on the tour. Yet his last deep run in a major 9-ball event was a quarterfinal appearance in the UK Open more than two years ago in 2024.

His last appearance in a big WNT final was in the September 2023 Hanoi Open, where he lost to Jayson Shaw.

What’s happened to him? There’s talk of personal problems in a long-term relationship, for one thing.

The fallout from the WPA-WNT dispute seemed to affect him, too. He was one of the Predator-sponsored players who said he would boycott WPA events until a player ban was lifted, then he reneged and apologized on Facebook.

Other telltale signs: He lost to WNT commentator Karl Boyes 10-4 in the 2024 Scottish Open. Even worse, he lost 9-2 to women’s star Seo Seoa in the 2025 WPC and was knocked out of the event. Had to be a huge blow to his confidence.

Whatever the case, Ouschan simply hasn’t been the same since his loss in the finals in the 2023 Hanoi Open. I hope he gets a second lease on his career, but who knows. He often seems melancholy and lacks his old fire.

Let’s use January 2024 as a baseline. Ouschan has appeared in one WNT quarterfinal since then.

In the same period, these are the appearance totals of other top players:


6 - Joshua Filler
5 - Fedor Gorst
4 - Aloysius Yapp
4 - Shane Van Boening
4 - Johann Chua
4 - Jayson Shaw
4 - Francisco Sanchez Ruiz
3 - Eklent Kaci
3 - Carlo Biado
3 - Moritz Neuhausen
3 - David Alcaide
3 - Wojciech Szewczyk
3 - Jefrey Roda

 

[skip100]

This was a warmup event in close proximity to an upcoming major. I’m not seeing the huge problem with it being less of a fan draw if that’s what they need to do to get prize money.

 

[sudocrushms]

Albin's recent performance cited by joelpope can't hide a dropoff in Ouschan's level of play.

Ouschan used to be one of my favorite players. Cerebral. Strategic. Cool under pressure. Could make all the shots, sometimes delivering the spectacular.

In 2021 and 2022, he was arguably the best player in the world.

He won the World Pool Championship in 2021 and lost in the WPC finals in 2022 to Shane Van Boening. He won the inaugural Premier League of pool in 2021, beating Josh Filler. He also won the first WNT European Open in 2022.

Since then?

His only major title in nearly four years was the Predator “World” 8-Ball Championship in 2025. Even that was a surprise. Ouschan has publicly made clear his dislike of 8-ball. He has said he never really practices the game except before a major tournament.

Albin still looks the part of a great player. He’s only 36 and is one of the fittest players on the tour. Yet his last deep run in a major 9-ball event was a quarterfinal appearance in the UK Open more than two years ago in 2024.

His last appearance in a big WNT final was in the September 2023 Hanoi Open, where he lost to Jayson Shaw.

What’s happened to him? There’s talk of personal problems in a long-term relationship, for one thing.

The fallout from the WPA-WNT dispute seemed to affect him, too. He was one of the Predator-sponsored players who said he would boycott WPA events until a player ban was lifted, then he reneged and apologized on Facebook.

Other telltale signs: He lost to WNT commentator Karl Boyes 10-4 in the 2024 Scottish Open. Even worse, he lost 9-2 to women’s star Seo Seoa in the 2025 WPC and was knocked out of the event. Had to be a huge blow to his confidence.

Whatever the case, Ouschan simply hasn’t been the same since his loss in the finals in the 2023 Hanoi Open. I hope he gets a second lease on his career, but who knows. He often seems melancholy and lacks his old fire.

Let’s use January 2024 as a baseline. Ouschan has appeared in one WNT quarterfinal since then.

In the same period, these are the appearance totals of other top players:


6 - Joshua Filler
5 - Fedor Gorst
4 - Aloysius Yapp
4 - Shane Van Boening
4 - Johann Chua
4 - Jayson Shaw
4 - Francisco Sanchez Ruiz
3 - Eklent Kaci
3 - Carlo Biado
3 - Moritz Neuhausen
3 - David Alcaide
3 - Wojciech Szewczyk
3 - Jefrey Roda

It comes in waves. These players are all so stupidly good that whoever finds that little extra for a little longer wins a bunch. Any one of them is capable off ripping of a few wins, Albin included.

 

[sjm]

This was a warmup event in close proximity to an upcoming major. I’m not seeing the huge problem with it being less of a fan draw if that’s what they need to do to get prize money.

No, this was a major, staged and fully produced by Matchroom, steamed on WNTTV, covered on Matchroom's live scoring site, and having Matchroom commentators.

The Phoenix Open, contrastingly, is the warmup event for next week's US Open 9ball, but it will surely draw more fans than the Arizona Open just because it is being played in a population center.

Fan ambivalence is not to be taken lightly here.

 

[jbart65]

Some followup comments to SJM’s post.

**I honestly don’t believe a WNT event would have taken place in Yuma if not for the movie and remake.

**But again, why Yuma? Good question. I can’t believe the WNT was unable to find relatively inexpensive locations closer to Phoenix or Tucson. Hard to believe the Yuma hotel gave them a deal too good to pass up. After all, there’s an expense involved for MR getting all its people and equipment to a remote location.

Let’s say the hotel did offer an amazing deal. It would be disturbing as to what it says about the revenue-generating aspect of the WNT tour (and Predator by extension). The situation could be even worse than I think.

If that’s the case, however, why would the WNT be ploughing money into expanding its Next Gen series for young players?

**Yuma aside, the Miami-Fort Lauderdale and Orlando areas get plenty of summer tourists. There’s a big dropoff compared to the winter, but the sheer numbers are still relatively high. Frisco apparently gets its biggest chunk of tourism in the summer.

I don’t see MR moving all its big US events to the spring or fall given how busy those periods are with other tournaments.

**I was surprised by the drop in attendance on the final day of the Florida. Perhaps it was the seating arrangements? I seem to recall the last day of the 2025 Florida Open had notably better attendance, particularly in the early session.

I think WNT majors are too long. I would cut them down to five days from six and end on Saturday.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

I agree with all your points. I really wanted to go, and was in Vegas just before it started, but it was still too much of a logistical nightmare to get there and then home.

My best guess as to why Yuma was chosen, and will reapeat: money, of course. The overall cost of production is likely considerably less there, by a much bigger amount than they'd make by having a few dozen more spectators.

Were there many vendors? Must have been disappointing for them.

There were 2 vendors. The nice couple selling the tournament shirts ($70) and the CPBA guys selling gloves and cloth and such.

 

[Rocket354]

Matchroom must deliver a contractually pre-determined number of room nights to the venue sponsor (in this case, the Quechuan hotel) and if few attended, as the original poster has suggested, one must wonder whether the quota was met.

Looking it up, the Quechuan hotel has 166 rooms total. Between the players being required to stay there and the production staff staying there, even if you assume double-occupancy, it's likely they took up half or more of the entire hotel before any spectators were counted. I'd bet whatever quota they had was met.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

I didn’t stay at the casino. I tried to get reservations but for me showed it was booked out. So me and my pals got an ABNB that was 20 mins from the venue. It worked out but would have rather stayed at the casino so I could have interacted with the players more.

 

[Jaden]

Don't forget Bonus Ball.

Does anyone remember that? Good times...

Actually, bonus ball was a great game, their biggest mistake was trying to push their own ballset. It was easily playable with a standard set.

 

[Badpenguin]

No, this was a major, staged and fully produced by Matchroom, steamed on WNTTV, covered on Matchroom's live scoring site, and having Matchroom commentators.

The Phoenix Open, contrastingly, is the warmup event for next week's US Open 9ball, but it will surely draw more fans than the Arizona Open just because it is being played in a population center.

Fan ambivalence is not to be taken lightly here.

Most of what matchroom is doing doesn't make any sense, from any perspective. They are constantly shooting themselves in the foot. It will be a miracle if they are still operating in 5 years.

 

[jbart65]

Most of what matchroom is doing doesn't make any sense, from any perspective. They are constantly shooting themselves in the foot. It will be a miracle if they are still operating in 5 years.

I'd be curious to know what you mean about the stuff that doesn't make sense.

Matchroom has made some large mistakes, but the strategy seems sound. Create big and small events around the world. Let players compete for money and points and get ranked. And have a lucrative playoff of sorts at the end of the "tour." Mosconi, Reyes, renewed World Pool Masters.

Now MR has gotten pool back on ESPN, albeit Internet streaming, and its created a tour for juniors.

Good enough? I don't know. It may be the case MR is not operating in five years, certainly not with Frazer at the helm. But they still have valuable assets in the Mosconi, WPC and US Open.

 

[sjm]

Most of what matchroom is doing doesn't make any sense, from any perspective. They are constantly shooting themselves in the foot. It will be a miracle if they are still operating in 5 years.

Pool's business model may not be where we'd all like it to be and for Matchroom Pool, great increases in added money are clearly contingent on improving that business model. Who is to say how long the WNT business venture will last? We shall see.

Nonetheless, I think a lot of what they are doing makes perfect sense, and aspiring pro players can now try to earn a living on the WNT without having a huge travel budget. Once they are ready, those who are worthy can travel to all the majors.

In 2023, Matchroom added WNT ranking events in Scotland, Poland, Spain, and Vietnam. In 2024, they added events in Colombia, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Maldives, Finland, Morocco, and Portugal. In 2025, they added events in Sarajevo, Bucharest, Manilla, Orlando, Jacksonville, and Seattle. This year, they added events in Chinese Taipei, Belgium, Costa Rica, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Estonia, Czech Republic, Phoenix, and Yuma.

Things have really improved in America. The US Open 9ball used to be the only WNT major contested on American soil, but now we have the US Open, the Florida Open and the Arizona Open. Matchroom has made good on its promise to invest more and more in America. In addition, Matchroom has produced junior championships in conjunction with each of its three American majors, which, to my knowledge, is more than any American event producer has done for the juniors. Prize money at the Mosconi has doubled since 2018, the year before Matchroom produced its first major in America. Winners used to get $20,000 each, but now that's the loser share.

Has Matchroom made some mistakes? Of course, they have. Have they made significant strides forward. Of course, they have. Have they grown their tour? Yes, they have. Is prize money where we'd all like it to be? No, it isn't, but the money offered through WNT ranking events continues to grow significantly, so there is hope.

Yours is a respected opinion on AZB, but you haven't given us a sense of what you would do differently if you ran the WNT.

 

[skip100]

No, this was a major, staged and fully produced by Matchroom, steamed on WNTTV, covered on Matchroom's live scoring site, and having Matchroom commentators.

The Phoenix Open, contrastingly, is the warmup event for next week's US Open 9ball, but it will surely draw more fans than the Arizona Open just because it is being played in a population center.

Fan ambivalence is not to be taken lightly here.

Thanks for the correction.

 

[Badpenguin]

Yours is a respected opinion on AZB, but you haven't given us a sense of what you would do differently if you ran the WNT.

Well for starters, stop having events that no one in their right mind want to go to, either as a player or a spectator. The middle east is a good example, and it turned out to not be sustainable. WTF wants to go to Winterpark, California (or as matchroom calls it, Yuma, Arizona).

Focus on the streaming like is actually matters. Make everything easy to find and follow in one place instead of piecing it here are there, like 1 stream on youtube, 1 stream on tiktok, 1 stream on wnttv.com, etc... As a spectator, determining who is going to play, what time they are going to play, and if it will be streamed or not, should not take and entire data center of AI to figure out. Make sure the streaming can be watched on televisions, via smart apps on the televisions. Yes, I know, televisions are old, but some of us like to see pool while on a couch on screens that are larger than a few inches.

Quit requiring an email address to track scores. Shouldn't require two different accounts to subscribe to the streaming and check the live scoring.

Use presenters, for the US events at least, who don't treat the event like it is a cosplay and have zero history or knowledge of the game and its players.

At the events, use raised seating. No one should have to tell you that.

Schedule matches at a decent hour so "normal" people can watch them, and not only young players or players on stimulants can win. If you want access to a large market, it would help to make your product available while that market is awake.

Stop having TV/streaming tables with different rules than the outside tables. The pocket sizes should be the same, and every match should play on a shot clock if one is being used at any table.

Quit fucking around with ball colors and pocket sizes.

Do not use ticketmaster to rip off your potential market.

Quit cancelling major events like the World Cup, World Pool Masters, etc...

Quit "cancelling" players because they might not play at one of your events.

Just a few things off the top of my head.

 

[sjm]

Well for starters, stop having events that no one in their right mind want to go to, either as a player or a spectator. The middle east is a good example, and it turned out to not be sustainable. WTF wants to go to Winterpark, California (or as matchroom calls it, Yuma, Arizona).

Focus on the streaming like is actually matters. Make everything easy to find and follow in one place instead of piecing it here are there, like 1 stream on youtube, 1 stream on tiktok, 1 stream on wnttv.com, etc... As a spectator, determining who is going to play, what time they are going to play, and if it will be streamed or not, should not take and entire data center of AI to figure out. Make sure the streaming can be watched on televisions, via smart apps on the televisions. Yes, I know, televisions are old, but some of us like to see pool while on a couch on screens that are larger than a few inches.

Quit requiring an email address to track scores. Shouldn't require two different accounts to subscribe to the streaming and check the live scoring.

Use presenters, for the US events at least, who don't treat the event like it is a cosplay and have zero history or knowledge of the game and its players.

At the events, use raised seating. No one should have to tell you that.

Schedule matches at a decent hour so "normal" people can watch them, and not only young players or players on stimulants can win. If you want access to a large market, it would help to make your product available while that market is awake.

Stop having TV/streaming tables with different rules than the outside tables. The pocket sizes should be the same, and every match should play on a shot clock if one is being used at any table.

Quit fucking around with ball colors and pocket sizes.

Do not use ticketmaster to rip off your potential market.

Quit cancelling major events like the World Cup, World Pool Masters, etc...

Quit "cancelling" players because they might not play at one of your events.

Just a few things off the top of my head.

Thanks for your insights.