I agree with that. I just don't think they're wasting their time on a forum when they could or should be on the table.
comparing top pro pay
- Thread starter maha
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When that Diamond table arrives, it's over for all the local shortstops.@DrCue'sProtege ......
Do you know anybody who works the entire time they're awake?
Many aspire to be average!
Let's see if anyone comes forward to let us know they want to be a professional pool player and is actively working towards that goal. I'll wait.
Facts. Although, I don't think there's anything wrong with being average at a hobby.
Bad for future of American pool, good for normal humans.
Why should they have to? More than 1 of us has said some people on here play in the big events
I didn't say they have to. I just think that anyone who is serious about wanting to be a pro, would be spending way more time on a pool table than on the internet. That's what it takes if you're really serious about it, endless amount of hours and dedication on the table. Anything less than that is mediocre.
SVB still practices his break 8 hours a day before a big match or tournament, and he's a made man in the game.
If you want to be a champion, then you have to train like Yapp.
Anyone with entry fee money can enter a big event. That doesn't mean they want to be a pro. More power to them though, that's a dope experience, something on my bucket list, even though pool is a hobby.
There is literally no incentive for someone to quit their day job and practice day in and day out to chase tournaments in the US. WNT needs to make it more financially appealing and accessible to more regions, then everyone will come out of the woodwork.
It's sad because I no longer see players in the pool hall that just want to be the best anymore, they just want to have fun. And that's totally fine because they're happy.
Leagues and weekly tourneys race to 3 are the norm now. No one wants to be the best shooter in the room, they just want to be able to shoot.
You're right, people who are successful never post online and they work the entire time theyre awake, some of them don't even sleep.
Keep living in fantasy land, I'm done with you.
Being successful and being a touring professional pool player are two different things.
The two top US players that might qualify as visitors/posters are Mike Dechaine and John Schmidt, but they both seem to have cut back on pro play. Schmidt hasn't won $10k in a year for ten years, and Mike hasn't for six years. John hasn't been on AZB for 10 years.
As for the aspiring players, we don't seem to get many young players here, but I could be mistaken. The young people do FB and such.
Does anyone here play in WNT majors?
What is meant by "fast approaching", what's the real evidence for this, especially in the U.S.?
You think monetizing via YouTube is just a matter of a little bit of change? And it's apparently somewhat automatic that someone will invest the money and substantial amounts of time needed to actually produce YouTube content that brings in a significant amount of money? Making some poor assumptions here. There are a lot of reasons why "every other pro with a little bit of change doesn't to the same". But everyone is an expert at how someone else can or should "easily" make some money.
No matter how many times someone reads the book you referenced, odds are stacked way against someone making a living at professional pool vs. making a living out of high school, trade school, "junior college" or college in general.
People should do whatever makes them happy in life, but becoming a professional pool player (meaning making a living off of it) isn't much of a real "option" for anyone that can simply be chosen and achieved.
prize money has increased the last couple years, in both WNT and PBS. prize fund in 9b world championship is 1 million and US open 500k. plus half a dozen or so 250k events. add the predator events and the qatar 10b (also 500k). it's not golf money, but it's more than it's ever been. OP is always a negative nelly regarding everything in contemporary pool
WTF?? There's a BIG difference in a serious player and someone who plays for a living. I'd bet EVERY player on here is pretty serious about their game.
One of the best players i personally know is John Gabriel from Claremore,Ok. He beat Pag at DCC playin 1p if that tells you anything. JG has a successful lawn service that pays the bills and pool is his 'hobby that makes money' deal. He's smart enough to know he wouldn't own his nice classic house just playing pool. Yeah its better these days but if you're not Top-10 good its still a huge struggle.
You ever been around a real touring pro? They're on their fkn fones more than a 16old girl. They don't practice near as much as some think. They are just better, better at every aspect of the game. Not all doctors can be surgeons, some are just better. Call it gifted, blessed, lucky, whatever but some just 'have it', others don't.
Most things that we do in life are choices- nothing wrong with choosing to attempt pro pool if the reasons for your choice fit with reality based expectations and you have a solid fall back plan.
Most of your post was excellent, but I have a problem with this part of it.
First of all, WNT has made itself accessible all over the world. In the past three years alone, they have added ranking events in each of Scotland, Poland, Spain, Vietnam, Colombia, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Maldives, Finland, Morocco, Portugal, Sarajevo, Bucharest, Manilla, Orlando, Jacksonville, Boston, and Seattle. No tour in the history of our sport has been more committed to making its tour accessible than the WNT.
Second, it is not the job of the event producers to make pool more financially appealing. The event producer, to maintain its business model, must keep prize money in line with revenue growth. Of course, Kevin Trudeau disagreed, and his IPT folded under its own financial weight in its first year.
Hence, the future is dependent on revenue growth, and both event producers and pro players must share the burden of making the game more marketable. Unless they work together to manage both the pro pool product and the game's image, things will not progress as they should in pro pool.
The future of pool is not about whether event producers will "step up to the plate" with more prize money. It is about whether event producers and players can work together to make pool grow to the point that greater prize funds will be financially sustainable.
Those are great points. I do agree that both the event producer and pro players should be working together to make the game more marketable and help its image.
Like when people ask what I do for fun, and I tell them I play pool, they always have a strange look on their face.
But if I say I play golf, I get a completely different look.
I think we need another Color of Money moment. Someone in pool with loads of cash to throw around, to produce a pool movie (with a decent director) about an actual pro pool player, in professional tournament venues, trying to make it to the top, and show their trials and tribulations on that journey. Add in some drama and prestige to the final match of the movie, with some A and B list actors, then maybe pool will be viewed in a different light. Sprinkle in some Hanz Zimmer composed soundtrack. Christopher Nolan can direct and he can add time-travel to spice it up.
Joking aside, I think the game needs to be shown to the public with the respect that it deserves. Show people how hard pool really is and why champions want to win so badly, despite how difficult it may be. A majority of people still think pool is a really easy bar game. They also need players they can root for, as with any sport. On the off-chance that someone outside of pool stumbles upon a match on YouTube, they have zero information about any of the 2 players shooting. The gameplay by itself has proven for years that it alone cannot grasp the attention of the average person.