soyale
Well-known member
cant argue with that!
Matchroom changing break rules for European Open (Aug 9-14 Germany)
- Thread starter zkzkzk
- Start date
cant argue with that!
I have to disagree here. Emily does understand, and she's ambitious in trying to get a greater handle on issues like these. She's the most hands-on manager pro pool has seen in a long time, and we're lucky to have her steering the Matchroom Pool ship.
However, while almost nobody needs it explained that nine on the spot make the break more difficult and that mandatory use of the break box makes it harder yet again, there are numerous other issues associated with these changes that affect the quality of Matchroom's professional pool offering.
My sense of things is that the pluses weren't properly weighed against the minuses. In this case, in my view, the players don't even care about the minuses, but that's where a top event producer must step in and do what's right for their professional pool offering, whether or not it fulfills the wishes of the players.
soyale
Well-known member
I agree, i guess what i meant is that she literally just had the differences explained to her recently, as opposed to the rest of us who have watched this whole thing go down in the past.
Agreed.
id wager its more of a red in the book vs black in the book type situation. they are experimenting with their new toy (nineball.
) and why shouldn't they?
OverTheNut
Member
This is the crux of the issue that Matchroom are trying to address.
This change to the break may fix it. It may not. Players are smart - I'm sure they'll soon work out a high percentage shot that regularly pockets a certain ball. We'll see...
Failing that - I'd just put a sock in each bottom corner pocket for the break. That would fix it and would definitely create some publicity.
If Emily makes more changes to the equipment, a heavier nine ball could also limit breakshot repeatability.
Or a lighter cue ball.
There was a nice campaign about colors of the ball changing, how about weight or size changes as well.
L.S. Dennis
Well-known member
I agree, people need to know the back stories of the players, their struggle with adversity in becoming who they are.
As in all sports the viewers love rivalry between players. Ali/Frazier, Giants/Dodgers, Fats/Mosconi, Earl/Efren this is what gets eyeballs on the tv screen. If I’m not mistaken the Fats vs Mosconi had the highest viewership of anything that ESPN ever aired on television. Why because it was so heavily promoted (it also helped that Fats along with Ali were the greatest self promoters of all time) a little controversy doesn’t hurt either.
The modern day players have non of that, they seem to be stone faced, robot drones and although they shoot straight as a string, they are about as exciting to watch as pulling the night shift at the county morgue!
I know that when I log on to the Distro channel and scroll down to the biilliards to see who’s playing it’s the same quiet boring stuff and I have to change after a minute or two. That never happened when I watched Earl and Efren. No time clocks needed with them, always exciting and you always knew that you were gong to see something that you never saw before. Plus their rivalry always made it interesting.!
They wouldn't because Emily Frazer and Barry Hearn made it clear (during their widely celebrated Youtube video in January to announce the new Matchroom Tour) that standardization of rules and equipment was something for which they stood, even taking some pot shots at another event producer that had tweaked the pro game demonstrably, even dramatically. So no, they need not fall into the same trap as some other event producers, who see no issue when they tweak and tweak and tweak the equipment and rules and see no issue with doing so.They are experimenting with their new toy (nineball.
Giving fans a consistent pro pool product is the only way you'll win them over. In addition, here in America, we've suffered through years of watching players scrambling to learn which break rules will be in effect at the next big event in which they plan to play so they can prepare for it, but I thought Matchroom was taking us in a new direction in which such questions would be inapplicable due to standardization of rules and equipment. Standardization of play was to be one of Matchroom's selling points, but it didn't turn out that way.
Let Matchroom make tweaks between pool years, not during one. That's how the other sports work. A rules committee meets once a year, decides on tweaks for the next year of play, and those changes are announced about four months in advance, and players and coaches have time to prepare for modifications that won't change during the next year of play.
Who, then, should Matchroom cater to, is it the current fans or is it the players.? The answer, perhaps counterintuitively, is that it's neither. Matchroom needs to be up to speed on the preferences of both the players and the current fans and, to the extent possible, must conduct some cursory market research regarding potential fans, but their ultimate goal must be to present pool in a way that will maximize its quality as a stream/TV product.
Matchroom has the right management team in place, led by the incomparable and highly capable Emily Frazer, but to me it looks like they're making some rookie mistakes in the first year of their new, groundbreaking tour.
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Great question. The Matchroom tournament calendar presently consists of seven events, the four ranking tournaments (World Pool Championship, US Open 9-ball, UK Open, and European Open) and the three non-ranking invitationals (Premier League Pool, World Pool Masters, and World Cup of Pool). Of course, for ten lucky players, there's the exhibition called the Mosconi Cup, too.
This year, the PLP was in February, the WPC was in April, the WPM was in May, the UK Open was in May. the WCOP was in June, the European Open will be in August, and the US Open 9-ball will be in October.
Assuming the next PLP will be in February, there is about four months of downtime between the US Open 9-ball and the next Matchroom tournament, so yes, the new Matchroom pro tour does have an off-season.
Any changes made could be implemented and announced after the US Open 9-ball, to be effective in the Matchroom tournaments of 2023, and those changes could be irrevocable until after the 2023 US Open. Players would then have four months to prepare for those changes without fearing that the new rules will change over and over and over.
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my point was not that they should give up on catering to casual viewers or new pool fans, but rather that these fans may come anyway if it's exciting enough. the pro scene has already strayed so much from the mainstream perception of pool that a couple of break rules might not do any difference.
MR is basically going with the rules that pat fleming has used for his tournaments so nothing of this should be drastically new for the well travelled players. they adapt fast. i don't like the potential arbitrariness of the forceful break rule. a radar gun would settle that (and also add more stats, which sport fans in general seem to like)
Quit screwing around with what's already a great game!
Got it. Thanks for clarifying. You may well be right!
Yes, but for American players, the rules employed by Pat are only occasionally seen on my side of the Atlantic Ocean, and represent a clear exception to what is customarily found in American events. Contrastingly, nine on the spot is what Euro-tour has been using for many years and the European players are used to it. So no, it is not true that well-travelled players from America are well-versed in or easily adjust to these break rules, and the "not as well travelled" American players haven't played by these rules more than a few times in their entire careers.
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9 ball on the spot I don't like at all. As other's mentioned, its not recognizable to the average joe, OR, to us die hards. In 30 years of freqeunting pool halls, I have never once, ever, seen anyone rack with the 9 on the spot. (And I'm talking about serious players, not bangers). Its not even possible to do that on a standard pool hall table without lots of guessing.
keep nine ball nine ball.
if you want less break and runouts then:
add:
some of these options.
spot all balls made on the break. this way you have to run 9 balls and spotting a ball or two can tie up some shots so tactical play gets in.
spot all balls but pushout on the break for both players, if you make less than two.
must call a ball on the break and only that one counts.
break from the spot or directly behind it.
if you want less break and runouts then:
add:
some of these options.
spot all balls made on the break. this way you have to run 9 balls and spotting a ball or two can tie up some shots so tactical play gets in.
spot all balls but pushout on the break for both players, if you make less than two.
must call a ball on the break and only that one counts.
break from the spot or directly behind it.
From a MR perspective, their goal is the standardization of the rules. However to achieve this they need to establish what the rules need to be in the first place.
There are many factors to consider. In no particular order, money, players, existing fans, new fans, timings, tv, etc, etc.
They have decided that for the time being at least, racking templates are needed in the 'Opens'. Once that has been accepted then winner break and one on the spot is way too easy and not good viewing.
Expect more tweaks until they believe they have the right rule set and then the standardization will follow.
I'm not saying I agree or disagree, but MR will do what is best for MR.
Disagree. Constant tweaking is not the path to standardization. It is, instead, strong evidence that standardization has far too little priority.
FYI, templates are not used in the single elimination stages of Matchroom's majors. The "way too easy" comment does not stand up to scrutiny. There were not many significant packages run in Stage 2 of the last Matchroom major, namely the UK Open.
soyale
Well-known member
i’m with you all the way. I just calls em as i sees em.
we all know about matchrooms promise to standardize. it seems like its even going in a positive direction as far as the equipment goes; i seem to recall discussion of matchroom working with both diamond and rasson to try and get the conditions closer to the same for future events instead of bouncing back and forth between 4 and 4.25.
the question posed was WHY is matchroom doing this?! my answer is that they are new to pocket billiards, and havent digested twenty+ years of nineball matches with all kinds of silly rules employed to truly UNDERSTAND why it might not be a good idea to fiddle around with the game at this moment.
Im sure they are just looking at the bottom line. the algorithm probably deduced that peak viewership is not during a 4,5,6-pack, but during a safety battle, so less runouts means more viewers, right? …. obviously im just horsing around.
Changing the break rules right now is baffling to me too. lets hope they have a good reason.
I have given this deep and serious thought over the last thirty seconds. I think the solution to the easy breaks is simple. Must hit two rails before the rack, must drive two object balls to the rail. If a ball is pocketed the rule about driving two balls to the rail is waived.
Put the one ball where it is supposed to be, racking the rest of the balls sideways might be entertaining.
Those that don't like these ideas might like plan B, Igor the designated breaker! All players must use a designated breaker in major matches. One that resembled the old east german olympic monsters!
OK, the roast is starting to smell good. After I eat a pound or two of it I can take my evening med's.
Put the one ball where it is supposed to be, racking the rest of the balls sideways might be entertaining.
Those that don't like these ideas might like plan B, Igor the designated breaker! All players must use a designated breaker in major matches. One that resembled the old east german olympic monsters!
OK, the roast is starting to smell good. After I eat a pound or two of it I can take my evening med's.
Great post! I think you've hit the nail on the head, and Matchroom's management team has always stressed that they are not pool players. For them, this is a big selling point because it, at very least, implies they have positioned themselves to manage the professional pool product with a reasonable level of independence rather than to cave-in to the whims of those outside their truly exceptional management team.
Despite the fact that they care very much about everybody inside and outside their circle and constantly seek their input, they seem to understand that they themselves must manage the pro pool offering in a way that makes it more attractive as a streamed/televised product. I think that this perspective is a big part of what makes Matchroom the premier event producer today.
Matchroom is a towering presence and they have graced pro pool with their increasing commitment to the game's growth. They want what's best for pool, and their exceptional management team has the work ethic to try to make it happen.
I love Matchroom to the end of the earth, but this move, to me, looks like a step away from the focus on marketing the game to a wider audience. Needless to say, time could possibly prove me wrong, so I'll keep an open mind and rest assured, Matchroom can always count on my business as a patron.
soyale
Well-known member
Hear hear!
they’ll figure it out. nineball has strayed before and always ends up back with the 1 on the spot and ball in kitchen. the fact of the matter is there are plenty of other pocket billiards disciplines that completely eliminate all of the “problems” with nineball today.
but matchroom doesnt own “onepocket.
” they own nineball. Nineball isnt broken, its the perfect game for what it is. its not even a call shot game for crying out loud! all this back and forth on trying to equalize the game feels so moot to me for a game where kickin and prayin is a common high level strategy. Just leave nineball alone.