The hallmark of any truly successful pro league, or tournament-based sports like tennis and golf, is a predictable schedule. In that regard, Matchroom is still a big failure.
The 2025 season has been especially bad, with events being announced very late or not at all. In some cases players had no more than a month's notice.
As a result, some big names had to miss big events because of prior commitments. No SVB, Gorst or FSR at the UK Open, for instance. The delays can also cause visa problems, especially for players in Asia.
Part of the problem is the tour is still in its infancy. It takes time to build partners, obtain locations and lock in predictable dates. I get it. Predator and other event organizers aren't much better at this, either.
The WNT-WPA spat was another major drawback this year, especially while negotiations were going on. It appeared to freeze things in place.
Fortunately the budding civil war in pro pool is now over. It's time for MR to focus on creating a more predictable schedule and predictable events that players are informed of well in advance.
It will take more time, but we have seen some major progress this year.
***
First the good news. The WNT has created two new majors that stand a good chance of becoming permanent.
The Florida Open, in August, is an effort by MR to follow up on last year's wildly successful Mosconi Cup in Orlando. MR is trying to find more places like Hanoi that have the atmosphere to suit a big major.
The Mosconi was the most electric U.S. crowd I've ever seen for a pro pool event. If the Florida Open can duplicate just half of the buzz, it would be a big success.
The just-announced Philippines Open, a new major in late October, appears to be a similar attempt to find the next Hanoi or something like it. Let's hope.
MR clearly needed another big event in Asia. The Philippines is the natural choice given its pool history. Asia seems to be where pool is most popular. Its player pool might be the strongest. And it's where the sport has a bigger chance to break into the mainstream.
As it now stands, MR has seven major tournaments. The UK and European opens. The Florida and US opens. The Hanoi and Philippines opens. And the World Pool Championships.
Not only that, but the top prizes have been increasing. All the majors pay at least $40,000 to the winner, the US Open will pay out $100,000 and the WPC hands out $250,000.
Is that enough majors? Too many?
I think MR will ultimately aim for between seven and nine major events in one year. China is still the forbidden fruit. The huge and tantalizing US market might be able to handle another big event in a state like Texas. Europe is also big enough for another major, as the 2023 Spanish Open indicated.
***
A bigger schedule of majors, however, presents the problem of what to do about invitational events.
The Mosconi is untouchable, but given the lack of competitiveness, MR was astute to create the Reyes Cup. The Reyes Cup taps into a Filipino market that seems very undeveloped from a pro standpoint. It also creates what is likely to be a much more competitive event that could prove to be quite lucrative to MR over time.
Both the Mosconi and Reyes also create a situation similar to NASCAR in which players build up points to some noteworthy end. It's a nice guaranteed payday for players and a chance to boost sponsorships.
That leaves the World Cup of Pool, the Premier League of Pool and the World Pool Masters.
The big question is, does MR need any or all of these events anymore? The schedule is getting tighter and these events may not be all the lucrative. Why keep them going?
I like the WCP the best, but the WPM has the deepest history. The Premier League is great for junkies, but the format doesn't seem suited to a mainstream audience.
The WCP is about to be postponed for the second year in a row. The event was established in 2006, and before last year, it had only been skipped in 2016 and the pandemic year of 2020. MR has to make a decision soon on whether this event is still viable.
The World Pool Masters dates to 1993 and has only been skipped in 2016 - what happened that year? - and 2020.
The PLP is a baby by comparison, started in 2021 with the help of ... Predator! MR seems to like the event as a way to show off new talent, but it's a grind of an affair with a very quiet atmosphere.
***
Lurking behind all this, is the nascent WNT.TV. It could end up being a huge decision-driver for the WNT. The channel has the chance to be a big moneymaker for Matchroom, but only if it has enough live and reviewable content on a regular basis. Right now it doesn't.
***
Whatever MR decides, it's time to start deciding. And it's time to start organizing the calendar earlier if a successful worldwide tour is to take root.
The 2025 season has been especially bad, with events being announced very late or not at all. In some cases players had no more than a month's notice.
As a result, some big names had to miss big events because of prior commitments. No SVB, Gorst or FSR at the UK Open, for instance. The delays can also cause visa problems, especially for players in Asia.
Part of the problem is the tour is still in its infancy. It takes time to build partners, obtain locations and lock in predictable dates. I get it. Predator and other event organizers aren't much better at this, either.
The WNT-WPA spat was another major drawback this year, especially while negotiations were going on. It appeared to freeze things in place.
Fortunately the budding civil war in pro pool is now over. It's time for MR to focus on creating a more predictable schedule and predictable events that players are informed of well in advance.
It will take more time, but we have seen some major progress this year.
***
First the good news. The WNT has created two new majors that stand a good chance of becoming permanent.
The Florida Open, in August, is an effort by MR to follow up on last year's wildly successful Mosconi Cup in Orlando. MR is trying to find more places like Hanoi that have the atmosphere to suit a big major.
The Mosconi was the most electric U.S. crowd I've ever seen for a pro pool event. If the Florida Open can duplicate just half of the buzz, it would be a big success.
The just-announced Philippines Open, a new major in late October, appears to be a similar attempt to find the next Hanoi or something like it. Let's hope.
MR clearly needed another big event in Asia. The Philippines is the natural choice given its pool history. Asia seems to be where pool is most popular. Its player pool might be the strongest. And it's where the sport has a bigger chance to break into the mainstream.
As it now stands, MR has seven major tournaments. The UK and European opens. The Florida and US opens. The Hanoi and Philippines opens. And the World Pool Championships.
Not only that, but the top prizes have been increasing. All the majors pay at least $40,000 to the winner, the US Open will pay out $100,000 and the WPC hands out $250,000.
Is that enough majors? Too many?
I think MR will ultimately aim for between seven and nine major events in one year. China is still the forbidden fruit. The huge and tantalizing US market might be able to handle another big event in a state like Texas. Europe is also big enough for another major, as the 2023 Spanish Open indicated.
***
A bigger schedule of majors, however, presents the problem of what to do about invitational events.
The Mosconi is untouchable, but given the lack of competitiveness, MR was astute to create the Reyes Cup. The Reyes Cup taps into a Filipino market that seems very undeveloped from a pro standpoint. It also creates what is likely to be a much more competitive event that could prove to be quite lucrative to MR over time.
Both the Mosconi and Reyes also create a situation similar to NASCAR in which players build up points to some noteworthy end. It's a nice guaranteed payday for players and a chance to boost sponsorships.
That leaves the World Cup of Pool, the Premier League of Pool and the World Pool Masters.
The big question is, does MR need any or all of these events anymore? The schedule is getting tighter and these events may not be all the lucrative. Why keep them going?
I like the WCP the best, but the WPM has the deepest history. The Premier League is great for junkies, but the format doesn't seem suited to a mainstream audience.
The WCP is about to be postponed for the second year in a row. The event was established in 2006, and before last year, it had only been skipped in 2016 and the pandemic year of 2020. MR has to make a decision soon on whether this event is still viable.
The World Pool Masters dates to 1993 and has only been skipped in 2016 - what happened that year? - and 2020.
The PLP is a baby by comparison, started in 2021 with the help of ... Predator! MR seems to like the event as a way to show off new talent, but it's a grind of an affair with a very quiet atmosphere.
***
Lurking behind all this, is the nascent WNT.TV. It could end up being a huge decision-driver for the WNT. The channel has the chance to be a big moneymaker for Matchroom, but only if it has enough live and reviewable content on a regular basis. Right now it doesn't.
***
Whatever MR decides, it's time to start deciding. And it's time to start organizing the calendar earlier if a successful worldwide tour is to take root.
