In WPA records America has never won a Straight Pool Championship.
Relative in many ways, by discipline and even year.
MatchRoom's response to the WPA player sanctions:
- Thread starter The_JV
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In WPA records America has never won a Straight Pool Championship.
Relative in many ways, by discipline and even year.
The players will go where the money is. Always have, always will!
How do you think a promoter of a major WPA event will feel if most, if not all, the top players are banned from participating because they are playing the Matchroom events? Who will they blame for that and how will they respond? I suspect they would no longer be interested in paying a worthless sanction fee first of all. Perhaps they would then consider becoming part of the Matchroom group of events. Just food for thought.
If I were a professional player trying to make a living in this game I would go with the most guaranteed outcome for success and there can only be one.
Sounds to me matchroom has the best interest of the players on the whole. I don’t know the whole story but matchroom seems like the better organization to be behind.
Sounds to me matchroom has the best interest of the players on the whole. I don’t know the whole story but matchroom seems like the better organization to be behind.
the latter. if you win 15k during the year, you get 5k etc.
i've noted that predator has cut down on the field size for the WCs. in 2021 they had 96 player field, in 2022 it was 128 players and now back to 96 players. same prize fund it seems
but their business model is different and dependent on showcasing their products. the pool table market share is probably a big factor for them
D.W. thx for the bite....
Jay, you might be the person on the forum with the most inside knowledge about the pro circuit and the players.
I want to ask you about your opinion on how many pros rely on the financial backing of their national federations to pay for flights, hotels, every day costs etc. and how many players can make a living just playing MR´s events.
I totally agree with your point, that the players will follow the money, but I get the feeling, that a lot of people underestimate the amount of money that flows from the IOC or governments through the national organizations down to the players.
I cannot give you a definitive answer to all that you've asked of me. I'm not familiar with the support provided to the pro players in Europe, country by country. I do know that in the Philippines, the very best players receive regular monthly support from the Philippine government, typically in the neighborhood of $500 to $1,000 per month. Efren and Francisco have had this level of support for decades now. Others like Dennis, Carlo, Johann and James also receive similar assistance. If a Filipino player wins a world championship they will get a bonus, as much as $20,000. They will also receive smaller amounts for a runner-up finish, maybe half that or $10,000. Same for winning a gold medal in the SEA games, the Asian Olympics.
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OR.... would you see that the players are all going to one place, and you go to the other where the numbers are just as high, but the caliber isn't.
I agree with you though, go where the money is.
Some, like Oscar, have remarked that the WPA has done nothing....
The first WPA World Championship was in 1990. Did pool in the world improve between then and 2019? I think it did. Should the WPA get any credit for that happening?
The first WPA World Championship was in 1990. Did pool in the world improve between then and 2019? I think it did. Should the WPA get any credit for that happening?
I have been probably the loudest naysayer when it comes to the WPA, especially under Ian Anderson's leadership. I do see pros and cons with each side today between WPA, MR, and federations, but it's not my fight. As a pool enthusiast, I'm hoping for a negotiation that will allow all sides to prosper.
That said, the name-calling has become rampant on Facebook with people taking potshots at others who may not share their opinion. It's quite sad that it's come to this. The way I feel about pool today because of it, quite frankly, I don't give a damn anymore. It's turned ugly, and I don't want to be a part of it.
Personally I think the pool world has improved more in the last 4 years with MRs involvement than it did in the 29 previous years.
for top pros with good sponsors and frequent high tournament finishes i would think not being able to compete in the world 8b, world 10b, china open etc is a worse blow than losing any federation support
The WPA is exercising a new culture, new leadership and new interpretations on its laws. How will individual federations respond?
In the WCBS format do all federations have to impose the same interpretation of ban rules? Is it a ban from all federations?
Will exemptions to bans or permits be given for players to participate in non-sanctioned events?
Will there be a process to appeal bans written at the federation level?
In the WCBS format do all federations have to impose the same interpretation of ban rules? Is it a ban from all federations?
Will exemptions to bans or permits be given for players to participate in non-sanctioned events?
Will there be a process to appeal bans written at the federation level?
i think we really have to compare to other sports, and not achieving a pro tour in all those years is quite poor. the european continental federation has done better than WPA in that regard.
For tournaments, maybe. Those players were not developed in the last four years.
And I think it is mostly up to the continental federations to do local events. That is not the WPA's responsibility. I don't think the confederations would want the WPA to tell them what to do. I suppose the WPA Board could have encouraged the confederations to do more. The WPA was/is responsible for World Championships and other world-wide activities, and they mostly depend on others to produce those events.