PATTAYA OPEN 2026, Pattaya Thailand, March 2 to March 6

J

jbart65

Well-known member
WNT ranking event. Total prize fund: $50,000 USD

Winner: $22,500
Runner up: $12,500
Semifinalists: $7,500.

This is a new tournament in Asia designated a WNT ranking event that mostly has implications for the Reyes Cup.

What jumped out at me is the format. Rather unusual for a WNT-affiliated event.

In the first stage, the plan was to have 128 players, who would be put in 16 groups of eight. The top four in each group would then advance to the final 64 for the single-elimination stage.

Now the tourney has been bumped up to 160 players, but no word yet on how the format will change to accommodate the new additions.

I have to wonder if MR, a la Predator, is testing out new formats.
 
So far this year, there have been only two other WNT ranking events. The China Tapei Open and the Carabao International Open in Indonesia.

Ko Pin Yi won the China Tapei Open, accruing $30,000, or 30,000 Reyes points. Not sure it matters, though. No one will catch Yapp this year as the highest rated non-Filipino player in Asia. The top point getter in that category was one of only two automatic bids for the 2025 Reyes Cup.

Francisco Sanchez Ruiz was a Tapei semifinalist, giving him 6,500 Mosconi points. He has said his goal this year is to get an auto bid.

In Indonesia, Naoyuki Oi won the Carabao and earned 20,000 Reyes points. But again, no one is catching Yapp.

The more interesting question from these early events is, how much do we see the Ko brothers this year and beyond?

Easy to see why Ko played in the Taipei Open. He and his brothers skipped the Caraboa and they won't be at the Pattaya, either.

Home come? Big money in China. They've been playing more Chinese heyball. Ko Pin Yi and his brother Ko Ping Chung just played in the finals of a major heyball tourney in China, with big Ko winning the equivalent of $275,000 USD. They bought a heyball table last year and said they have been practicing like dogs.

Looking at the WPA calender, which includes the biggest WNT events, the Ko brothers could miss most big WNT and WPA events this year if they become regulars on the Chinese heyball circuit.

They could even miss the World Pool Championship. The only big events free of heyball conflicts are the UK and US Opens. My guess is, we might only see the Ko brothers at the US Open this year.
 
The Pattaya roster, btw, is pretty good.

Yapp, Chua, Hoang, Capito, Januarta, Orcollo, Manas and Regalario are the biggest Asian names. A large contingent of other top Pinoys, too.

Only European of note is Mickey Krause. Oddly, a half dozen Americans I've never heard of are listed.
 
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jbart65 said:
WNT ranking event. Total prize fund: $50,000 USD

Winner: $22,500
Runner up: $12,500
Semifinalists: $7,500.

This is a new tournament in Asia designated a WNT ranking event that mostly has implications for the Reyes Cup.

What jumped out at me is the format. Rather unusual for a WNT-affiliated event.

In the first stage, the plan was to have 128 players, who would be put in 16 groups of eight. The top four in each group would then advance to the final 64 for the single-elimination stage.

Now the tourney has been bumped up to 160 players, but no word yet on how the format will change to accommodate the new additions.

I have to wonder if MR, a la Predator, is testing out new formats.
Click to expand...

who is the promotor?
 
128 or 160 players with a $50,000 purse, of which 45% goes to the winner? And only 4 places get any prize money? I'm surprised that Matchroom would support that and that so many high-level players entered.
 
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AtLarge said:
128 or 160 players with a $50,000 purse, of which 45% goes to the winner? And only 4 places get any prize money? I'm surprised so many high-level players entered.
Click to expand...
I am as well. Can't find the link I came across a few days ago, but I think only the top eight win anything. Finish outside the top 8 and $30 is all you get. However .. I did see some indication that players were being subsidized to some extent, perhaps food or lodging.
 
jbart65 said:
I am as well. Can't find the link I came across a few days ago, but I think only the top eight win anything. Finish outside the top 8 and $30 is all you get. However .. I did see some indication that players were being subsidized to some extent, perhaps food or lodging.
Click to expand...
The 4 places you listed eat all of the $50,000. Just before I read this post of yours I edited my last post to also say I am surprised that Matchroom would support a 128-160 player event that pays just 4 places (or even 8).
 
Assuming it is accurate. I think I used AI to try to find the numbers. Bizarre how so many WNT tourneys are slow to reveal prize fund breakdowns, especially the lesser events.
 
Paying out 5% of the field is insane. That must be a typo, right? Has any tournament (beyond a winner take all invitational) ever come close to such a top heavy payout?
 
Flights to Thailand from other parts of Asia are very cheap. If the event offers highly discounted rooms, playing in the tourney would only cost a few hundred bucks aside from the entry fee.
 
jbart65 said:
Flights to Thailand from other parts of Asia are very cheap. If the event offers highly discounted rooms, playing in the tourney would only cost a few hundred bucks aside from the entry fee.
Click to expand...
Entry fee 8,000 THB, about $250.
 
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