What went wrong? I didn't like the format at first but now i kinda dig it. The shootouts are awesome for the crowds. Why would they be concerned? Because one event got canceled? In Canada? With loony woke Euro-esque covid crap to deal with? Not surprised at all it got axe'd.
Predator Men's Event Cancelled, Alberta Canada.
- Thread starter 336Robin
- Start date
Some people might actually want things to work out is my point.
Pool has needed a shot in the arm for a long time and here it is.
I hardly think that a disease that spreads like covid does is something you want rampant at a pool event.
Planes have gone to "mask only if you want." So, flying comes with increased risk now and that puts the promoters at risk.
How do you tell a sponsor that your event didn't happen because covid happened? Might not be your fault but that doesn't
change the fact that the sponsors money got spent.
It's a tough business, then you have to please the players and the fans.
There have been LOTS of pool tournaments in the last yr or so and no one(or if so, tiny #'s) is getting sick. Your response is typical of covid scare mongers. Bunch of bs. Don't want to go political so i'm done here. Enjoy being afraid.
I made it about business, and you made it personal.
Being afraid is a lot different than going out of business on account of it.
Being afraid is a lot different than going out of business on account of it.
What's a pro...?...lol
Well Alex and Morra are of course the most notable and are in Toronto when home. There's only 6 that are >750 and 5 live in close proximity to Southern Ontario. Out of the top 10 in the country. 3 live beyond short driving distance to Toronto. IMHO the entry fee is small money for a pro event, and dead money short stops like myself would fill bracket easily enough. That said, 9fters is the norm in this part of the country.
I don't understand the reasoning of keeping the series entrenched within the US. This event would have just as dead if they picked a bad spot within the borders of the USA.
Gallup, NM.
most wont agree with me but there are too many tournaments with no handicap in them .
as a result all the good money gets won by a select few. its a slaughter. so why enter.
to build large fields you need most players having a real chance of winning or at least coming in top money spots.
only then will you be able to have large entry fees with giant payouts and large fields.
as a result all the good money gets won by a select few. its a slaughter. so why enter.
to build large fields you need most players having a real chance of winning or at least coming in top money spots.
only then will you be able to have large entry fees with giant payouts and large fields.
yep... don't agree.
The notion of what should be "professional events" being handicapped to provide dead money a false sense of a warm fuzzy feeling when they pony up entry doesn't do the game a lick of good imo.
I'm all for handicapped entry fee satellite tourneys that would provide a boost to main event prize pools in exchange for a spot in the main draw. However the result of the main draw should be the strongest player. Not the one who played the best over their handicapped.
Take a look at U.S. Open local qualifying in golf. It's not about having a real chance of winning etc. How much prestige is there in tournament pool? There has to be a reason / desire to play in the first place.
marini3105
Member
The population of Dallas is about 1.3M, however, the population of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex is over 6.4M. The population of Alberta is around 4.5M.
So... was this a mens tournament as the title of the thread says? Or is it a women's event as the flyer says?
If this was a women's event, I can understand why it didnt get enough participants. Just not as many women playing pool
If this was a women's event, I can understand why it didnt get enough participants. Just not as many women playing pool
I copied the whole facebook post when I put this up. Below is the important part. I bolded it. It's a tad vague
but it gets the job done. It was the men's event that was cancelled. It was called the "Open Divison."
Predator Pro Billiard Series
July 28 at 1:35 PM ·
Predator Canada Open
The Predator Canada Open is just three weeks away. The WPBA-sanctioned Women’s event has a $75,000 prize fund and will be streamed live on World Billiard TV YouTube Channel and Billiard TV.
Registrations for the Open division of the event have not reached the number required to create the high level of event and prize fund we expect to deliver. We have therefore decided to postpone the Canada Open, Open division.
All registered players have been contacted.
The WPBA-sanctioned Predator Canada Women's Open and the CSI Leagues Western Canadian Championships are shaping up to be fantastic events and will take place as scheduled.
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This cancellation has nothing to do with the race to four and shootout format. Most players have already shown they'll try it as the added money is good, provided they can keep their expense in check.
The event was cancelled due to a lack of signups. That's how business works. One can plan an event or convention but if very few people commit to participation, it's typically good business to cancel. Though it's disappointing, how can one possibly take exception to the cancellation of an event that didn't reach its "critical mass" with respect to participation level?
All the credit to the event sponsors for trying to stage a WPA-sanctioned event in Canada but this is on the players who, as a group, chose not to support the event.
While the continued mask mandate in Canada is probably a small contributing factor, I believe this cancellation is due to the fact that it was to be located in an area where there aren't serious players that can get there easily and cost-effectively. From New York, round trip airfare to Alberta runs about $500 while round trip airfare runs just $200 to Toronto. An extra $300 of fixed cost is a very big deal in our sport.
In my view, the high travel and participation costs caused by the choice of location doomed this event.
The event was cancelled due to a lack of signups. That's how business works. One can plan an event or convention but if very few people commit to participation, it's typically good business to cancel. Though it's disappointing, how can one possibly take exception to the cancellation of an event that didn't reach its "critical mass" with respect to participation level?
All the credit to the event sponsors for trying to stage a WPA-sanctioned event in Canada but this is on the players who, as a group, chose not to support the event.
While the continued mask mandate in Canada is probably a small contributing factor, I believe this cancellation is due to the fact that it was to be located in an area where there aren't serious players that can get there easily and cost-effectively. From New York, round trip airfare to Alberta runs about $500 while round trip airfare runs just $200 to Toronto. An extra $300 of fixed cost is a very big deal in our sport.
In my view, the high travel and participation costs caused by the choice of location doomed this event.
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So, all the way to that. Do you really think a pool player gives a shit about who the PM is? Pool players care about themselves, almost exclusively. Are you really saying that Predator couldn't fill their field because of Trudeau? They didn`t mind playing in the WC in Saudi Arabia with one of the most murderous regimes on the planet. They didn`t mind playing in America even though we had president pervert minding the shop. Blaming the Canadian PM is really, really far out there.
Completely agree... Can't say for sure if the format/equipment played a major role or not, but regardless it falls on the local-ish players not supporting it.
The first half is not accurate. There are no mask mandates once you leave the airports at this time, (health care facilities being an exception). The second half is better but still slightly off the mark. There is a large and strong pool community in the greater Calgary area. Why they chose not to support this event is a bit of a head scratcher.
Nailed it here imo...
I agree. When players are coming from across the pond they don't need to go across the continent as well.
I think it also has to do the proximity of the event schedule. There may have been many that had to choose where to spend
the small amount of sponsorship money they have.
I watch their matches on YouTube. I believe that the two short races would be fine if the payouts were a little flatter. Just my opinion.
Thanks for that, JV. My bad in speculating that Alberta lacked enough top players to fill this field. As you say, though, it's odd that they opted not to participate. I would have thought that the emergence of a WPA-sanctioned event in their own backyard would have been a big deal to them.
Of course, whatever brought all of this on, the cancellation of this event is a sad occasion.