Sarah Rousey comments on the Women's Worlds

[JB Cases]

I must be missing something here so can some one explain to me how an invitational can be considered a World Championship when there is no set criteria based on rankings or performance measures to determine the invitations?

It just seems like we are discussing a mute point because let's face it, this was not a world championship. It's like buying a domain name, since no one yet had the name, DP bought it for cash. It may have been titled as a "The World Championship", but it was not a world championship. It was just another women's pool tournament. They happened to play 10 Ball, whoop-de-doo!!! I'm just going to take it for what it was.

Well to be fair the winner had to get through some tough matches against top players. It definitely wasn't just another women's tournament.

And getting through the group stages isn't easy either as races to five do allow the weaker players a greater chance to snag sets and be spoilers. For example Mary Ann Basas, one of the stronger players in the event, did not make it through the group stage even though she won 3 of her five matches. Someone else had the same score but lost less games and so went through instead.

At the end of the day there were no gimmies to get to the $20,000 first prize. All WPA World Championships are invitationals where the invites are given to the regional members who then allocate them by country.

What I have a problem with is this WPA "Tour" where they bill the tournaments as Open when in fact they are not open.

 

[Tbeaux]

I think we may have been a little to hard on DP regarding player selection. Other minor criticism regarding lack of proper preparation is more to point.

DP had "sponsor entries" the same as the Amway Cup. At Amway I believe the sponsor entries were scheduled to compete with other qualifing entrants (several girls from europe). The need for the qualifier didn't happen because they had the right number of players for the tournament without having to play the qualifier.
With the DP event they may have planned things this way also. If that's the case they should have been clearer about it. Also if this is the case filling the field would be even more difficult since there is no organized womens 10 ball tournament system to really draw from. The late drop of several players probably left them scrambling just to fill the field.
I'd like to here from Jay and some of the players who were there and maybe even DPNEWS (if they bother to even check on the forums) on if this is was the case.

Congratulations to Rubilen Amit!:thumbup2:

 

[TX Poolnut]

Congratulations to Rubilen Amit!:thumbup2:

Indeed! Congrats for a fine win.

 

[JB Cases]

I think we may have been a little to hard on DP regarding player selection. Other minor criticism regarding lack of proper preparation is more to point.

DP had "sponsor entries" the same as the Amway Cup. At Amway I believe the sponsor entries were scheduled to compete with other qualifing entrants (several girls from europe). The need for the qualifier didn't happen because they had the right number of players for the tournament without having to play the qualifier.
With the DP event they may have planned things this way also. If that's the case they should have been clearer about it. Also if this is the case filling the field would be even more difficult since there is no organized womens 10 ball tournament system to really draw from. The late drop of several players probably left them scrambling just to fill the field.
I'd like to here from Jay and some of the players who were there and maybe even DPNEWS (if they bother to even check on the forums) on if this is was the case.

Congratulations to Rubilen Amit!:thumbup2:

The Amway Cup is a fully invitational event where ALL of the players are there by the whim of the promoter. It's not a sanctioned "World Championship".

Having said that they do try their best to fill the field with the best players from around the world.

I have some information from Mr. Tu, the promoter, as to how this works that I will share at some point in the future.

No, were not to hard on Dragon Promotions. Treat a "World Championship" as it should be treated if you are going to promote a sanctioned event using that designation.

Charlie could have called it the World Invitational Championship - or the World Open or anything but the World Championship and no one would be "as upset" with favoritism and pet players.

All in all, from a spectator's point of view, the latter half of the tournament was great with great play and great commentary - except for Bob Guerro getting his history mixed up many times on who played whom.

 

[DogsPlayingPool]

Appreciate the explanations fellas. :thumbup:

 

[Tbeaux]

The Amway Cup is a fully invitational event where ALL of the players are there by the whim of the promoter. It's not a sanctioned "World Championship".

Having said that they do try their best to fill the field with the best players from around the world.

Actually they call Amway the "Women's World 9 Ball Open" but it does seem to be more of an invitational. Invites are to BCA,WPBA,APBU,EPBF,OPBA,WPA,CPB , sponsor entries, former winners and about a dozen open entry spots which may require a playoff with the sponsor entries I think (not certain of that though).

I just think DP may have been trying to start this using the same sort of setup but since there is no real organized women's 10 ball it comes off as looking bad having the sponsor entries (and yeah I agree CW probably has his own motives:wink. I agree they need to do it another way but that may require DP and the WPA and other groups like the EPBF, Apbu,WPBA to get some sort of qualifier system setup. The WPA were the ones who should have been making sure this starting event was structured right. DP is in it for the money so they shouldn't be relied upon to not play favorites when it means more media exposure and money for themselves.

 

[CreeDo]

Anybody want to go get some tacos?

............

k

 

[JB Cases]

Actually they call Amway the "Women's World 9 Ball Open" but it does seem to be more of an invitational. Invites are to BCA,WPBA,APBU,EPBF,OPBA,WPA,CPB , sponsor entries, former winners and about a dozen open entry spots which may require a playoff with the sponsor entries I think (not certain of that though).

I just think DP may have been trying to start this using the same sort of setup but since there is no real organized women's 10 ball it comes off as looking bad having the sponsor entries (and yeah I agree CW probably has his own motives:wink. I agree they need to do it another way but that may require DP and the WPA and other groups like the EPBF, Apbu,WPBA to get some sort of qualifier system setup. The WPA were the ones who should have been making sure this starting event was structured right. DP is in it for the money so they shouldn't be relied upon to not play favorites when it means more media exposure and money for themselves.

Right, but there is no requirement that the Amway Cup extend invitations to the event and they do in fact try to invite particular players who are guaranteed a spot if they choose to accept the invites.

The Amway Cup invites for example all the so-called first-tier players in Taiwan according to the CTBA's rank list. For the Amway Cup they they held qualifiers by which several more "second tier" players were able to get spots. This is an open format by which any player who can win a qualifier can play in the main event.

I feel that all so-called OPEN tournaments should either be truly open to the first players who get their money in OR have a certain number of spots to award through OPEN qualifiers.

The Amway is a mixture of invitational and open in this way. The difference to them and the DP tournament is that the Amway is NOT billed as a World Championship and the promoter is NOT also the sponsor/manager of some participants who were granted spots without being qualified through either results at other events/tours or by winning a qualifier.

Mr Tu. didn't go out and find a really hot Taiwanese girl who played at a C-speed and trot her out on TV during the early rounds and act as if she belonged there. He showcased feature match-ups with the top players from beginning to end.

If there is going to be a Cinderella story then it should be one like Ronnie Alcano's story where he honed his skill on the Joss Tour, grew up idolizing Efren and copying him every time he could, got the last spot in the World Championships by winning the last available qualifier and then ends up winning it. This is a guy who deserved to be there and EARNED it the hard way.

I don't know where you are getting this "playoff with sponsor entries" idea for the Amway Cup? Either I am misunderstanding what you mean or this is not anything that they do. Mr. Tu explained to me how the process works to fill the field at the Amway Cup. There are probably invited spots that are allocated for certain sponsors and IF the CEO of Amway wanted to put their daughter in the event then Mr. Tu probably would not object. But I doubt that she would get any TV time or special attention.

 

[sputnik]

I have some information from Mr. Tu, the promoter, as to how this works that I will share at some point in the future.

Charlie could have called it the World Invitational Championship - or the World Open or anything but the World Championship and no one would be "as upset" with favoritism and pet players.

WPA can sanction any event that is named anything in their authoritarian way of deciding on matters. The flaw starts there.

I agree that naming it as a World Invitational Championship would have been more appropriate. But since all the continents were represented, any organizer would have easily promoted the tournament as a World Championship. And since they can get the legitimacy from accreditation, so it went.

I do not know how the invites were sent either, but not everyone has the source in sponsorship to travel thousands of miles for a $20,000 women's tournament. CW presented the tournament, had the funding, and waited for participants. His show had to go on.

Aspra Punhoo of South Africa was a nice ingredient. I believe that we will be seeing more of her as she is a tough cookie to hurdle in top-class women's pool.

I am confident that Champion Rubilen Amit will be among the top from now on. She knows how to win and all she needed was this huge exposure. Rubilen was Asia's 8-ball champion in 2002. Iris Ranola (who became an instant threat in the US last year) has struggled to get away from the shadows of Rubilen's status here. Indeed, among the Filipina players, Rubilen has the biggest arsenal in her stroking arm. Her table knowledge showed us how she can frustrate her opponent with a defensive game in a Finals of this magnitude.

Venue, equipment, and format are not excuses in performance. Everybody went through the same banana. We saw Jasmine miss a ball-in-hand in the semis, and that does not make her a Class A or B player. Those who offered to spot the participants an 8 were too fast to consider other factors. Offer it in a televised hyped tournament and you may find that you had been too generous like Bobby Riggs was to Billy Jean King (we probably need to hype a "Bobby Riggs" one-on one challenge for women's pool). 11 yr-old Gillian Go beat a number of class "O" (Open class capable of stringing 10-ball run-outs) players last month in the biggest Philippine amateur tournament so far (Manny Pacquiao Cup last month with over 150 Filipino amateur participants) and she was classified among B or the most A here in this thread.

So to rate this tournament, I will give DP an 8.5/10. He had a good purse, spectators, TV ratings, and representation from all continents with the best players in it. The .5 goes to the equipment and venue complaints that everybody had to go through. The 1 goes to the complaints in the style of promoting the tournament. Promoting only skill would have given the same hype.

I also give Sarah an 8.5/10 for her effort in improving women's pool. 1.5 goes to impulsiveness.

 

[jay helfert]

So basically you saying the tables weren't good, the conditions weren't good, the races were short but because it took awhile its okay, a girl that cant play and looks good was allowed to play in what was suppose to be the best of the best in womens pool and the refs werenot great but didnt make any big mistakes so they were okay.

Sound like because you were involved you are sugar coating a piss poor run tournament for the top women players.

Just because charlie talked some sponsors into putting big money up doesnt mean its a good tourney. Just means that charlie would sell out his fellow pool players to make some good money by putting them on crap tables, with short races, bad lighting, and a place that has leaks i mean wtf Jay. Get off charlies nuts because he ispaying you money you sell out.

I suppose the challenge of champions is a great tourney too ahhahaha..I mean they give 50k to a pool player its great too!!! races to 5 best 2 of 3 sets on buckets and they never even have the best players usually.

I always thought Ronald McDonald was a clown. Now I'm sure of it. Thanks for clearing that up.

 

[jay helfert]

This whole thread is not about prize money.. its about the quality of the tourney and its setup

For example even though the Ipt turned out to be a bust it was probaly the best run pool tournaments ever for professionals..They were treated like celebrities at the events. They were treated with respect for being the best pool players in the world. They had good equipment , long enough races, tough tables, lounge areas, and even masseuses.

The players raved about how great the setup was for it but in the end the promoter claimed it a bust but for a few months the best players in the world felt like thay had a true professional sport

Until it came time to pay them.

 

[jay helfert]

I'm used to 'knockers'. Every poolroom has a few. And so does AZ. In case anyone doesn't know what a 'knocker" is, it's someone who gets involved in other peoples business and tries to kill their action or their game. That is what I'm seeing a lot of on this thread.

To those who think because I am the TD, I would come on here and unfairly defend the event, you are sadly mistaken. You can't pay me enough to lie about anything. If I saw something wrong with the event, I would be first to say something to Cindy or Charlie. The rules were fair, the playing field was level and no one got an unfair edge.

Years ago I voiced my complaints about the Challenge of Champions format, with matches being decided in one game playoffs. I was also the TD of that event (and well paid by the way). The following year I was replaced.

Like many first time events, there were flaws that needed to be addressed. And they were. We had problems with the air conditioning system in the Sky Dome, the sound system needed tweaking and the roof did leak on day two. The Sky Dome was a brand new arena and this was its first event. It is a beautiful facility! Perfect for hosting such a high profile event. There will always be ways to improve any event, even if you do them for many years. Greg Sullivan keeps tweaking Derby City and trying to make it better. I continued to make changes to the U.S. Bar Table tourney even after 12 years. I'm sure the Women's World Ten Ball will get better each year as well. But it wasn't too bad for a first time event.

What Dragon has done, if you are able to see the big picture, is to introduce women's pool to a far larger audience than has ever seen it before. The media coverage all over Asia was amazing, with stories daily in major newspapers. The television coverage was BY FAR the most wide ranging ever for any women's pool tournament. Dragon, with their efforts, are opening up entire new markets for women's pool to be seen and talked about. The women players should be thankful that there is a Dragon Promotions out there working on their behalf. VERY THANKFUL! Events like this one, can create many new opportunities for women professionals to make a living in their sport. I'm truly sorry for those who are so myopic to only focus on negatives.

About the AMF tables, I will upgrade my rating to a solid B. They played better as the week went on and the cloth got more play. The TV table played great and was a good test for these players. The pockets (about 4.6") got tougher and more demanding as the week went on. On the quality of the field, I would estimate about one third of the field was very strong players, like Allison, Kelly F., Gerda, Jasmin, Karen, Yu Ram, Shin Mei-Lu, Jeanette, Kajitani, Rubelin, Ga Young etc. Maybe another 16-24 players were competitive, just like the middle of the field in a WPBA event. Perhaps then there were 8-10 women who in truth had little chance to do well. They got in for the most part because several other good women players either dropped out or were unable to attend. Players like Pan and Webb were definitely invited. There are MANY world class players in Asia who we rarely (if ever) see in the USA. I suspect if all of them could play in the WPBA events, it would create a major turmoil in the rankings. Taiwan is full of strong players, several who played here. Other good players came from Korea, Singapore and Indonesia. Jusr because you are unfamiliar with their names doesn't mean they can't play.

It was a moderately expensive tournament to attend, just like most men's events. Many Asian women attended because air fare is less expensive for them. Comparable to traveling domestically in the USA. A good hotel room close to the venue could be found for $50 or less. You only had to go online to find them. I found a nice clean room (breakfast included) for $50 a nite. It was a modern new hotel, about two miles from the SM Mall. I could take a jeepney there for 7p each way. That's less than 20 cents!

There were many terrific matches in the knockout stages and the Quarterfinals all went hill-hill except for Kajitani's 9-7 win over Karen. Jasmin's televised 9-8 win over Yu Ram was a classic! Rubelin played great in the finals and deserves to be called the Women's World Ten Ball Champion. Her win was a true cinderella story and she is a national hero in the Philippines today. Much like Ronnie Alcano was in 2006. Shin Mei-Lu is a class act and a great player too.

After the tourney Dragon hosted a victory party at the Embassy Club, the hottest night club in Manila (and hardest to get into). It was an open bar and the booze was flowing and the place was rocking. The girls were having a great time and even Sarah was there.

Please feel free to knock away. For some that is their favorite sport.

 

[gunzby]

I'm used to 'knockers'. Every poolroom has a few. And so does AZ. In case anyone doesn't know what a 'knocker" is, it's someone who gets involved in other peoples business and tries to kill their action or the game. That is what I'm seing a lot of on this thread.

To those who think because I am the TD, I would come on here and unfairly defend the event, you are sadly mistaken. You can't pay me enough to lie about anything. If I saw something wrong with the event, I would be first to say something to Cindy or Charlie. The rules were fair, the playing field was level and no one gto an unfair edge.

Years ago I voiced my complaints about the Challenge of Champions format, with matches being decided in one game playoffs. I was also the TD of that event (and well paid by the way). The following year I was replaced.

So do you see this as a perceived gripe and not a real one? I'm not there so I can't really comment on anything other than the way that people there see it.

 

[JB Cases]

I'm used to 'knockers'. Every poolroom has a few. And so does AZ. In case anyone doesn't know what a 'knocker" is, it's someone who gets involved in other peoples business and tries to kill their action or the game. That is what I'm seeing a lot of on this thread.

To those who think because I am the TD, I would come on here and unfairly defend the event, you are sadly mistaken. You can't pay me enough to lie about anything. If I saw something wrong with the event, I would be first to say something to Cindy or Charlie. The rules were fair, the playing field was level and no one got an unfair edge.

Years ago I voiced my complaints about the Challenge of Champions format, with matches being decided in one game playoffs. I was also the TD of that event (and well paid by the way). The following year I was replaced.

Like many first time events, there were flaws that needed to be addressed. And they were. We had problems with the air conditioning system in the Sky Dome, the sound system needed tweaking and the roof did leak on day two. The Sky Dome was a brand new arena and this was its first event. It is a beautiful facility! Perfect for hosting such a high profile event. There will always be ways to improve any event, even if you do them for many years. Greg Sullivan keeps tweaking Derby City and trying to make it better. I continued to make changes to the U.S. Bar Table tourney even after 12 years. I'm sure the Women's World Ten Ball will get better each year as well. But it wasn't too bad for a first time event.

What Dragon has done, if you are able to see the big picture, is to introduce women's pool to a far larger audience than has even seen it before. The media coverage all over Asia was amazing, with stories daily in major newspapers. The television coverage was BY FAR the most wide ranging ever for any women's pool tournament. Dragon, with their efforts, are opening up entire new markets for women's pool to be seen and talked about. The women players should be thankful that there is a Dragon Promotions out there working on their behalf. VERY THANKFUL! Events like this one, can create many new opportunities for women professionals to make a living in their sport. I'm truly sorry for those who are so myopic to only focus on negatives.

About the AMF tables, I will upgrade my rating to a solid B. They played better as the week went on and the cloth got more play. The TV table played great and was a good test for these players. The pockets (about 4.6") got tougher and more demanding as the week went on. On the quality of the field, I would estimate about one third of the field was very strong players, like Allison, Kelly F., Gerda, Jasmin, Yu Ram, Shin Mei-Lu, Jeanette, Kajatani, Rubelin, Ga Young etc. Maybe another 16-24 players were competitive, just like the middle of the field in a WPBA event. Perhaps then there were 8-10 women who in truth had little chance to do well. They got in for the most part because several other good women players either dropped out or were unable to attend. Players like Pan and Webb were definitely invited. There are MANY world class players in Asia who we rarely (if ever) see in the USA. I suspect if all of them could play in the WPBA events, it would create a major turmoil in the rankings.

I have done business with Jay for many many years and his integrity and enthusiasm is unquestionable.

It's too bad that the mixture of Charlie's past "issues" cloud the discussion we are having about the Dragon Promotions event. Cindy Lee deserves a lot of credit for putting on an event in a strange land. Dragon Promotions is a company now that does produce a lot of events.

I hope that they can take some constructive ideas from the discussions and make a bigger and better event next year.

Jay is diplomatic but he does not lay down for promoters no matter who they are. He is accentuating the positives here of which there were many.

I think he would agree that DP players were featured a lot on TV and perhaps that has the aura of a conflict of interest on some levels. But to him it is a non-issue as the players were treated to another payday and a larger audience.

I want to say to everyone out there that IF ESPN and ABN Sports feel that this is a success then it only opens the doors for competing promoters to get busy selling the concept to other channels or even to ABN/ESPN themselves.

The more the merrier.

 

[sjm]

.....What Dragon has done, if you are able to see the big picture, is to introduce women's pool to a far larger audience than has ever seen it before. The media coverage all over Asia was amazing, with stories daily in major newspapers. The television coverage was BY FAR the most wide ranging ever for any women's pool tournament. Dragon, with their efforts, are opening up entire new markets for women's pool to be seen and talked about. The women players should be thankful that there is a Dragon Promotions out there working on their behalf. VERY THANKFUL! Events like this one, can create many new opportunities for women professionals to make a living in their sport. I'm truly sorry for those who are so myopic to only focus on negatives.....

I will preface my remarks by noting that Sarah Rousey, a professional we all respect as both a player and a lady, had every right to compain about apsects and elements of this event that were, in her view, mismanaged. Let's all hope that Sarah's gripes are studied by those who staged this tournament for the future betterment of this event. But ......

Thanks for this post, Jay. The abominable piling on that is far too common on this forum was, for me, difficult to digest, and for a few days now, I've watched in disgust as so many tried to attack both the legitimacy and integrity of this event.

Having so many top women players introduced to and/or celebrated by the Asian audiences and Asian press for the first time is good for women's pro pool and the ladies involved in it. Dragon Promotions, having never staged a major women's event before, broadened its horizons in the production of this event, and should be commended for investing in women's pro pool.

An event offering Liu Shin-Mei, Amit Rubilen, Jasmin Ouschan, Akimi Kajitani, Jeanette Lee, Karen Corr, Yu Ram Cha, and Kelly Fisher as its last eight is an undeniable clash of the international superstars of the game, every bit worthy of being called a world championship, even if a few details of the field filling process may have been misjudged.

When the smoke clears, we all need to appreciate that the production of the first Women's World Ten Ball Championship was a moment in the history of women''s pro pool to be celebrated, not bemoaned.

 

[Tbeaux]

I don't know where you are getting this "playoff with sponsor entries" idea for the Amway Cup? Either I am misunderstanding what you mean or this is not anything that they do. Mr. Tu explained to me how the process works to fill the field at the Amway Cup. There are probably invited spots that are allocated for certain sponsors and IF the CEO of Amway wanted to put their daughter in the event then Mr. Tu probably would not object. But I doubt that she would get any TV time or special attention.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding. There were girls from Europe (like Kamilla) who were listed as "qualifing" and there were a bunch of girls listed as "world qualifing" or "open qualifing". You're saying they met some criteria to qualify prior to the event?
I thought they ment there would be a field of "open qualifiers" who would compete to see who got to play in the main event. They were still filling the qualifier field a day or two before the event so I assumed they just had barely enough competitors for the main event.
I agree an "open" should be completely open. A WC should require a system to bring in players who have earned there way in. The problem is there is no women's organized 10-ball anywhere else so this event had (1) qualified 9-ballers from WPBA,EPBF,etc (2) qualified individual DP sponsored tournament winners (Angel was supposed to be one),(3) last minute local substitues (still say Go.. GO:thumbup, (4) CW's friends/girl friends.
The WPA needs to set up some ground rules and make the sponsors stick to them. I wasn't trying to give CW/DP a pass, I'm just saying their motivations are a known. I'm sure that DP will address the minor problems that cropped up (equipment,venue,etc) before the next WC but unless the WPA makes them adhere to some standards for selection next year could just be a repeat of the CW "dog-n-pony" show.

My final thoughts 1) Good for Sarah speaking her mind:thumbup:
2)Good to Philipenes for having this :thumbup:
3) Congrats to Jay on a future lil Jr.:thumbup:
4) Thanks to DP for having the event but do it better
5) Shame on the media and CW for trying to turn a WC into a beauty pagent
6) Congrats to Rubilen Amit:thumbup:
7) Congrats to the kid even though under normal conditions she wouldn't have had the chance to play:thumbup:
8) CW......36"-24"-36" and cute are NOT QUALIFING SCORES for 10-ball !

 

[Sweet Marissa]

My final thoughts 1) Good for Sarah speaking her mind:thumbup:
2)Good to Philipenes for having this :thumbup:
3) Congrats to Jay on a future lil Jr.:thumbup:
4) Thanks to DP for having the event but do it better
5) Shame on the media and CW for trying to turn a WC into a beauty pagent
6) Congrats to Rubilen Amit:thumbup:
7) Congrats to the kid even though under normal conditions she wouldn't have had the chance to play:thumbup:
8) CW......36"-24"-36" and cute are NOT QUALIFING SCORES for 10-ball !

I agree on all your final points except number 3... Congrats to Jay for his future lil Miss

 

[Cutthroat]

I have followed this discussion with some interest, and it appears that the central complaint being raised is just not being heard.

The event was to determine the Women's World Ten Ball Champion, sanctioned by the WPA.

A few of Jay Helfert's justifications as to the validity of the event follow:

1. What Dragon has done, if you are able to see the big picture, is to introduce women's pool to a far larger audience than has ever seen it before.
2. Dragon, with their efforts, are opening up entire new markets for women's pool to be seen and talked about.
3. Events like this one, can create many new opportunities for women professionals to make a living in their sport.

Unfortunately, while all these points have merit, none of them have anything to do with determining a World Champion. You determine a World Champion by offering a competition to the finest players, under the finest conditions, administered by trained referees enforcing the fairest interpretation of the rules of play.

The event was eminently watchable, and I appreciate Dragon putting in all the hard work. But the central complaint seems to me valid: The field did not consist of the finest players, the conditions were not good, and getting spectators to referee will not result in the fairest interpretation of the rules of play.


Quoting Jay again:

"About the AMF tables, I will upgrade my rating to a solid B."

Hardly World Championship standard, in my opinion.

 

[Sweet Marissa]

I have followed this discussion with some interest, and it appears that the central complaint being raised is just not being heard.

The event was to determine the Women's World Ten Ball Champion, sanctioned by the WPA.

A few of Jay Helfert's justifications as to the validity of the event follow:

1. What Dragon has done, if you are able to see the big picture, is to introduce women's pool to a far larger audience than has ever seen it before.
2. Dragon, with their efforts, are opening up entire new markets for women's pool to be seen and talked about.
3. Events like this one, can create many new opportunities for women professionals to make a living in their sport.

Unfortunately, while all these points have merit, none of them have anything to do with determining a World Champion. You determine a World Champion by offering a competition to the finest players, under the finest conditions, administered by trained referees enforcing the fairest interpretation of the rules of play.

The event was eminently watchable, and I appreciate Dragon putting in all the hard work. But the central complaint seems to me valid: The field did not consist of the finest players, the conditions were not good, and getting spectators to referee will not result in the fairest interpretation of the rules of play.


Quoting Jay again:

"About the AMF tables, I will upgrade my rating to a solid B."

Hardly World Championship standard, in my opinion.

Exactamundo.

 

[Luxury]

So I decided I wanted to see how sleazy the website promoting this tournament (or beauty pageant as everyone has been saying) was and I was shocked.

http://www.womensworld10ball.com/

The page starts with a slide show of women like Jeanette Lee, Shanelle Lorraine, Jasmine Ouschan etc. and guess what? The pictures were so modest I couldn't even believe it. No cleavage whatsoever. Even the picture of Shanelle was the most unflattering picture I've ever seen of her cropped from the collarbones up.

The one of Jeanette Lee in a red polo shirt was a mind blower too. If Charlie is really all about turning this tournament into a beauty pageant he needs to have his webpage designer fired.

lol