I'd go with six players in each group and eight groups. That way you have sixteen players left after the group stages, which is now perfect for single elimination. But what do I know anyway?
SJM Thoughts on Matchroom's New Event
- Thread starter sjm
- Start date
I hate them for TV. Aramith seems to be pushing them hard though!
I don't much care for the colors, but I prefer them to the Cyclop colors.
I think the yellow/black nine ball really makes the nine stand out. The regular nine is easier to confuse with the one ball.
I can live with the colors if it means we will have more well-organized, well-paid pro events.
Agreed 100%. It would be a small price to pay if it's the cost of growing the sport.
I also have to agree with this sentiment. They can do what they want to the ball colours so long as we get a consistent line up of professionally produced events.
That said, the pink and purple trip me up every single time. I always forget which is the 4. It's the most difficulty I've had with new colours.
Some money was on the line. In Days (Groups) 1-7, only the last-place (7th) finisher won no money. 6th place won $700, 5th place won $900. Not big money, obviously, but worth trying to do your best in a short race to 5. And maybe the money will get better in future years.
It doesn’t matter how hard they push them, they have no chance to sell until they flip the colors of the 4/5 balls and 12/13 balls, which I hope they will eventually do.
not a bad idea, because a single elim last day instead of a winner's group would be more exciting to watch imo
One positive for Matchroom is they are able to really churn plenty of content (192 hours) at very low production cost. I am guessing around $1.5 to $2K per hour. That is fraction of big production Mosconi Cup which I think is in range of $25K to $30K per hour. No doubt they probably can only sell it for peanuts to content companies like DAZN since pool content fetch dirt cheap prices. But they should still make some money with sponsorships and no gate revenue. And that can only be good for pool.
The format is big negative. So many flaws. Besides Group 1 advantage, weaker players play later by which time top players who are in Group 1 have already qualified so last few days featured relatively weak groups. Viewership in last few days of round robin must be lowest. The prizemoney should also not reward those from early Group 1 or 2 who are still around in later groups. For eg. there should be rule in round robin stage that you can only win money in first 4 days, after that you don't win any money. So they will be forced to qualify fast. Final day was also anti climax. You expect different format or slightly longer race especially in semis and finals
The format is big negative. So many flaws. Besides Group 1 advantage, weaker players play later by which time top players who are in Group 1 have already qualified so last few days featured relatively weak groups. Viewership in last few days of round robin must be lowest. The prizemoney should also not reward those from early Group 1 or 2 who are still around in later groups. For eg. there should be rule in round robin stage that you can only win money in first 4 days, after that you don't win any money. So they will be forced to qualify fast. Final day was also anti climax. You expect different format or slightly longer race especially in semis and finals
I enjoyed this Matchroom production quite a bit. The short races show just how important the lag shot is, just like in the Mosconi Cup. The one thing that got my attention is the lack of dry breaks. It seemed like the wing ball went in every single break. I am sure it didn't but it went with uncanny regularity. In the future I look forward to this event again with some tweaking here and there I believe it will be a winner!
Great synopsis by sjm as I have come to expect!
Great synopsis by sjm as I have come to expect!
Spartan, I was wondering if you ever filled out that spreadsheet with all the winnings etc., and if so, wonder if you could post it here. It was a terrific way to get a sense of the overall match. It was so good that I thought Matchroom should provide something like that on their page. A great way to summarize the groups.
Thanks for that, Spartan. When 8 of 19 players make $5,000 or better, that's a really nice payout. Bravo to Matchroom.
The more I think about this event, the more I like it.
As Matchroom has promised that next year, inclusion in Group 1 will be merit-based, the existence of this event will be just another incentive and reward for the pursuit and attainment of excellence, just like the World Pool Masters.
A gradual return to merit-based invitations to the big events in our sport serves it well, and will help to ensure that more of the world's elite players make a decent living from pool.
Matchroom is marching our sport in the right direction. Let's all hope that the elite players are smart enough to support them as they follow this path. There were, of course, extenuating circumstances, but an event this elite should never lack all of the world's top three players (JL Chang, Josh Filler, SVB). I'm guessing it will never lack them again.
The more I think about this event, the more I like it.
As Matchroom has promised that next year, inclusion in Group 1 will be merit-based, the existence of this event will be just another incentive and reward for the pursuit and attainment of excellence, just like the World Pool Masters.
A gradual return to merit-based invitations to the big events in our sport serves it well, and will help to ensure that more of the world's elite players make a decent living from pool.
Matchroom is marching our sport in the right direction. Let's all hope that the elite players are smart enough to support them as they follow this path. There were, of course, extenuating circumstances, but an event this elite should never lack all of the world's top three players (JL Chang, Josh Filler, SVB). I'm guessing it will never lack them again.
Last edited:
I noticed that with Billy Thorpe, the most prominent patch on his shirt was for Meucci, with the smaller Predator CLP patch on the other side.
Hopefully then it shouldn't be a problem for the others next year (and in any other Matchroom events where there is a conflict).
