UPA sanctions US Open

[JAM]

Hey JAM,

As far as I know (I could be wrong) Kieth is not a member of the UPA. If that is the case, will he still be able to play in the US OPEN??

There will be players at the U.S. Open who are not members of the UPA.

Nostroke is right that Keith did compete in the UPA-sanctioned Pro Event at the Super Billiards Expo, which was won by Shawn Putnam. I believe that it is Allen Hopkins' intent to provide a venue where all pool players are welcome, and I have heard him state that it is his desire to provide a venue that is open to anybody who desires to compete, to include Keith thankfully. We had a blast this year in Valley Forge.

UPA members will enjoy the World Summit of Pool in NYC. I had not realized it, too, was in the August-September time frame, adding yet another big event to the tournament trail. Although this tournament has previously been restricted to UPA members only, the men's governing body of professional pool did make an exception last year for Earl Strickland to compete by granting him a "UPA wild card."

Fortunately for my camp, there are MANY tournaments around the country which provide competition opportunities to players of all caliber, to include Keith, with or without a wild card. The U.S. Open is one tournament which is open to all.

JAM

 

[JAM]

That's what I was looking at JAM, not sure about costs but what a fantastic window of events. Isn't the World Summit of Pool also on Sept 14-17th in NYC? That also sounds like a great event and fits in well if it hasn't been cancelled or anything?

AND, TheOne, I heard it through the pool grapevine that Master's Billiards in Queens may be having a tournament in this very same time frame. The organizers are hoping to make it a go, but want to schedule it at a time when there is no other competing event. The August-September time frame is filling up fast!

The $25,000-added Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour Season Finale at the Turning Stone Casino is the best bang for the buck. I have been to this venue, and it is comfortable, economical, and a whole lot of fun.

New York City is a nice place to hold pool tournaments, but speaking as an out-of-towner, it's very expensive to attend a 4- or 5-day event. Even with the discounted player's rate of $150 plus tax for a hotel room in the Big Apple, when you throw in the entry fee, food, and travel expenses, you're going to be stuck $1,500 to $2,000 before you hit the first ball. Unless one is independently wealthy or has a sponsor with deep pockets or gets in for free because of their affilliation with an organization, it is a financial hurdle for some. On a good note, though, it's nice to see an abundance of opportunities avail themselves to aspiring players.

JAM

 

[JustPlay]

the press release says that the top 16 UPA pro's will be seeded in the Open, as well as seniors, past winners, and anyone else at the promoters discretion.

VAP

Past winners seeded-OK, that sounds logical and good. Seniors and UPA top 16 players-BAD, VERY BAD! What gives those other players the right to be seated in the US "OPEN", just because they are ranked by the UPA based on "their" tournament rankings and there are not alot of UPA tournaments. Not very fair to those who are not UPA members or to players who have not played in "their" tournaments. The UPA supports the US Open and now make the rules the way they want it? Personally, I could careless about it.....But from a players perspective, I don't like it at all....We will just have to see how this shakes out in September....

 

[time_is_now]

Past winners seeded-OK, that sounds logical and good. Seniors and UPA top 16 players-BAD, VERY BAD! What gives those other players the right to be seated in the US "OPEN", just because they are ranked by the UPA based on "their" tournament rankings and there are not alot of UPA tournaments. Not very fair to those who are not UPA members or to players who have not played in "their" tournaments. The UPA supports the US Open and now make the rules the way they want it? Personally, I could careless about it.....But from a players perspective, I don't like it at all....We will just have to see how this shakes out in September....

seeded or not...it really doesn't matter...you have to beat them to win so who cares...just get it up and play

 

[TheOne]

AND, TheOne, I heard it through the pool grapevine that Master's Billiards in Queens may be having a tournament in this very same time frame. The organizers are hoping to make it a go, but want to schedule it at a time when there is no other competing event. The August-September time frame is filling up fast!

The $25,000-added Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour Season Finale at the Turning Stone Casino is the best bang for the buck. I have been to this venue, and it is comfortable, economical, and a whole lot of fun.

New York City is a nice place to hold pool tournaments, but speaking as an out-of-towner, it's very expensive to attend a 4- or 5-day event. Even with the discounted player's rate of $150 plus tax for a hotel room in the Big Apple, when you throw in the entry fee, food, and travel expenses, you're going to be stuck $1,500 to $2,000 before you hit the first ball. Unless one is independently wealthy or has a sponsor with deep pockets or gets in for free because of their affilliation with an organization, it is a financial hurdle for some. On a good note, though, it's nice to see an abundance of opportunities avail themselves to aspiring players.

JAM

Hi JAM, that wouldn't be the Big Apple event would it, or a smaller versio of it? I thought it wasn't going ahead this year? Will be interesting to find otu details when they are available. It is good news that there are many events in such a small window but like you said, you still need to be placing very high or have a money tree in the garden to be able to attend them all :-(

 

[JustPlay]

seeded or not...it really doesn't matter...you have to beat them to win so who cares...just get it up and play

My sentiments exactily, but why should the top upa players get any special treatment, just because the upa gives it stamp of approval on the USO?

 

[vapoolplayer]

My sentiments exactily, but why should the top upa players get any special treatment, just because the upa gives it stamp of approval on the USO?

because its now a UPA sanctioned event.......upa players get points for this event.........thus its a seeded event.

i honestly don't think anyone should just be able to play in the open.........i think that you must qualify to play..........this in itself would make the event more prestigious IMO.

VAP

 

[sjm]

i honestly don't think anyone should just be able to play in the open.........i think that you must qualify to play..........this in itself would make the event more prestigious IMO.

I couldn't agree more, VA. I wonder if there's any other sport in which one need only sign up to compete in its US Open.

For an event to qualify as elite, its field should consist primarily of elite players. Now the BCA Open that begins today certainly qualifies as elite. You can easily imagine half of those in the men's field of 64 winning it, and most of those in the field qualify as world class. Numerous great matchups in every round of competition are assured, and the level of play rates to be very high in most of the matches.

 

[Timberly]

VAP & SJM, well said on both accounts. TAP, TAP, TAP

 

[PrinsNick]

I think it should be pointed out that the N.U.T.S. is not in any way affiliated with the UPA. From speaking with Mike Janis, I got the understanding that the N.U.T.S. is a separate tour altogether and he has no plans at the current time to work with the UPA.

Quite correct. The NUTS is simply a system to turn existing regional tour events into qualifiers for independent professional events. I have been working closely with Mike Janis on the NUTS, but right now I cannot speak for him as far as working with the UPA is concerned. It would be great to somehow find a way to work together, though.

When I spoke with Frank Alvarez this week, he was unaware of what the N.U.T.S. stood for, who it consisted of, and what their plans are.

This does not surprise me, as I know of other instances where the UPA has been oblivious to the rest of the pool world. But you have to ask yourself the question: how does the supposedly premier US pro body not know what's going on in the rest of the industry? Do they not follow the billiards media? The NUTS has been a major topic of discussion for weeks. The fact that the "lead representative" of the UPA does not know about the one thing that could either be their strongest ally or their toughest competition is a little worrisome, dontcha think?

 

[JustPlay]

because its now a UPA sanctioned event.......upa players get points for this event.........thus its a seeded event.

i honestly don't think anyone should just be able to play in the open.........i think that you must qualify to play..........this in itself would make the event more prestigious IMO.

VAP

Then lets change the name to the US Invitational 9-ball. Do not call it an OPEN event! It can go from 200+/- players to about 32-64 players, thats just great, I love the whole Idea! And when that happens, the 30K first prize will be a chopped down to 10K at best, I cant wait to see what second-5 place pays...


The US Open is the largest paying event to the champion and the top 4 places in the entire US. The bca-upa open pays what- $10-12K for 1st place out of 64 players. If you come in 3-4 place or less at the UPA-BCA event then you will be lucky to be covering your cost & expenses to be in that tournament. Good Luck.


VA & SJM, you can have all the limited to "professional events" as you wish. But wait till the prize money shrinks and less and less money goes to the players and less players will show up at these events. Lets do the same at the DCC as well....


By the way go ask the Professional Poker players if there events should be limited to "qualified" poker players! All of them have emails. When was the last time a pool player antied up 10K, 20K, 30K or 40K to play in a pool tournament to win a 500K to a 1.5 million-?

 

[Blackjack]

I'm not worried at all, Nick. The UPA has been busy working on several upcoming events, including the US Open. The fact of the matter is that they are not just "the premier US pro body" - they are the only US pro body at the present time. They are not as out of touch with the industry as you may think, and they have been quite busy getting sponsorship in places others have never looked before. If the N.U.T.S. can be the UPA's strongest ally, then hey...lets all meet in Jacksonville next week and go have lunch and discuss it. There's no harm in that. As long as both sides are open to communication the sport can only win in the long run. The only way the game of pool could lose is if both sides went to war and competed with each other. In my eyes, both could help each other out immensely. It's a win/win situation and I'm willing to do whatever I can do to make it a reality. Further dividing the sport at this point in time would be devastating. Until both sides realize that, our game and our industry will suffer.