US OPEN - The Woodstock of Pool

John Disque

John Disque

Banned
Somewhere along the line the producers decided to make it a free stream, in the name of reaching the masses and growing the industry.

It was the right thing to do --- Thousands of people who would've never known the excitement of the tournaments and the talent of the best players on Planet Earth.... were reached.

I've been involved with this sport for 40 years and I've never seen anything this unselfish and insightful.

I'm going to take the liberty to speak for the entire industry and say, "Thank you."
 
Are you referring to the Facebook Live stream? I caught it when the score was 10-9 or something, and by then there were 2,500 views and almost 800 shares. At first I couldn't believe the finals was being streamed on FB for free because I knew about the Accu-Stats PPV. But I think it was a great thing to do for the players, the fans, and the sport. That was an effective use of social media.
 
I don't think the entire finals match was streamed. I think it was snippets and maybe a rack or two. Ra did stream the entire Dennis SVB match on his phone, but it was not an Accu-Stats match. It was bonus content.

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Makes us who paid to view the ppv a little sour, but happy in regards to benefitting the sport that we all share a love for. Honestly though if someone were to make a single flier and one person from every pool hall were to post it, there would be so many more viewers. There are lots of people who love pool but aren't in the loop of major events or players but would still thoroughly enjoy the world class pool that was exhibited at this year's US Open
 
Superiorduper said:
Makes us who paid to view the ppv a little sour, but happy in regards to benefitting the sport that we all share a love for. Honestly though if someone were to make a single flier and one person from every pool hall were to post it, there would be so many more viewers. There are lots of people who love pool but aren't in the loop of major events or players but would still thoroughly enjoy the world class pool that was exhibited at this year's US Open
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I paid and wasn't sour at all. The Facebook stream was

- Not high quality (from a cell phone)
- No commentary
- Poor angle

It's good to get people interested. It would have been wise to do this on the outer tables earlier in the week to entice people to purchase the actual stream.
 
I think -- and I may be wrong -- that the so-called "free stream" on Facebook was an effort by Brady Behrman, et al., to spread the word about pool at its finest taking place at the Open this year, hoping to attract mainstream people to the sport/game.

It was an unselfish move on his part, and I applaud him for it.

Of course, the quality on FB is not anywhere near the quality of Accu-Stats streaming, and for those of us who really, really get into pool, we will always go for the quality of Accu-Stats productions. I have a feeling the DVDs from this year's Open will do well.

Also, I was impressed that the first-place money is $50,000 this year, not $30,000 as in previous years. That really raised the bar and gave the Open a new attraction. I bet next year, it will fill up ahead of time, just like Zuglan's Joss Turning Stone events.

All in all, I am really impressed with this year's Open. I got a kick out of seeing Brady and his sister both stepping up to the plate to keep their father's legacy alive. It was great! :cool:
 
Bought the final match, no regrets. Personally I prefer commentary when I'm watching.
Enjoyed the match very much but wish they had replays available.
 
I just saw a video on FB that Brady Behrman made about sharing the live stream of the finals on FB. His exact words were that he wanted to "raise awareness" of pool. He asked everyone to share the video and was hoping to get at least 500 likes within the first hour.

This kid understands the power of social media. :cool:
 
I really think the Derby City Classic is the real event of the year.

I agree that the Open WAS, but Barry and all the nonpayment, etc. has taken the event from the premier event, to just another event.

I think the greatest honor in pool currently is the "ALL AROUND" Champion at the Derby City Classic.

I always thought Danny Harriman would win the US Open one year, but I think so many great players that have an honest shot at winning have lost interest...:cool: Who could blame them?

Ken
 
Ken_4fun said:
I really think the Derby City Classic is the real event of the year.

I agree that the Open WAS, but Barry and all the nonpayment, etc. has taken the event from the premier event, to just another event.

I think the greatest honor in pool currently is the "ALL AROUND" Champion at the Derby City Classic.

I always thought Danny Harriman would win the US Open one year, but I think so many great players that have an honest shot at winning have lost interest...:cool: Who could blame them?

Ken
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I think you're in the minority with this view. There are many pool enthusiasts and players who feel quite different today, thank goodness.

I like the DCC for sure, but the Open has always been a title that every single pro I know wants on their portfolio.

I predict next year will fill up before the opening day because of how great it went this year. Brady and his sister stepped it up. Increasing the 1st place prize to 50 grand is one change they effected for the better.

It is good that not many people hold onto the negative in pool. If well all did, pool would never stand a chance to excel.
 
I think the US Open went as smooth as it can go, a few noticeable things went on, but none of that was Brady's fault.

Accu-Stats streaming issues, Earls and Dennis O. antics, again no fault to Brady.

I don't think the DCC 9 ball event is the most sought after title in the U.S., DCC is an all around event.

The DCC is a whole diffrent animal with players able to buy back in. The U.S. Open is just a dedicated Nine Ball tournament.

I feel the DCC is a gambling event disguised as a tournament. I have nothing wrong with that, I just feel you can't compare the two.

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I stand corrected about the FB live stream of the finals. I agree that it was actually a brilliant idea. The whole social media approach to the Open this week was actually brilliant. The Open was all over my Facebook and Twitter timelines all week. Interviews, behind the scenes, streams. It's exactly how you attract additional attention and awareness. For example Ra started streaming the Dennis O v SVB match yesterday which otherwise nobody outside of the hotel would have seen. Viewers like myself started sharing it, and before you know it there were over a thousand viewers. I know at least some were people who wouldn't normally watch a stream. How do I know that? Because I saw my Facebook friends joining the stream who otherwise wouldn't. It's a great introduction to the higher quality stream Accu-Stats puts out. I promoted their stream several times in the comments. It's exactly the kind of thing pool needs to reach a younger generation.

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Ken_4fun said:
I really think the Derby City Classic is the real event of the year.

I agree that the Open WAS, but Barry and all the nonpayment, etc. has taken the event from the premier event, to just another event.

I think the greatest honor in pool currently is the "ALL AROUND" Champion at the Derby City Classic.

I always thought Danny Harriman would win the US Open one year, but I think so many great players that have an honest shot at winning have lost interest...:cool: Who could blame them?

Ken
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Possibly the greatest field ever, no problems and you wanna bash.

Derby city, greatest honor in pool? Wow, just wow:rolleyes:

Danny Harriman winning lol.

Surprised you didn't work bashing Showman into this.......well, it's still early.
Jason
 
think about it. the US Open is the only main WPA event that doesnt stream matches for free.
 
JAM said:
... Also, I was impressed that the first-place money is $50,000 this year, not $30,000 as in previous years. ...
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First-place money at the U.S. Open 9-Ball event has varied quite a bit in recent years (info courtesy of AzB database):

2000 - $50,000
2001 - 30
2002 - 30
2003 - 30
2004 - 30

2005 - 40
2006 - 40
2007 - 50
2008 - 40
2009 - 40

2010 - 40
2011 - 30
2012 - 25
2013 - 30
2014 - 30

2015 - 40
2016 - 50
 
AtLarge said:
First-place money at the U.S. Open 9-Ball event has varied quite a bit in recent years (info courtesy of AzB database):

2000 - $50,000
2001 - 30
2002 - 30
2003 - 30
2004 - 30

2005 - 40
2006 - 40
2007 - 50
2008 - 40
2009 - 40

2010 - 40
2011 - 30
2012 - 25
2013 - 30
2014 - 30

2015 - 40
2016 - 50
Click to expand...

Very interesting. Thanks for sharing. :)
 
JoseV said:
I was wondering if this Open was the Highest Payout, but i see its tied, thanks for info :)
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2016 ties for highest first-place prize ($50,000). The total purse was highest in 2008 ($212,000), 2nd highest in 2000 ($211,000), and 3rd highest in 2016 ($208,000).
 
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