When Matchroom purchased the U S Open from the Behrman family

Island Drive said:
Jam, the BCA is a trade organization, not a player's organization.
I'm pretty sure Steve DuCoff, the executive director at the time, made the decision to allow the Board to let in Non-Trade entities, Mark Griffin and Rene Pehlman/APA. Which in many ways makes sense, it's NOT a player's organization. I was made up of trade members, like Viking Cues etc.
After that, the BCA wound down it's player/league programs.
Then, a HUGE miscue when the Duke/Ducoff didn't read the fine print, and the BCA guaranteed the E. Coast trade show$ room$ would be filled, like they Always did in Vega$$$$$$$$$$. That started that BCA ship listing, and eventually to become what it is today.
As far as the American Sport of pool is concerned, I would of liked to of seen MR create A true semi-pro qualifying event Tour with points, allowing the SVB Jr Program the ability to evolve, and give youth a steppingstone to a pro career.
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Yes, I am very well aware they consist of industry members who want to fatten their pockets on sales. BCA, before they sold the league rights to Mark Griffin, only one facet of the organization, I might add, used to be a congress of billiards, a governing body of professional pool.

Check out the last paragraph: https://bca-pool.com/page/25
 
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I understand the disagreement over the balls and cloth, but I can't help but wonder how it is someone can come up with the opinion that MR is doing anything other than delivering what the fans and pros have been hoping for over the past decade or two (or three).

MR has broken the US Open? The future of the USO was on shaky ground as an event until they showed up, and made a conscious effort to preserve its history that they were by no means obligated to do. Complaining about emails? The only emails I get is about upcoming events and merch - unsurprisingly, MR has a business to run and marketing is part of it.
 
Hungarian said:
Not trying to argue here, but they didn't have to change the color of two balls to achieve the goal making the balls easier to see. They could have just changed the 5 (and 15) to pink and left the 4 (and 14) purple, even if it's a lighter shade of purple. My mind is having a very hard time following the balls and numbers now because two ball colors have changed. I also like what Matchroom is doing but I would say Emily went overboard on ball color.
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Changing the color was a poor choice...but I think the real problem was changing the SHADES of color. It is very difficult to distinguish the 3,4,and 6 on a laptop.
 
JAM said:
I'm in a wait-and-see mode to see how pool will rise in popularity thanks to Matchroom's efforts to be the change agent for the better. Personally, I cannot see how Matchroom profits at all with the production costs and other associated costs that go into events they are making happen around the world. But then again, maybe that's why pool enthusiasts, even the loyal pool enthusiasts, must pay to watch these events live. I guess DAZN was the highest bidder for pool in the USA. That speaks volumes as far as pool's popularity here, and that's not Matchroom's fault or DAZN's fault. The BCA could and should step up to the plate and put some money into North American pool.
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I would be interested to see how much Matchroom's cash cow-boxing-is being used to finance the pool endeavors, if at all. Matchroom tied a huge amount of money into Anthony Joshua in promoting him as being the dominant HW champ for the next decade. That didn't work out as AJ has lost a few fights since then and the luster has certainly worn off.
JAM said:
We need new blood in the American lot of professional players. Look at the amount of pro-caliber players we had in the '80s, a sampling of which is in the below-depicted video, compare that to today. And this video is just a sampling, as there were many more pro-caliber American players not shown in this video. Therein lies the problem no one seems to want to address.
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What were your thoughts on the Americans participating in SVB's tourney? Any potential there?
JAM said:
I feel like today American pool is on a sinking ship, and some diehard pool enthusiasts are jumping off and moving on to better things. To be a pro player in USA, number one, it is a rich man's high, unless you have a stakehorse with deep pockets or a spouse with money. And to be a loyal pool fan and railbird today, it is also becoming a rich man's high. That's why the U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship was for sale to the highest bidder. American professional pool is on a downward slope and has been for some time.

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Fatboy said:
Fatboy <——-the Queen’s dead (rip) now the window is open to attack the UK. J/K
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No need to attack the UK, just take back what that broad STOLE from Africa and many other countries, and currently keeps locked up in their museum. That purple crown, scepter they did not bury her with is all stolen, gold and all as well. She was the original Columbus I guess.
 
baalpeteor said:
No need to attack the UK, just take back what that broad STOLE from Africa and many other countries, and currently keeps locked up in their museum. That purple crown, scepter they did not bury her with is all stolen, gold and all as well. She was the original Columbus I guess.
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The sun never sets over the British Empire.
 
Fatboy said:
I’ve seen very little opposition to our (the audience) strong feelings about this, we are the majority, we are MR customers. Isn’t the customer always right? Seems I’ve heard that before.
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I think you're greatly overstating the number of those who actually care.

Pool is a world wide game. The handful of posters on AZB that bother to post about the ball colour I highly doubt represent the majority.
 
Tennesseejoe said:
Changing the color was a poor choice...but I think the real problem was changing the SHADES of color. It is very difficult to distinguish the 3,4,and 6 on a laptop.
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I don't think anyone who has watched pool on a screen disagrees. The point is if you are going to keep purple as one of the colors, let that lighter shade stay with the 4 (and 14) just like they did with the 6.
 
muskyed said:
While I agree, streaming seems to be the future for now, cost wise it's just not an option for a lot of us. My only option for streaming capability would be starlink, at a setup fee of $600, and monthly fee of $125. Just not worth it to me. Have not had internet available for 15 years in my last two houses. Only internet has been off our phones, with unlimited capped at 15 gig a month, but that has been just increased to 50 gig.
Agree or disagree, I feel the best future for pool is free streaming. Only way to actually grow pool to the masses. Pay per view will only work for the die hard players.
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The way around that is to have unlimited for just the phone and use software like pdanet+ which uses the phones data and wifi to create a hotspot separate from tethering...

JAden

^^^^^---Pays 160/month for gigabit internet while also using pdanet+. Maybe I should just get an unlimited data phone for just the house and use it as a house phone and internet.....hmmmm????
 
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Hungarian said:
I don't think anyone who has watched pool on a screen disagrees. The point is if you are going to keep purple as one of the colors, let that lighter shade stay with the 4 (and 14) just like they did with the 6.
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But I'm very certain swapping purple from the 4 to the 5 was not a mistake or an oversight on MR's part. There is no good reason for it other than, in some kind of way for MR, they feel it sets their brand apart. It's a slap in the face to American Pool. It's an exaggerated sense of self righteousness.
.
 
jokrswylde said:
What were your thoughts on the Americans participating in SVB's tourney? Any potential there?
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I wish I had seen more coverage of this event on AzBilliards Main News Page and social media. I am embarrassed to say I don't even know who won. Therein lies another problem. These pool event promoters need a press secretary or somebody to disseminate the happenings. If somebody like me, who is an avid pool fan, does not know who won, that's a problem. I could find the winner by doing a search for sure, but wouldn't it be better if the results were more forthcoming without having to search for it?

It's easy for me to say what's wrong with pool, this and that, and I'm just a mere railbird. I don't have the wisdom or capability to effect a change for the better, so I'll just sit back and hope for the best. I applaud all efforts to make pool great again. It used to be a lot more popular decades ago than it is today in USA.
 
JAM said:
I wish I had seen more coverage of this event on AzBilliards Main News Page and social media. I am embarrassed to say I don't even know who won. Therein lies another problem. These pool event promoters need a press secretary or somebody to disseminate the happenings. If somebody like me, who is an avid pool fan, does not know who won, that's a problem. I could find the winner by doing a search for sure, but wouldn't it be better if the results were more forthcoming without having to search for it?
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You mean like an insert in your daily paper...?
 
America had 7 players make it into the final 32 of which 3 made it into the final 16 and zero beyond that. In the US Open 9 Ball Championship. Our tourney, rip Barry B, rip our chances in the Mcup.

So goes pool, so goes the American empire.

Wake up!!! We are losing at everything, poker has similar results. Wtf are we doing wrong???

I’m not complaining , I’m stating facts and the obvious, we have the best of it and are letting it slip through our fingertips.

We collectively need to get our shit together before we lose at everything. Can’t blame cornhole, it’s not political. It’s a bigger problem than that. Our society is headed in the wrong direction and apparently it’s ok with most people. It’s not with me! Losing is for losers.

Fat dogs don’t hunt, is that’s what’s happened to America?

Fatboy<——-putting away his soap box, I have to get to work. Busy day.

Good luck to us and the USA!!!💪💪
 
JAM said:
If the governing body of professional pool of North America, the BCA (Billiards Congress of America), doesn't put forth much of an effort to help professional pool thrive in USA, sponsor more professional-caliber players with money instead of product so they can survive with payouts that haven't increased since the 1980s, create a professional tour much like the European Pocket Billiard Federation (EPBF), promote pool like the Hong Kong Billiard Sports Control Council did for snooker when it created a word record for a live audience at the Hong Kong Masters, as far as I'm concerned, the U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship was for sale to the highest bidder, which happened to be Matchroom.

I remember going to the U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship several times when Barry Behrman was owner, and if you peered out into the audience seats, the majority of audience members were players, players' friends and families, and there were not that many paying pool enthusiasts to support the event. People whined and moaned about having to pay the entrance fee back then. When I looked out into the audience of the recent U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship in Atlantic City by Matchroom, the audience members, once again, seemed to consist of players, players' friends and families, and some interested spectators. Not much has changed in that department if you compare today to 20-plus years ago.

I'm in a wait-and-see mode to see how pool will rise in popularity thanks to Matchroom's efforts to be the change agent for the better. Personally, I cannot see how Matchroom profits at all with the production costs and other associated costs that go into events they are making happen around the world. But then again, maybe that's why pool enthusiasts, even the loyal pool enthusiasts, must pay to watch these events live. I guess DAZN was the highest bidder for pool in the USA. That speaks volumes as far as pool's popularity here, and that's not Matchroom's fault or DAZN's fault. The BCA could and should step up to the plate and put some money into North American pool.

We need new blood in the American lot of professional players. Look at the amount of pro-caliber players we had in the '80s, a sampling of which is in the below-depicted video, compare that to today. And this video is just a sampling, as there were many more pro-caliber American players not shown in this video. Therein lies the problem no one seems to want to address.

I feel like today American pool is on a sinking ship, and some diehard pool enthusiasts are jumping off and moving on to better things. To be a pro player in USA, number one, it is a rich man's high, unless you have a stakehorse with deep pockets or a spouse with money. And to be a loyal pool fan and railbird today, it is also becoming a rich man's high. That's why the U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship was for sale to the highest bidder. American professional pool is on a downward slope and has been for some time.

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Hypothetically if MR pulls out of pro pool right now.

Game over

Who’s left? A few action matches, but tourneys are toast in America. Who’s the next promoter?

MR must remain profitable or pro pool is going to be crippled. That’s how I see it.

Amateur pool and league pool will be fine, pool rooms will be ok. But the big stage, big name pros will be kings without a country.

Scary
Fatboy
 
Fatboy said:
America had 7 players make it into the final 32 of which 3 made it into the final 16 and zero beyond that. In the US Open 9 Ball Championship. Our tourney, rip Barry B, rip our chances in the Mcup.
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Hey... that's still better than how the Canadians fared. We managed 2 into 64 and only 1 got to 32.
Fatboy said:
Wake up!!! We are losing at everything, poker has similar results. Wtf are we doing wrong???
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All is not lost. I looked it up... You guys are still very dominate at the USopen Golf, but haven't won the Tennis version since 2003 😦
Fatboy said:
We collectively need to get our shit together before we lose at everything. Can’t blame cornhole, it’s not political. It’s a bigger problem than that. Our society is headed in the wrong direction and apparently it’s ok with most people. It’s not with me! Losing is for losers.
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Sign me up with those who believe it's the back alley rep that NA pool enjoys. You're development still hasn't gotten passed the parents envisioning smoke filled rooms and seedy individuals trying to turn their kids into criminals.

Maybe after another 10yrs of MR's international efforts will pool be seen in NA as a game played by the clean cut and successful.
 
Hungarian said:
But I'm very certain swapping purple from the 4 to the 5 was not a mistake or an oversight on MR's part. There is no good reason for it other than, in some kind of way for MR, they feel it sets their brand apart. It's a slap in the face to American Pool. It's an exaggerated sense of self righteousness.
.
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Matchroom/Emily Frazer did not swap the purple from 4 to 5!
When EF took over, all MR events and lots of other events all over the world (even including some in the US) were already using the Aramith Pro Cup TV colors. (pink 4, light brown 7).
When EF wants something, she does not like resistance!
EF wasn't really even aware of the traditional colors. She was basing her decisions/changes on the TV colored ball sets that she was familiar with.
So in her head all she has done is change the orange 5 to a purple 5.

Now this next bit is only my opinion........Because of the way EF operates, when she announced her demands, nobody around her had the balls to turn round and tell her "you can't do that, because the 4 ball was purple in the traditional sets"

Personally I like the TV colors. But if there is a purple in the ball set, it should always be the 4 ball
 
The_JV said:
Hey... that's still better than how the Canadians fared. We managed 2 into 64 and only 1 got to 32.

All is not lost. I looked it up... You guys are still very dominate at the USopen Golf, but haven't won the Tennis version since 2003 😦

Sign me up with those who believe it's the back alley rep that NA pool enjoys. You're development still hasn't gotten passed the parents envisioning smoke filled rooms and seedy individuals trying to turn their kids into criminals.

Maybe after another 10yrs of MR's international efforts will pool be seen in NA as a game played by the clean cut and successful.
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Pool had a bad image that’s for sure.
 
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