Will WNT World Championship in Jeddah Put Pool on the Map in Mainstream Media?

Will WNT World Championship in Jeddah Put Pool on the Map in Mainstream Media?

  • Yes. Pool will rise in popularity on a global scale.

    Votes: 13 30.2%

  • No. Pool's popularity will not change.

    Votes: 30 69.8%
  • Total voters
    43
Nothing will save pool in NA. To fixated on crap that doesn't matter. Like ball colour and pocket size.

I have no doubt the world's will inflate the game for the rest of the world.
 
Badpenguin said:
Pool is already rising in popularity on a global scale, but I highly doubt it will have anything to do with this event being staged in Saudi Arabia. If anything, the association with Saudi Arabia may hurt pool in some countries.

The draw video came across as very uncomfortable to me, like a beheading was about to happen or something. This is a culture that is abhorrent to me, and selling out to them strictly for the $$ is detestable at best. But I will watch and try to pretend that this isn't happening where it is. Hopefully the players will stay within their predefined boundaries and not do anything that requires them to be stoned to death, beheaded, have appendages chopped off, and so on. God forbid Pia tries to drive somewhere without a husband with her.
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same. and we see it in all sports now, but i for one make a difference between a pool player trying to win 250k and a multimillionaire golfer or tennis player trying to get even richer. i know that isn't philosophically stringent or whatever, i just think pro pool players are due earning this kind of money for their craft. jmho.
 
Hey, if someone
The_JV said:
Nothing will save pool in NA. To fixated on crap that doesn't matter. Like ball colour and pocket size.

I have no doubt the world's will inflate the game for the rest of the world.
Click to expand...
Hey... if someone changed the 'colour' of the Molson leaf, you Canucks would you be all up in maple syrup about it. :p:ROFLMAO:
Some traditions just don't need changed, this was one.

As far as the poll goes... it might bump it up a drip or 2, anything is better than nothing. And the prize monies are growing so you know the players are interested.
 
JAM said:
As an aside, I read something on Facebook by someone in the know who said when the World Snooker Championship was held in Jeddah, they had trouble filling the seats in the audience until the final days.
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It never happened (yet). Wild guess could be that a long-term agreement recently achieved with SAR sheikhs finally forces snooker World Championship to leave its sacred place, namely The Crucible Theatre in Sheffield. But as of now, it stays there.
 
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8cree said:
Hey, if someone

Hey... if someone changed the 'colour' of the Molson leaf, you Canucks would you be all up in maple syrup about it. :p:ROFLMAO:
Some traditions just don't need changed, this was one.

As far as the poll goes... it might bump it up a drip or 2, anything is better than nothing. And the prize monies are growing so you know the players are interested.
Click to expand...
That's some funny shit right there. Don't be dissin' Canuck staples like maple syrup-n-beer. ;) What else do they have to live for really?? ;)
 
No, not if the commentators dress like they're going to the bar standing next to a guy in a thawb.

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When we are at the UK Open they were showing Sky Sports in the bars I went into. They were also showing the UK open on most of their TV's. Pool is only not big in the US. The rest of the world I think has more of an audience. But than again our pool fans here just talk negative about everything pool.
 
I’m going to say “no”, but a strong world championship is an important piece of the puzzle. No single event or format will elevate pool even if all the big news outlets have a piece on the increased prize money.

if you look at the history of sport, it’s usually the right player or team winning something notable with the right amount of coverage. Think Tiger Woods Masters win in 1997. But before that can happen the WNT needs to be fully formed so people root for players to chase records and established titles. Without a healthy and established tour there is no way to capitalize on the attention.
 
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skogstokig said:
same. and we see it in all sports now, but i for one make a difference between a pool player trying to win 250k and a multimillionaire golfer or tennis player trying to get even richer. i know that isn't philosophically stringent or whatever, i just think pro pool players are due earning this kind of money for their craft. jmho.
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I agree that pro pool players should have a shot at earning this kind of money. However, many of these pros might not fully comprehend the cost that goes along with this money. With a big enough social media presence, if some pro player says something that some random "prince" doesn't like, that player can get onto a list and the Saudi state security apparatus can be called to murder them, anywhere in the world, at any time. Once you take that money, you better mind what you say, you are in bed with them.
 
Badpenguin said:
Pool is already rising in popularity on a global scale, but I highly doubt it will have anything to do with this event being staged in Saudi Arabia. If anything, the association with Saudi Arabia may hurt pool in some countries.

The draw video came across as very uncomfortable to me, like a beheading was about to happen or something. This is a culture that is abhorrent to me, and selling out to them strictly for the $$ is detestable at best. But I will watch and try to pretend that this isn't happening where it is. Hopefully the players will stay within their predefined boundaries and not do anything that requires them to be stoned to death, beheaded, have appendages chopped off, and so on. God forbid Pia tries to drive somewhere without a husband with her.

Matchroom continues to screw the US audience with DAZN-only viewing access. I think matchroom has given up on US support for pool and is growing it without counting on us.
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From what I can tell, Matchroom (all sports, not just pool) is stuck with DAZN for years to come unless DAZN goes out of business. DAZN loses like $50M a year but it still appears to have active investors.
 
I’m near Jeddah. I wish I have gone there to watch it live however I can see it in my local sport tv so that’s a plus for me.

However for you guys in the US; you can still watch it. Please use VPN it’s legal, if I was living in the United States I wouldn’t be able to live without vpn/ don’t allow government regions to control you. It’s not ok. Just get a vpn then research which region is best to watch what. It’s that simple
 
kling&allen said:
From what I can tell, Matchroom (all sports, not just pool) is stuck with DAZN for years to come unless DAZN goes out of business. DAZN loses like $50M a year but it still appears to have active investors.
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Since '19 their pre-tax losses have been around ONE BILLION pounds PER YEAR That's some assreaming. Who bankrolls this trainwreck?? Putin??
 
Looks like DAZN's two main players are a ex-Israeli army computer whiz and a Ukrainian cold war leftover tycoon. Very assuring. Just the guys i wanna give any records/data to. Barry Hearn &Co. need to ditch these shady tool sacs.
 
Badpenguin said:
Pool is already rising in popularity on a global scale, but I highly doubt it will have anything to do with this event being staged in Saudi Arabia. If anything, the association with Saudi Arabia may hurt pool in some countries.

The draw video came across as very uncomfortable to me, like a beheading was about to happen or something. This is a culture that is abhorrent to me, and selling out to them strictly for the $$ is detestable at best. But I will watch and try to pretend that this isn't happening where it is. Hopefully the players will stay within their predefined boundaries and not do anything that requires them to be stoned to death, beheaded, have appendages chopped off, and so on. God forbid Pia tries to drive somewhere without a husband with her.

Matchroom continues to screw the US audience with DAZN-only viewing access. I think matchroom has given up on US support for pool and is growing it without counting on us.
Click to expand...
Yeah, the draw was lackluster on all accounts. The most entertaining thing being them butchering names (butchering things isn't unfamiliar in Saudi I guess...).

I was expecting Karl and Jeremy to put in a little more enthusiasm when talking up some of the match-ups. Some real missed opportunity to generate genuine enthusiasm, or explain/create some interest about some of the lesser-known players or potential match-ups... I was sat watching it, describing them all to myself... I know I have been following for just over a year (bits and pieces before that), and I know I am a sponge-like freak, but seriously, felt like they barely knew some of these players. Some potentially great match-ups, and enthusiasm surrounding them could have been better. Other sports create great enthusiasm around the draw, and it should set the tone for the event...

Found for all the hype that players have been encouraged to spread on Socials, it has generally to been an underwhelming start to the tournament.

Venue is cool, hope it has some atmosphere coming into the later stages of the tourney. Wonder which player Saudi money has paid to lift the trophy 😋
 
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garczar said:
they added it because Johnsonville brats is buying the airtime. ESPN will show mice jerking-off if someone pays them enough.
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It is amazing how many STILL don't grasp this. Cornhole (and now jai alai) are on broadcast television because they are paying for the airtime. Pool could be back on ESPN tomorrow if they stroked a similar check.
 
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