WNT Hanoi Open 2025, Vietnam, Oct 7-12

Yes, we do disagree. Emily is an exceptional event producer and manager, a confirmed workaholic who has been very successful in bringing pro pool to every corner of the globe.

To be fair, an officiating issue is a relatively trivial matter to the CEO of Matchroom Pool. I think it is improbable that she is the one that has hired and certified the referees that preside at the Matchroom majors. I believe that pool referees and the certification process fall under the oversight of WPA and that failures to properly enforce the rules on the books are dealt with by WPA.

You will recall that after "Waxgate" at the World 9ball, it was WPA that sent out the press release that indicated that doctoring of the cue ball during play fell under unsportsmanlike conduct and that tournament officials had ignored a rule already on the books.

The solution here lies in better training of referees. This is not a management level issue.

In 2023, Brendan Moore retired from snooker refereeing to become Matchroom Pool’s Tournament Director. I haven’t seen much of him lately and wondered if he’s still with Matchroom or if Marcel Eckardt may have stepped into that role. Ben Fuentes-Taylor is a great addition to the Matchroom referee team. I think he does a fantastic job. And Marcel? I’ve been a fan since his snooker days. He’s professional and composed, though like anyone, capable of making mistakes.

I remember the 1988 Brunswick Open, when Keith McCready played Efren “Bata” Reyes, with Steve Mizerak in the booth. The referee called a foul on Efren for a bad hit, one that many, including Keith, thought was good. But the call stood, and Keith kept shooting and won. He later admitted it was probably a bad call. Just goes to show referees are human too, making split-second decisions under pressure. It happens in all sports.


Karma is a b*tch. Man overboard for Keith right after the bad foul call on Efren.

As for Emily Frazer, while I don’t agree with every branding change she’s made for the World Nineball Tour, I admire her drive. She’s pushing pool forward, giving it energy and visibility like never before. Still, being a woman in what’s long been a male-dominated sport means she faces criticism her male counterparts rarely get. Every move she makes gets picked apart, sometimes unfairly. I used to not care for her cheeky replies to American pool fourth estate, but I have since realized that it's British humor, which is a bit dry for me as an American.

And yes, she’s stunning, which unfortunately draws even more unnecessary attention. But she handles it with confidence, humor, and grit. She’s not just managing the show; she’s helping reshape it.

The WNT is alive, growing, and reaching new audiences. There’s plenty to celebrate, right?
 
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Am I right to think the finals starts at 8 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time, like an hour and a half from the time of this post?

At 21, Moritz Neuhausen is the highest-ranked European player of the season and has been in full beast mode all week, taking no prisoners. Pijus Labutis, 27, continues to impress in 2025 and isn’t backing down without a fight.

This one might just be a pick ’em for the bookmakers, and honestly, I’ll be happy no matter who takes it. Both deserve it

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Photo credits: Matchroom Pool
 
She has done nothing but make bad decisions, and lots of them. Matchroom only continues to run because they have a lot of money to throw at it, and because the team around her is able to keep it mostly going in spite of Emily and all her horrible decision making, and make no mistake about it, it absolutely is in spite of her and not because of her.

This is just another in a long list that could be made about all the ways she has shown gross incompetence and made horrible decisions. Marcel is legendary for his own incompetence, not little mistakes, but legitimate total incompetence. Obviously Emily hears about it every time he makes another massive mistake because it gets widely discussed everywhere and the whole pool world hears about it. Even if he is not a direct report employee to Emily, when your head referee is so incompetent that the whole pool world talks about it, over and over, for years, it is an Emily problem. When you head referee is so bad that it literally affects the fairness and outcomes of your events, often, it is an Emily problem. Period. And years later she still hasn't solved the problem. That couldn't happen for that long if anybody with any competence were in charge.

One would be hard pressed to name anything of any significance that Emily does or has done well (that is due to her, not her team), but her incompetent blunders continue to pile up one after another as time goes by.

Oh, and have you ever heard about the purple five ball?
Wow, what a misinformed post. You can't name anything Emily has done well? I nearly fell out of my chair when I read that!

Emily, through constant travel and sustained workaholism, has reached out to venue sponsors all over the world to produce great events and has, consequently, created the best professional pool tour since the 1990's. This is just the fourth year of the WNT, but Emily has already produced at least one major in each of England, Poland, Bosnia, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, Philippines, United States, and Spain.

She has also reached out all over the world to establish new Matchroom affiliated ranking events. In 2023, Emily added ranking events in Scotland, Poland, Spain, and Vietnam. In 2024, WNT ranking events were added in Colombia, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Maldives, Finland, Morocco, and Portugal. In 2025, WNT ranking points could also be earned in Bosnia, Romania, and the Philippines. Wow!

Emily has greatly raised the bar for pool productions, too. As a 50-year fan of pro pool, I can tell you that I've never seen better event productions than those of Matchroom. For starters, Matchroom productions almost never run behind schedule. They have the best tournament rooms and the best arenas that I have ever experienced. Their studio hosts and interview teams are the best I've ever seen. Emily has also assembled the best commentary team in our sport's history. She has grown the Mosconi Cup into an extravaganza that I doubt even Barry Hearn could have ever imagined, and the last one in Orlando was, in my opinion, the best ever Mosconi Cup.

Why you would believe that her team made all of this happen in spite of her is beyond me. Emily herself has done most of the legwork to internationalize pool in a way that already exceeds anything I could have ever imagined. It has been her negotiating skills and charisma that have resulted in the worldwide business relationships that make the WNT possible. The WNT brand is very strong in our sport and she is the reason.

It is no secret that I am among Emily's greatest advocates, but I will not pretend that I agree with everything Emily has done (purple five and poor officiating unaddressed are good examples of where I am not satisfied), but she usually gets things right and the result is a highly entertaining, sustainable worldwide pool tour that is wowing people in America, Europe and Asia.

If you do not enjoy WNT events, it is your every right not to watch, but most pool fans view the WNT as a godsend that came in the wake of some of the leanest years pro pool had ever seen.

Emily is a dedicated and shrewd business-woman and she has already done a lot to bring our sport to a previously unsurpassed level. It is hard to believe that you cannot see that.
 
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OK, it's finals time. Two guys trying for their first WNT major, and it's hard to root against either. Each is a good role model for our sport, as composed and professional outside of the arena as inside. I am pleased to call both of them friends.

I recall that they met in the semis of the 2024 International 9ball and Mortiz got the best of Pijus on that occasion before falling to Yapp in the final.

This match should be a good one, but my sense of things is that Mortiz has been a bit more consistent than Pijus this week and is the slight favorite.
 
Wow, what a misinformed post. You can't name anything Emily has done well? I nearly fell out of my chair when I read that!

Emily, through constant travel and sustained workaholism, has reached out to venue sponsors all over the world to produce great events and has, consequently, created the best professional pool tour since the 1990's. This is just the fourth year of the WNT, but Emily has already produced at least one major in each of England, Poland, Bosnia, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, Philippines, United States, and Spain.

She has also reached out all over the world to establish new Matchroom affiliated ranking events. In 2023, Emily added ranking events in Scotland, Poland, Spain, and Vietnam. In 2024, WNT ranking events were added in Colombia, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Maldives, Finland, Morocco, and Portugal. In 2025, WNT ranking points could also be earned in Bosnia, Romania, and the Philippines. Wow!

Emily has greatly raised the bar for pool productions, too. As a 50-year fan of pro pool, I can tell you that I've never seen better event productions than those of Matchroom. For starters, Matchroom productions almost never run behind schedule. They have the best tournament rooms and the best arenas that I have ever experienced. Their studio hosts and interview teams are the best I've ever seen. Emily has also assembled the best commentary team in our sport's history. She has grown the Mosconi Cup into an extravaganza that I doubt even Barry Hearn could have ever imagined, and the last one in Orlando was, in my opinion, the best ever Mosconi Cup.

Why you would believe that her team made all of this happen in spite of her is beyond me. Emily herself has done most of the legwork to internationalize pool in a way that already exceeds anything I could have ever imagined. It has been her negotiating skills and charisma that have resulted in the worldwide business relationships that make the WNT possible. The WNT brand is very strong in our sport and she is the reason.

It is no secret that I am among Emily's greatest advocates, but I will not pretend that I agree with everything Emily has done (purple five and poor officiating unaddressed are good examples), but she usually gets things right and the result is a highly entertaining, sustainable worldwide pool tour that is wowing people in America, Europe and Asia.

If you do not enjoy WNT events, it is your every right not to watch, but most pool fans view the WNT as a godsend that came in the wake of some of the leanest years pro pool had ever seen.

Emily is a dedicated and shrewd business-woman and she has already done a lot to bring our sport to a previously unsurpassed level. It is hard to believe that you cannot see that.

good summary. also there is a yearly 250k first prize for the world champ, 100k for the US open winner. hard to hate on that..

moritz up 3-2, pijus with the break now
 
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I interrupt this regularly scheduled finals to bring you some breaking news from Window's Open. This just in.

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I interrupt this regularly scheduled finals to bring you some breaking news from Window's Open. This just in.

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That's great news. The late release of the 2025 schedule led to an unfortunate situation in which several elite players had to skip the UK Open because they had already committed to an expo in Asia. On average, early release of the schedule suits both the interests of fans and players alike, and should help to strengthen fields.
 
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So many pool events, to include a snooker semifinals, and not enough screens. Flash just won the Predator WPA 10-ball Championship against her buddy, Rubilen. Shaun Murphy v. Gary Wilson in the Xi'an Grand Prix semifinals (winner plays Mark Williams in the finals. And Moritz v. Pijus in this Hanoi Open.

Pijus just scored and is 2 away for the win, 11-7.
 
Pijus on the hill. Every shot from here on in, if Moritz gets one, he'll be on the knife's edge.
 
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