WNT Hanoi Open 2025, Vietnam, Oct 7-12

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A really fine effort from Labutis. Even when Moritz got a few back, he did it with good jumping and kicking that neutralized some of Pijus' exceptional safety play.

We have a very deserving champion!
 
When I see a ref running (or walking) around the table to stand behind the player I know he is completely inexperienced. He is there more for decoration than anything else. If a tricky situation came up he would be totally unprepared.
Jay, AFAIK in modern days it is the opposite. I've heard referees are trained to perform like that, in order to be out of sight of a shooting player. Of course there are exceptions to this, and a referee is free to take any position he/she feels ideal in order to make proper judgement, but in general it is kind of "hiding behind".
Would love to read more of your insight on this topic. Maybe you could even create a special thread where you comment on various situations arising, based on your own experience or view.
 
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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.
You definitely see things through biased, rose colored glasses because you are so happy that there is more pro pool to see, and probably to a lesser extent because she is a woman, and a half likeable and attractive one at that.

Anything good you just automatically attribute to Emily without any sound evidence for doing so, rather than to the Matchroom machine and know how that was already in place long before she ever arrived, and to the team that surrounds her. When we look only at the things we know are a direct result of her though, where we aren't having to make biased speculations and guesses about who should get the credit/responsiblity, but for those things we know she has been responsible for, they have largely been a disaster.

She has repeatedly proven that she is clueless and incompetent. The fact that there is still a purple five ball even today as we sit here and chat would be enough on its own to prove that, even if there was literally nothing else. Seriously, stop and think for a minute about the level of incompetence it takes to still have a purple five ball even today. The fact that Marcel is still a ref for Matchroom after so many years of incompetence on his part would be enough by itself to prove that as well, even if there was literally nothing else. Unfortunately those things aren't even alone though, and there are many more just like them.

Not only does your bias make you ascribe some Matchroom achievements to Emily without the evidence for doing so (and even in spite of evidence against doing so in some cases), it also makes you give her passes on things that were very clearly gross incompetence and that you would never give to anybody else in any other situation. I get it, she is likeable, half cute, and above all we are real happy we have more pool to see, but we can't let that blind our ability to see the facts for what they really are.

I will give you that she does appear to be a hard worker as best we can tell, but how much benefit is that when you are working hard with incompetence? Just makes it harder for the rest of the team to do a good job in spite of you. She might also be decent at bringing on new partners and securing venues and the like, but if so it just means that the right role for her at Matchroom would be in sales or PR, not as director, which she has shown over and over and over again she doesn't have even remotely close to the competency level for.
 
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Poolplaya9, you have a telling AZB signature, and mention many things which are up to the point. But bitter things about Matchroom are unpopular at AZB forums, and it makes little sense going over them here. Regardless of their clarity. I had to learn it my way, lol.
All we can do is merely watch how things unfold. There is a lot of dust to settle, so let's ride along.
 
is pijus close to getting a MC spot now?
It's the showrunners who are in the know. Who is who and who deserves what, by points earned and/or despite earning way too short or more than enough.
We will have to wait until the word is out.
 
You definitely see things through biased, rose colored glasses because you are so happy that there is more pro pool to see,
Yes, mine is the delight of a satisfied consumer of the pro pool product, and I know who made that possible. The WNT Tour has brought pro pool to a previously unattained level, giving us the best pro tour this century.
and probably to a lesser extent because she is a woman, and a half likeable and attractive one at that.
I have no idea how you figure this, but in truth, it is not clear how this is in any way pertinent to our online conversation. I have a long track record of supporting event producers of every kind, some of them old, some of them young, some of them men, some of them women.
She might also be decent at bringing on new partners and securing venues and the like, but if so it just means that the right role for her at Matchroom would be in sales or PR, not as director, which she has shown over and over and over again she doesn't have even remotely close to the competency level for.
At least you have backed down from the extreme view that she has not done anything right and has contributed nothing. The WNT tour has grown because of her skill in reaching out to new business partners and in making deals with venue sponsors.

Matchroom pool is run by Emily, not by the Matchroom machine to whom she reports.

In the business world, it is customary to give credit to the CEO of any company for the accomplishments that have occurred on their watch. Matchroom pool is a wholly owned subsidiary of Matchroom, but it has a CEO in Emily Frazer. The only thing you seem to be sure of is that all successes at Matchroom are due to the efforts of someone other than Emily and any failings of Matchroom must be attributable to Emily, rather than her superiors at Matchroom.

The Matchroom machine, as you call it, was never successful in growing pool in the way that Emily has. You may recall that their first dive into tournament pool came in the early 2000s with the World 9ball in Cardiff. It might have been the start of something big, but it ultimately led to nothing. Matchroom marched no further in the direction of producing major open tournaments. It remained that way for fifteen more years.

Emily, on the other hand, similarly began with just one major open tournament, the US Open 9ball. She made the business model work, and the 2019 US Open 9ball remains, for me, the greatest ever edition. Building on that success, she then methodically grew Matchroom pool into a viable pro tour. Emily succeeded where the Matchroom machine had failed. Her efforts have globalized pro pool in a way that the Matchroom machine never managed. Emily has made Matchroom pool a truly global brand, and it was nothing close to that before she came along.

Matchroom pro pool is a product that is growing rapidly and successfully. As you and I realize, it is a product that still needs development, but only three full seasons of the WNT Tour have been completed, and I am in awe of how good the product is today.

Nobody knows what's coming next for Matchroom pool, but for me personally, it has been a joy ride to this point.
 
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