WNT, WPA and 2026

... Matchroom had created several big pool events over the years - the World Pool Masters (1993), the Mosconi Cup (1994) and the World Cup of Pool (2006). But that seemed to be the extent of its ambition.

Then … MR decided to expand. Barry Hearn always had a dream of creating a global pro sport out of billiards. It’s a true passion of his.

At the same time, though, he must have realized pro pool was stagnating. Something had to be done to make sure the Mosconi would not just survive, but thrive. It was a crown jewel of Matchroom.

The first step was obtaining the rights to the US Open, which MR acquired in 2018. Two years later, MR bought the rights to the World Pool Championship. The next step was to create the Premier League of Pool in 2021.

The biggest decision came in 2022. Matchroom decided to create the World Nine Ball tour.

Not officially - that would come a year later. Yet 2022 was when Matchroom started up the UK and European opens. Hanoi would follow a year later in 2023 ...

TBC
 
jbart65 said:
... The relative downfall of the sport is what paved the way for Matchroom. It thought it saw an opportunity it could take and exploit.
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The first real open tournament Matchroom ran was the newly-purchased US Open Nine Ball in April, 2019 at The Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. That was about the same time that the Mosconi Cup started making money.

Matchroom did run the World Pool Championship four times around 2000, but the entries were all invited.
 
... The creation of the WNT was obviously a pivotal event. Matchroom gained momentum, most of the top players in the world joined the tour and the company tried to flex its muscles.

It soon became quite clear MR had little further use for the WPA. It came to view the association as a roadblock to its plans after the WPA would not agree to the WNT’s ranking system for 9 ball. They tussled over MR’s desire to tinker with the official rules.

Matchroom also saw the slow-moving WPA as a leach on any potential earnings in a sport whose profits were quite thin. The WPA did basically nothing and wanted a cut of the action even though Matchroom took all the financial risk. Or so MR seemed to think.

The falling out between Matchroom and Predator happened even before the dispute with the WPA. Predator was actually an original sponsor of the newly created PLP in 2021, and it had been a partner of Matchroom going back more than a decade.

The 2021 PLP famously created a lot of friction over the required wearing of Predator sponsor decals on the shirts of players backed by other cuemakers. SVB, Gorst and Woodward dropped out of the event.

The friction between MR and Predator probably started then, but only got worse from there. The reasons are not entirely clear ...

TBC
 
jbart65 said:
... Matchroom had created several big pool events over the years - the World Pool Masters (1993), the Mosconi Cup (1994) and the World Cup of Pool (2006). But that seemed to be the extent of its ambition.

Then … MR decided to expand. Barry Hearn always had a dream of creating a global pro sport out of billiards. It’s a true passion of his.

At the same time, though, he must have realized pro pool was stagnating. Something had to be done to make sure the Mosconi would not just survive, but thrive. It was a crown jewel of Matchroom.

The first step was obtaining the rights to the US Open, which MR acquired in 2018. Two years later, MR bought the rights to the World Pool Championship. The next step was to create the Premier League of Pool in 2021.
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This is not accurate. Matchroom obtained the rights to the World 9ball in 2000 and produced it in Cardiff, Wales from 2000-03. In fact, the 2002 World 9ball final, in which Strickland beat Bustamante 17-15 is on the short list of the most memorable pool matches ever played. Yes, the level was higher than what we would get a few years later with Wu Jiaqing and Po Cheng Kuo.

Sadly, after 2003, the event was lost and it moved to Asia where it remained until 2021. Matchroom reacquired the World 9ball in 2021 and has produced it ever since.

As you note, Matchroom's acquisition of the US Open 9ball in 2018 was the launching point for Matchroom's re-entry into big field pool tournaments and it led to the eventual formation of the WNT.
 
sjm said:
This is not accurate. Matchroom obtained the rights to the World 9ball in 2000 and produced it in Cardiff, Wales from 2000-03. In fact, the 2002 World 9ball final, in which Strickland beat Bustamante 17-15 is on the short list of the most memorable pool matches ever played. Yes, the level was higher than what we would get a few years later with Wu Jiaqing and Po Cheng Kuo.

Sadly, after 2003, the event was lost and it moved to Asia where it remained until 2021. Matchroom reacquired the World 9ball in 2021 and has produced it ever since.

As you note, Matchroom's acquisition of the US Open 9ball in 2018 was the launching point for Matchroom's re-entry into big field pool tournaments and it led to the eventual formation of the WNT.
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Matchroom did not buy the long term rights (in perpetuity) to the WPC in 2000, as it did in 2020. So I viewed the 2000-2003 period as a one-off well before the company committed to a global tour 20 years later. Going into detail about that three-year period didn’t seem necessary to me, but thanks for adding your insight.
 
I don't see the diluted fields (compared to a few years ago) being an issue. The fields are strong, new players are coming through, and there are more and more elite players - the game is way stronger at all levels. It won't be long before the "diluted" fields are stronger than the fields of a few years ago when all the "top" (according to someone's list) were all repeatedly at the same events.

The US golf tour has always been stronger than it would have been if the European/World/whatever it's called now tour didn't exist.

Pool is booming globally in terms of strength, exposure and participation.
 
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jbart65 said:
Panozzo said Shane Van Boening doesn’t like Europe and probably won’t go to the UK Open. He also suggested other top U.S. players might not go, either.
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SVB was never the keenest of travellers. Now that he has a World Championship in the bag and has probably made enough money from the game to see life out, I'm not surprised if that reluctance to travel has kicked back in.
 
Swighey said:
SVB was never the keenest of travellers. Now that he has a World Championship in the bag and has probably made enough money from the game to see life out, I'm not surprised if that reluctance to travel has kicked back in.
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Can't blame him, he's accomplished almost everything except the World 10Ball title. He's 40+ and BCA HOF'er, and has said in some interviews that he maybe has 5-10 years left in pro pool. He would much rather spend his time fishing. There's nothing left for him to prove, he makes a decent living and has been one of the smart ones to invest his money instead of gambling it away. I love to see pro pool players retire comfortably. A rarity in our sport. His farewell tour will be one for the ages.
 
jbart65 said:
... Take the U.S. Open. The winner, Earl Strickland, got $50,000 in 2000. The top prize remained $50,000 - or less - for almost a quarter century until MR raised it to $100,000 in 2024. ...
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Yes, Strickland, in 2000, was the first U.S. Open winner to receive $50k. For the next 17 years it fell back to $30k or $40k except for 2012 (one of SVB's wins), when it was just $25k. The $50k returned for the 5 events from 2019-2024. Then Yapp was first winner to get the big increase to $100k, in 2025 (not '24).
 
There are too many overlapping events causing the top players to scatter all over resulting in a lot of un interesting one sided matches that are too boring to watch.
Basically as viewers we can skip to the semifinals of the events.

There is already a format that works great, it’s the pro snooker tour and it simply should be copied.
 
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