Matchroom launch World Nineball Tour

It was a bit overshadowed by Judgement Day(s) but on Wednesday Matchroom launched a new World Nineball Tour for Pool.

https://metro.co.uk/2023/04/12/world-ni ... -18600320/

In the last couple of years Matchroom Multi-Sport have been putting increased efforts into promoting 9 ball Pool including taking over the long running US Open which featured Judd Trump in 2021. This had been led by Emily Frazer and now they are going to promote a World Tour with Barry Hearn talking about replicating the success of PDC Darts. The fact that Matchroom are putting such a huge effort into promoting another cue sport with Barry Hearn's personal involvement is a serious issue for Snooker. Hearn even mentions how many more people play Pool than Snooker in the above article. It's not going to kill Snooker but it's something that shouldn't be ignored.

buck pool

Pink Ball wrote:buck pool

I haven’t come across that variation

It’s strange how you think this could be negative for snooker. I don’t get that at all.

Prize money in Pool is really poor compared to Snooker.

Juddernaut88 wrote:Prize money in Pool is really poor compared to Snooker.

Well yes beacasue they don't have the same TV numbers.

Matchroom have always run pool events, I went to the World Cup of Pool doubles in London a few years ago.

Dan-cat wrote:It’s strange how you think this could be negative for snooker. I don’t get that at all.

It could go either way. It could be a positive for Cue Sports in general, or a sign Matchroom see Pool as the sport with the brighter future.

Matchroom take the next step.

Matchroom explain the new world to the WPA.

What, if any, impact on snooker?

So WST makes the promotion of his concurrent 9-pool for the benefit of Hearns family.
It is like if World Rugby advertises Rugby League.

gninnur karona wrote:Matchroom take the next step.

Matchroom explain the new world to the WPA.

What, if any, impact on snooker?

What Matchroom are doing is using their connections in snooker (relationships with players, commentators, officials, organisers) to build its preferred sport: US Pool. And most people in snooker (e.g. fans) are so apothetic, they just let it happen: snooker sliding into oblivion.

KrazeeEyezKilla wrote:

Dan-cat wrote:It’s strange how you think this could be negative for snooker. I don’t get that at all.

It could go either way. It could be a positive for Cue Sports in general, or a sign Matchroom see Pool as the sport with the brighter future.

Is it bullocks.

SnookerFan wrote:

KrazeeEyezKilla wrote:

Dan-cat wrote:It’s strange how you think this could be negative for snooker. I don’t get that at all.

It could go either way. It could be a positive for Cue Sports in general, or a sign Matchroom see Pool as the sport with the brighter future.

Is it bullocks.

He's surely trolling, given the massive and established fanbase that snooker has around the world.

I'd like to see Rod the Plod take 30 seconds over a pool shot

These quotes from Hearn in the article from April

‘We know there are more nineball pool players in the world than snooker, and yet nine-ball pool is a fraction of the size,’ President of Matchroom Hearn told Metro.co.uk.

‘Someone like me sees that and thinks it doesn’t work. There’s 32 million once-a-month players in the United States alone. So we dwarf any other cue sport. But that’s just the number, how do you commercialise that?"

‘Sport must change people’s lives for it to be successful. This is the beginning of changing the biggest cue sport in the world and the lives of the people that play it. Where it is going to go I have no idea, but I know it will be a humungous success, as always."

Yes - at an amateur participation level it is the biggest cue sport in the world.

At no point do I think Hearn would intend for increased pool tournaments to affect any coverage or the success of the snooker tour, he is simply expanding Matchroom into a different area.

que?

Propiel! To whom do you refer? I was christened Dan.

I edited my own quote :-P

Prop wrote:

Dan-cat wrote:I edited my own quote :-P

Hmmmmmmmmmm.

?