they done the same with Darts... BDO was the original and they didnt adapt and improve then Matchroom came along and made the PDC and the rest is history.
Probably but also pool needs more order. You can't be a world champion every tourney. They need to come together with different organizations amd have 4-6 majors a year like golf
@jamesbourque2944 what's your source on this? Matchroom has literally come out to say they will not ban any players if they choose to compete in other events. Either you're blowing smoke, or you got bad information.
Thank you so much for the explanation. I didn’t know what was going on, and I watch a lot of pool. Like others I have my favorite players and I like to stay updated.
@@KarlsCracklingCottonMouth they didn't ban him, just decided not to include him in an invitational kind of event, I'm quite sure he's still able to join other matchroom tournaments
Thank you, I was unaware of this. I was wondering why certain players were not at recent tournaments. Billiards is far from the most popular sport already. These decisions from the leadership seem very petty and short-sighted.
The WPA Shouldn't decide Shit the players play to make a living and achieve to win the best titles with the payouts offered that are 50k to 100k for first place
Sounds to me like the WPA just don’t want Asians. Good for the players to Boycott them and Shame on Filler and Oshan, they showed they can’t be trusted. I think maybe as fans we need to Boycott The WPA, Filler, and Oshan as well as their sponsors.
Discrimination?….. Again…. Use words discrimination…. Think before use words “ Don’t like Asian “. You have to follow the rule …. Do you look over all documents before you are sign with WPA if you are members?.
@@chile5565 ok. DISCRIMIATION. WPA IS DISCRINATING. I don’t have to be a member to see discrimination but yea, I was a member and will soon drop them in boycott. Ass wipe.
If you made it to the end of this video, persevered in the face of a seven minute demand on your tiktok attention span, you are probably an adult after all.
Good video explanation. For my part, I'm very, very conflicted about what's going on at the moment. On the one hand, I find the WPA's pressure on players completely pathetic, but on the other, I consider Matchroom's exclusion of Josh Filler from the Reyes Cup to be a huge mistake: Matchroom has done exactly what many criticize the WPA for doing, namely preventing players from playing the tournaments of their choice. And I wouldn't be surprised to see a ban for the Mosconi Cup soon. Similarly, I find it odd that we focus on the players and don't ask questions about the federations and Predator's influence: strangely enough, it's the federations with the best players that support the WPA (Germany, Poland) and all the players in the turmoil have in common that they are sponsored by Predator. At this point, it's no coincidence: there's pressure on players from federations and sponsors, and when Filler asserts that Predator has nothing to do with it, everyone reads the opposite between the lines. I also note that Biado, also sponsored by Predator, has played several WPA events, but nobody spits on him like some "fans" do with Filler and Ouschan. In short, from my point of view, the WPA has shot itself in the foot, but Matchroom has also shown its true colours: neither of them really cares about the players. If either organization were truly serving the game and the players (and not their own financial interests), they wouldn't be using them as hostages.
matchroom isn't a federation or something like that, they are a company that promotes sports events, so of course they put their financial interest first. it would be naive to think anything else. that said, players in darts and snooker have definitely profited from matchrooms involvement as the prize money and the number of big events have increased a lot since matchroom took control. i'm sure they would do a much better job in growing professional pool. they have done a good job promoting snooker in china and i can see them do sth like that for pool. asia (especially southeast asia) has huge potential. many people know how popular it is in the philipines, but go to a country like vietnam and it's not very different, they have amazing pool halls in major cities and you can even find pool tables in small villages (i once played against the owner of a little grocery store in a village of about 500 people, he had a table in his shop and people would meet there in the evening to play or watch). WPA seems to ignore this, but matchroom is already there (as seen with the hanoi open and the reyes cup)
Dont forget some athletes have had contracts with sponsors that require them obligation to play in main WPA official tournaments, these athletes receive regular income (wages) from sponsors, most athletes relying on this as their bread and butters for their family welfare security. Not all pool athletes can survive living on tournament prize money or even gambling money in poolbars
@@maroly8342 think they are ,too. flying around the world, living in hotels isn t that cheap. so a regular income is very appreciated. add to it, that you also have to pay taxes and wanna build a home somewhere , sometimel. making a black or red decision isn t that easy, ask some roulette guys;)
I wonder how long the Predator/WPA contract runs. IMHO this ban may kill their contract. Predator would be a great addition to Match Room (especially if they could convince MR to go back to a purple 4 ball). It’s all about the money - once the sponsorships dry up so will the WPA.
@@anthonykeller5120 you're maybe right..not only predator, also some big brands (table, cloth, cues, etc) this situation is narrowing scope of their brand exposures in the pool world.
@@maroly8342 as far as social media news involved they only focus on these two names, in reality there are many more top names affected and put in dillemma
It's like what happened in the darts 20 odd years ago. The WPA are the BDO and matchroom are the PDC. Matchroom/sky sports will prevail and pool will blossom into a massive sport with huge prize pots the way the PDC did. The end is nigh for the stupid WPA thankfully.
This is the end of the WPA and an apology won’t fix it. Filler and Ouschan should stay in all WPA events to take as much money as possible and actually discourage local pros from attending. Matchroom should destroy WPA women’s events by coming out with better ones with more money won.
If predator was smart, they would join with the Matchroom, just like Cuetec. Maybe that's why Filler, who is a predator sponsored player so loyal to WPA
Well said. Experienced the same situation in the ballroom dance industry. Instead of promoting the industry and sport, they want to control their income and participants. We’re all just pawns in their game
poker competitions has many tournaments..I never heard of them excluding anyone from playing in a tournament ..big money tournaments make the sport legit.and inspires a new generation of pool players .. WPA is absolutely wrong..!
Not only do Filler and Ouschan have contacts with predator they also belong to Federations that pay there travel, hotel, and tournament entries. Another thing that needs to be brought up is the other disciplines in the game of pool Matchroom only does 9 ball whereas WPA does 8, 9, and 10. Now I don't agree with the what the WPA did and also if Filler and Ouschan going back on there word. Matchroom is great for the players and the future of this sport. Ultimately predator and WPA will have to make a decision to either hold ground or come to a compromise with Matchroom because Matchroom holds all the cards at this point. They easily have the most talented players in this sport by a large margin and have shown they can turn things around for a sport. Just look at Snooker and Darts.
Firstly, i need to congratulate the video maker for his excellent job. I am 100% agreed. Your points are all valid. At the end, it's all about dirty politics!! When Mosconi Cup has started, Asia had only a couple of strong players (eventhough one of them was one, if not, the best player in history of pool), so, it was inevitable to include US and Europe as a duel, kinda like a Ryder Cup in golf. But...in the last 15 years, pool has grown so much in Asia with so many excellent players playing and winning many many important tournaments. So, ''the wise men'' instead of saying: ''Look, we have to include Asia as well in the Mosconi Cup, a tournament which will last one or two weeks, find a format with points so we can accomodate all three participants and rename the Mosconi Cup to Mosconi/Reyes Cup'', what they have done? They start banning players for political reasons using extortion to not Asian players knowing their commitment and obbligations coming from contractual agreements with their sponsors (most of them US based). These people do care about pool? Sure they do!! As much as earth is flat...
I Didn't know all these details about the banning behavior.. what a shame how sports bosses are lacking fairness and good values.. All pro players should stand together and resist...
I've warned many for over 2 decades that the WPA sought Olympic Membership as part of their strategy to monopolize the sport. I know this is an AI summary, but it covers some important points. Monopolization of a sport often leads to decreased development of a game and power over the players. New and better versions of the game are likely if the WPA's power is throttled.
Climbing up to become a top pro pool sport athlete takes your full time attention, sacrifice in many aspects of your life including (sometimes) your formal school, when grown up you cant have any other serious side jobs outside the field to help you pay the bills. They are not playing just for hobby in pool bars. We need to understand this perspective too, not just simply choose which side is a popular or liked choice by netizens
Johan Chua said it. The players are being made to suffer for the envy greed and mismanagement of 1 organization. If they really represent the sport and the players they will find a resolution that allows the players to play whatever events they want
Great video explaining what is going on. Money talks, and once it starts hurting Predator et al on the bottom line, that is when WPA will be under pressure to reverse their stance. But will it be too late for WPA?
New to pool here, have a table, practicing a lot, have been looking at rules/leagues etc. Trying to find events in my area. Never wasting my time with a WPA tournament at any level if they ban the best players. What do I have to aspire to... Its like throwing your organization on a live grenade.
Matchroom has been careful to schedule their events to not conflict with WPA events. Now they can just ignore the WPA and schedule as many events as they want whenever they want. Go Matchroom! Go Emily!
I'd love to watch the matchroom. Just shut down WPA and pick up the ladies' help to make them a little more money as well. I appreciate the content, and im a fan of Matchroom 100% Filler is a good player, but without competition, Filler might as well be a high school kid going to a child's daycare looking for a fight.
How many decades has the WPA been around, yet not once has any cue sport appeared in the Olympics. It should have been dissolved years ago. Its a bureaucracy based on control, and that's why Matchroom is so successful. The WPA isn't interested in elevating cue sports, just controlling it. Matchroom honed their craft with Snooker and then took the Pool world by storm because the market opportunity is there directly because of the WPA's decades of inaction. US Ultimate Pool is great to watch! A 9 ball speed game with 8 ball!? Amazing.
This was one of the reasons why billiards wasn’t chosen in Paris 2024 as an Olympic sport, but shitty “sports” like Breakdance were, a total lack of organization. I don’t know how snooker works but 3-Cushion is the same shit, with UBM fighting against PBA. As long as this mess continues billiards will be an amateur sport forever
That's what I was saying and now that the WPA has foolishly stood their ground instead of changing stance and allowing players freedom, Matchroom no longer has to schedule events around WPA events. The WPA needs to start kissing ass and make a complete 180 or they won't exist at all
It think boils down to fewer bigger tournaments for WPA to sanction/host. Meaning less money to squeeze out from promoters, and I wouldn't be surprised if there were some friendly back pocket thank yous.
Iv sat a lot with wpa heads, there's more to this than this video unfortunately..a lot many don't know about. I wish no tour any demise be it Matchroom or WPA or what ever but there's a lot ppl don't knw about. The fact this vid was made says a lot(as in pointing wpa is some sort of terror organisation)....
If "there's more to this than this video", then why don't they say what's more. What's the point of keeping that "more" secret and ending up with a horrible PR campaign lead by videos like this, other than alienating fans and sponsors?
It gets interpersonal with certain Directors in the game, something obviously I won't convey on this public forum.. Apart from the story of this video, the way they have attacked so personally Singh is really a piss take and childish, tbh it's made the video cringe and stupid I'm afraid. After watching the whole thing I was like, whaattt???😂. Anyway like said I hope things pan/sort out..
@@soshaw1436 you may say "whaattt???", but also every viewer will say "whaattt???". Same reaction, but for different reasons. I wouldn't blame who makes videos like this, I would blame who doesn't give information to justify their actions, which inevitably leads to videos like this.
I just this sort of thing doesn’t go too far. I hope a want-to-be top pool player like me from Sabah Malaysia would have the opportunity to compete at Matchroom Pool Tournament.
For one thing it downgrades the legitimacy of any championship, hard to call yourself the best when everyone knows that 20 players that may have had a legit chance to beat you were not allowed to play!
Matchroom is the best chance we have at pool getting to mainstream acclaim. Their production quality and organization is just best in class. Aligning against Matchroom and banning their best talents isn't going to work out well for WPA
WPA are legislating themselves into oblivion. Matchroom and Emily will prevail. I like her move of banning Filler from the Reyes cup. Filler trying to have it both ways and not standing in solidarity with fellow pro players. As WPA goes out of business, Filler will have some bootlicking to do to get back in Matchroom's good graces. WPA, live by the sword, die by the sword.
I’m surprised you didn’t mention Ollie Croft (The head of the British darts Organisation or BDO as it’s best known as) he thought that he owned the sport of darts. In 1993, due to disagreements with the top 16 players over television coverage, there was a split in darts, The top 16 professional players founded the World Darts Council which would later become the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) As for the BDO, they ended up getting worse and worse as time went by and eventually they declared bankruptcy in early 2020.
Why is it that the WPA president hides behind foot soldiers? You don't see him or hear him, but he is there in some dark corner pulling strings with paperwork communication.
I think all Pro players should be drug tested after a tournament if they place for cash prize money. If they test positive they banned from the tournament and no winnings. It has been talked for decades about cleaning up the billiards image. Drugs has no place here either. It should be all natural ability for winning.
When the NFL went on strike then ended their strike,some of those Replacement players then made NFL Rosters.just sayin this sucks but at the same time could create opportunities for some??
Thanks for uploading and explaining the recent situation, very clear and easy to understand. As others have mentioned, it feels like the WPA are shooting themselves in the foot here. I wonder what their end game or solution is, because surely banning all the top pros will result in no one joining them or wanting to compete long term on the circuit...
"Joshual Filler has been withdrawn..." Haha! "Withdrawn" is such an ambiguous term. It implies that Filler on his own didn't wanna go or made he decision to drop out. Replace the word "withdrawn" with "removed" and you get the correct meaning! But that way does not sound very good and it is bad PR for Matchroom! So "withdrawn" it is.
Beyond words... Unless they clean up they're act. I've lost interest in competing in WPA sanctioned events... Good on all those that stuck to their guns... As for Filler & Ouchan, shame on the both o' you!
Even though matchroom had a chance to take the high moral road and forgiven Filler and Ouchan I can understand their anger at the backstabbing these two did. Hopefully Matchroom can do a hostile takeover once WPA becomes too weak to sustain itself because it will bleed talents and sponsors down the line.
This conflict between organizations is sad😢. I agree the WPA is really hurting themselves more than anything. Guys like Filler and Ouschan should have stuck by their statements. They are big enough players that if their sponsors dropped them they could find new ones in a heartbeat. As for the new video format. I like the info, but it feels like it was made by AI. You should be narrating your own videos.
Interesting, you are using an AI voice , but it works. Is there enough money available to support two leagues? Obviously both want all the money, but the good thing that nobody is mentioning is that there seems to be enough interest to have two competitors, which a few years ago seemed impossible. It is obvious to me that the sport has grown past the ability for one orginization to manage it and frankly, having two will make it more competitive with each wanting to have the star players in their league. In hockey there is the NHL and the WHA. One attracts more great players because of the money the players can make. This is why in soccer/football you see some star players moving from europe to USA. Money. This competition is new for pool and hopefully the organizers will start upping the payouts and benefits to players as a way to entice them. The big difference than the other sports is that pool is generally a solo sport and not one of teams. So maybe they need to look more towards how tennis and golf have run things. There are top events globally and although there are different conditions and prerequisites to qualify to play in those tourneys, they dont ban the players because of them playing in other competitors tournaments. That is petty and does not help the game or players. If you want to own more if the pie, then offer more perks and money. If they did that, then the players could choose which one they wanted to perform in and if a promoter wanted to have a tournament around the same dates as another, then make it more profitable for the players or choose another date. There is nothing wrong with having two major tournaments on the same dates and having the players have to choose. It is good for the spirt and players. More players could qualify and more of the top players would be rewarded. Dont do the banning as that is deteimental to the sport, the players and the audience. The misconi and now reyes cup shows there are enough great players around the world that often different markets never see as the cost to travel and attend these tournaments and the potential prize money don't match up. Its time for a world cup of pool every two or three years based on country of origin and not continent. Or ad an intermediary step, have a world cup based on regions such as north america, south america, europe, asia including australia, and middle east up to india.
Keep in mind that those at the top, pool is their job. Its how they put food on the table and pay their mortgage. And even the top players aren't wealthy, its not like they hare making NFL or NBA money. If a player had to play for financial reasons, sponsor reasons where they would actually take a hit by not participating, I don't blame them. - Lets remember who the bad guys are here: Its NOT any of the players.
Btw, excellent video. I agree with your conclusions entirely and this entire drama doesn't do billiard sports image any favors. We are trying to turn the corner from seedy back room pool sharks with criminals financing ("The Hustler") to a professional polished sport that oozes class, honor, transparency, and good sportsmanship (along with ever-growing prize money fueling the rise in popularity of billiard sports).
P.s. I really want power-breaking to make a comeback. The newest templates allow for a high percentage 1 in the side pocket. However, the excitement of the break was diminished compared to when the best players blasted the rack as hard as possible added a lot (along with the randomness/excitement such unpredictability provided)
The " pool organization" is trying to keep the money for their circle of players, bottom line their scared of competition.how do you become a better player? Play against people that can beat you, reach deep inside yourself and practice with the desire to win. I have been playing for years, had to lay off for family obligations.
just what is was thinking as an ex darts player. BDO fought tooth and nail and in the end they had to concede. Best think WPA can do is is talk to Matchroom and allign schedules so they wont conflict, then both can grow and create a win/win situation. As is going now one of the 2 will die, and we all know who that will be, not the organisation that is banning players (BDO did the same with players who went to the PDC)
The WPA have become a global cue sport laughing stock,they should seriously rethink their rules, stopping top players from playing is only going to make them even more unpopular than what they already are.
Matchroom is great, but not for the sport itself, only for 9-Ball and this is in my opinion wrong. Games like 8- & 10-Ball are needed, and not to forget Straight Pool, One Pocket and Bank. The way it goes we will have tons of 9-Ball players and soon we will see ball manufacturers to offer sets for 9-Ball only.
WPA simply jealous for MATCHROOM for what they achieved for small period of time. Hope they change their mind for it is not good for players and billiards as a whole.
This is such a dumb move on the WPAs part. Most players I know watch the events for the big players. They bring in new players and inspire them to be better. To think that essentially “firing” all your top talent and money makers is a good move is insanely illogical.
Matchroom is only going to get bigger and better. WPA stands no chance
Their 9 ball format was terrible, they've been on the downhill even before they decided to be this silly
@@emoradi12 are you working for wpa ?
@@emoradi12 everyone else enjoying Matchroom, from Hanoi open to Reyes cup, WPA who? lol
@@ledanglove oh no, I'm talking about WPAS format. I'm pro match room all the way
they done the same with Darts... BDO was the original and they didnt adapt and improve then Matchroom came along and made the PDC and the rest is history.
On the surface the WPA ban reeks of greed. Please keep us informed of future developments.
Probably but also pool needs more order. You can't be a world champion every tourney. They need to come together with different organizations amd have 4-6 majors a year like golf
All WPA events must be renamed to - WPA Filler and Albin exhibition match event.
Albin couldn’t even make it to quarter finals with all of the top players out.
WPA just wants to monopolize the game. Very much rat behaviour if you ask me
Not only monopolized but to control you...
You got it sir. A greedy things will not last long.
Matchroom controls snooker through the Wst. They threaten there players with bans if they play other events
@jamesbourque2944 what's your source on this? Matchroom has literally come out to say they will not ban any players if they choose to compete in other events. Either you're blowing smoke, or you got bad information.
I heard the WPA hates fun and laughter
Lol 😂
Thank you so much for the explanation. I didn’t know what was going on, and I watch a lot of pool. Like others I have my favorite players and I like to stay updated.
Worst Pool Association (WPA) has ego bigger than all the pool balls combined 😂😂😂
Great video. Glad someone finally explained the backstory of how all the drama started
It started several years ago in reality. It just finally reached the boiling point.
That's the problem with human beings. Greed and politics in everything,even in a lovely game like this
Correction: Filler was removed from the Reyes cup AFTER he did not play the Hanoi open, not necessarily for playing the world 8 ball
If true it makes matchroom just as guilty. Same bs on both sides
@@KarlsCracklingCottonMouth they didn't ban him, just decided not to include him in an invitational kind of event, I'm quite sure he's still able to join other matchroom tournaments
@Matchroom is the future of the sport.
Now I understand why people say Filler is a rat.
People are rats
why cause he's better than you?
@@garbygarb31 better at not keeping a man's words, such another rat's comment lol
@@garbygarb31 He's better than your mama. He gave her 2 balls.
I just subscribed earlier after watching a few vids, and I enjoy this format. Explains everything going on very in-depth and succinctly.
I can't see this ending well for the WPA, bad decisions.
Thank you, I was unaware of this. I was wondering why certain players were not at recent tournaments. Billiards is far from the most popular sport already. These decisions from the leadership seem very petty and short-sighted.
The WPA Shouldn't decide Shit the players play to make a living and achieve to win the best titles with the payouts offered that are 50k to 100k for first place
I agree players deserve full freedom to play wherever and whenever they want for whoever they want.
Sounds to me like the WPA just don’t want Asians. Good for the players to Boycott them and Shame on Filler and Oshan, they showed they can’t be trusted. I think maybe as fans we need to Boycott The WPA, Filler, and Oshan as well as their sponsors.
this doesnt surprise me from these 2 self-loving divas,Filler and Ouschan dont have backbones.
Discrimination?….. Again…. Use words discrimination…. Think before use words “ Don’t like Asian “. You have to follow the rule …. Do you look over all documents before you are sign with WPA if you are members?.
@@chile5565 ok. DISCRIMIATION. WPA IS DISCRINATING. I don’t have to be a member to see discrimination but yea, I was a member and will soon drop them in boycott. Ass wipe.
You was? And will soon?…. Because you are not member 😂😂😂…. Wishing you the best.
If you made it to the end of this video, persevered in the face of a seven minute demand on your tiktok attention span, you are probably an adult after all.
Good video explanation. For my part, I'm very, very conflicted about what's going on at the moment. On the one hand, I find the WPA's pressure on players completely pathetic, but on the other, I consider Matchroom's exclusion of Josh Filler from the Reyes Cup to be a huge mistake: Matchroom has done exactly what many criticize the WPA for doing, namely preventing players from playing the tournaments of their choice. And I wouldn't be surprised to see a ban for the Mosconi Cup soon.
Similarly, I find it odd that we focus on the players and don't ask questions about the federations and Predator's influence: strangely enough, it's the federations with the best players that support the WPA (Germany, Poland) and all the players in the turmoil have in common that they are sponsored by Predator. At this point, it's no coincidence: there's pressure on players from federations and sponsors, and when Filler asserts that Predator has nothing to do with it, everyone reads the opposite between the lines. I also note that Biado, also sponsored by Predator, has played several WPA events, but nobody spits on him like some "fans" do with Filler and Ouschan. In short, from my point of view, the WPA has shot itself in the foot, but Matchroom has also shown its true colours: neither of them really cares about the players. If either organization were truly serving the game and the players (and not their own financial interests), they wouldn't be using them as hostages.
matchroom isn't a federation or something like that, they are a company that promotes sports events, so of course they put their financial interest first. it would be naive to think anything else. that said, players in darts and snooker have definitely profited from matchrooms involvement as the prize money and the number of big events have increased a lot since matchroom took control. i'm sure they would do a much better job in growing professional pool. they have done a good job promoting snooker in china and i can see them do sth like that for pool. asia (especially southeast asia) has huge potential. many people know how popular it is in the philipines, but go to a country like vietnam and it's not very different, they have amazing pool halls in major cities and you can even find pool tables in small villages (i once played against the owner of a little grocery store in a village of about 500 people, he had a table in his shop and people would meet there in the evening to play or watch). WPA seems to ignore this, but matchroom is already there (as seen with the hanoi open and the reyes cup)
Dont forget some athletes have had contracts with sponsors that require them obligation to play in main WPA official tournaments, these athletes receive regular income (wages) from sponsors, most athletes relying on this as their bread and butters for their family welfare security. Not all pool athletes can survive living on tournament prize money or even gambling money in poolbars
Totally right. But Filler and Ouschan are Not considered to belong to this group, I guess...
@@maroly8342 think they are ,too. flying around the world, living in hotels isn t that cheap. so a regular income is very appreciated. add to it, that you also have to pay taxes and wanna build a home somewhere , sometimel. making a black or red decision isn t that easy, ask some roulette guys;)
I wonder how long the Predator/WPA contract runs. IMHO this ban may kill their contract. Predator would be a great addition to Match Room (especially if they could convince MR to go back to a purple 4 ball). It’s all about the money - once the sponsorships dry up so will the WPA.
@@anthonykeller5120 you're maybe right..not only predator, also some big brands (table, cloth, cues, etc) this situation is narrowing scope of their brand exposures in the pool world.
@@maroly8342 as far as social media news involved they only focus on these two names, in reality there are many more top names affected and put in dillemma
It's like what happened in the darts 20 odd years ago. The WPA are the BDO and matchroom are the PDC. Matchroom/sky sports will prevail and pool will blossom into a massive sport with huge prize pots the way the PDC did. The end is nigh for the stupid WPA thankfully.
matchroom literally was the PDC 20 years ago as they took over in 2001 or something like that.
Isn't it the WPA's job to keep stats! Why have they even got the power to ban legitimate players, seems like a massive overreach to me.
This is the end of the WPA and an apology won’t fix it. Filler and Ouschan should stay in all WPA events to take as much money as possible and actually discourage local pros from attending.
Matchroom should destroy WPA women’s events by coming out with better ones with more money won.
If predator was smart, they would join with the Matchroom, just like Cuetec. Maybe that's why Filler, who is a predator sponsored player so loyal to WPA
Well said. Experienced the same situation in the ballroom dance industry. Instead of promoting the industry and sport, they want to control their income and participants. We’re all just pawns in their game
poker competitions has many tournaments..I never heard of them excluding anyone from playing in a tournament ..big money tournaments make the sport legit.and inspires a new generation of pool players .. WPA is absolutely wrong..!
Old road player 78 years young, I have to say this b.s. is a real shit show !!!!!
Not only do Filler and Ouschan have contacts with
predator they also belong to Federations that pay
there travel, hotel, and tournament entries. Another
thing that needs to be brought up is the other
disciplines in the game of pool Matchroom only
does 9 ball whereas WPA does 8, 9, and 10. Now
I don't agree with the what the WPA did and also
if Filler and Ouschan going back on there word.
Matchroom is great for the players and the future of
this sport. Ultimately predator and WPA will have to
make a decision to either hold ground or come to a
compromise with Matchroom because Matchroom
holds all the cards at this point. They easily have the
most talented players in this sport by a large margin
and have shown they can turn things around for a
sport. Just look at Snooker and Darts.
That is straight retaliation from the WPA
Firstly, i need to congratulate the video maker for his excellent job. I am 100% agreed. Your points are all valid. At the end, it's all about dirty politics!! When Mosconi Cup has started, Asia had only a couple of strong players (eventhough one of them was one, if not, the best player in history of pool), so, it was inevitable to include US and Europe as a duel, kinda like a Ryder Cup in golf. But...in the last 15 years, pool has grown so much in Asia with so many excellent players playing and winning many many important tournaments. So, ''the wise men'' instead of saying: ''Look, we have to include Asia as well in the Mosconi Cup, a tournament which will last one or two weeks, find a format with points so we can accomodate all three participants and rename the Mosconi Cup to Mosconi/Reyes Cup'', what they have done? They start banning players for political reasons using extortion to not Asian players knowing their commitment and obbligations coming from contractual agreements with their sponsors (most of them US based). These people do care about pool? Sure they do!! As much as earth is flat...
I Didn't know all these details about the banning behavior.. what a shame how sports bosses are lacking fairness and good values.. All pro players should stand together and resist...
Thank you for this video, I didn't understand what was going on...but now I does 😃
All titles won during this period of silliness are tainted by the fact that some top players were excluded.
I've warned many for over 2 decades that the WPA sought Olympic Membership as part of their strategy to monopolize the sport. I know this is an AI summary, but it covers some important points. Monopolization of a sport often leads to decreased development of a game and power over the players. New and better versions of the game are likely if the WPA's power is throttled.
Ban all the best players that everyone wants to see and support....it's. Abold move let's see where this goes 🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤡🤡🤡
Climbing up to become a top pro pool sport athlete takes your full time attention, sacrifice in many aspects of your life including (sometimes) your formal school, when grown up you cant have any other serious side jobs outside the field to help you pay the bills. They are not playing just for hobby in pool bars. We need to understand this perspective too, not just simply choose which side is a popular or liked choice by netizens
Johan Chua said it. The players are being made to suffer for the envy greed and mismanagement of 1 organization. If they really represent the sport and the players they will find a resolution that allows the players to play whatever events they want
Great video explaining what is going on. Money talks, and once it starts hurting Predator et al on the bottom line, that is when WPA will be under pressure to reverse their stance. But will it be too late for WPA?
New to pool here, have a table, practicing a lot, have been looking at rules/leagues etc. Trying to find events in my area. Never wasting my time with a WPA tournament at any level if they ban the best players. What do I have to aspire to... Its like throwing your organization on a live grenade.
Thanks for the good rundown!
Thanks so much for this explanation!
This was a great video. Please do more
Now the top pool organization are fighting like local pool leagues.... This is crazy... There's plenty of talent out there for both organizations..
Matchroom has been careful to schedule their events to not conflict with WPA events. Now they can just ignore the WPA and schedule as many events as they want whenever they want. Go Matchroom! Go Emily!
I've been banned from all WPA tournaments as well.
I'd love to watch the matchroom. Just shut down WPA and pick up the ladies' help to make them a little more money as well. I appreciate the content, and im a fan of Matchroom 100% Filler is a good player, but without competition, Filler might as well be a high school kid going to a child's daycare looking for a fight.
How many decades has the WPA been around, yet not once has any cue sport appeared in the Olympics. It should have been dissolved years ago. Its a bureaucracy based on control, and that's why Matchroom is so successful. The WPA isn't interested in elevating cue sports, just controlling it. Matchroom honed their craft with Snooker and then took the Pool world by storm because the market opportunity is there directly because of the WPA's decades of inaction. US Ultimate Pool is great to watch! A 9 ball speed game with 8 ball!? Amazing.
👍Thank for bringing forth the information 👍
This was one of the reasons why billiards wasn’t chosen in Paris 2024 as an Olympic sport, but shitty “sports” like Breakdance were, a total lack of organization. I don’t know how snooker works but 3-Cushion is the same shit, with UBM fighting against PBA. As long as this mess continues billiards will be an amateur sport forever
Well done, bro! Great video
You sound different.
Matchroom should start promoting all the disciplines of pool (8-Ball,10-Ball, 9-Ball) -- genuine World Championship.
That's what I was saying and now that the WPA has foolishly stood their ground instead of changing stance and allowing players freedom, Matchroom no longer has to schedule events around WPA events. The WPA needs to start kissing ass and make a complete 180 or they won't exist at all
It think boils down to fewer bigger tournaments for WPA to sanction/host. Meaning less money to squeeze out from promoters, and I wouldn't be surprised if there were some friendly back pocket thank yous.
Iv sat a lot with wpa heads, there's more to this than this video unfortunately..a lot many don't know about. I wish no tour any demise be it Matchroom or WPA or what ever but there's a lot ppl don't knw about. The fact this vid was made says a lot(as in pointing wpa is some sort of terror organisation)....
If "there's more to this than this video", then why don't they say what's more.
What's the point of keeping that "more" secret and ending up with a horrible PR campaign lead by videos like this, other than alienating fans and sponsors?
It gets interpersonal with certain Directors in the game, something obviously I won't convey on this public forum..
Apart from the story of this video, the way they have attacked so personally Singh is really a piss take and childish, tbh it's made the video cringe and stupid I'm afraid. After watching the whole thing I was like, whaattt???😂. Anyway like said I hope things pan/sort out..
@@soshaw1436 you may say "whaattt???", but also every viewer will say "whaattt???". Same reaction, but for different reasons. I wouldn't blame who makes videos like this, I would blame who doesn't give information to justify their actions, which inevitably leads to videos like this.
I just this sort of thing doesn’t go too far. I hope a want-to-be top pool player like me from Sabah Malaysia would have the opportunity to compete at Matchroom Pool Tournament.
Competing Tours, like multiple pro tennis events running the same week,
simply creates more job openings for p[ayers.What's the problem with that?
For one thing it downgrades the legitimacy of any championship, hard to call yourself the best when everyone knows that 20 players that may have had a legit chance to beat you were not allowed to play!
Matchroom is the best chance we have at pool getting to mainstream acclaim. Their production quality and organization is just best in class. Aligning against Matchroom and banning their best talents isn't going to work out well for WPA
WPA are legislating themselves into oblivion. Matchroom and Emily will prevail. I like her move of banning Filler from the Reyes cup. Filler trying to have it both ways and not standing in solidarity with fellow pro players. As WPA goes out of business, Filler will have some bootlicking to do to get back in Matchroom's good graces. WPA, live by the sword, die by the sword.
I’m surprised you didn’t mention Ollie Croft (The head of the British darts Organisation or BDO as it’s best known as) he thought that he owned the sport of darts.
In 1993, due to disagreements with the top 16 players over television coverage, there was a split in darts, The top 16 professional players founded the World Darts Council which would later become the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC)
As for the BDO, they ended up getting worse and worse as time went by and eventually they declared bankruptcy in early 2020.
...and PDC started to grow rapidly after 2001. what happened that year? Matchroom bought them.
Why is it that the WPA president hides behind foot soldiers? You don't see him or hear him, but he is there in some dark corner pulling strings with paperwork communication.
I agree the WPA has lost it's mind.
WPA is a joke. It’s really unfortunate what they are doing to the game.
I hope Matchroom starts 8 ball, 9 ball, bank pool and all sorts. Why not? They are great at running stuff.
Match room and Emily Frazier rock.
I think all Pro players should be drug tested after a tournament if they place for cash prize money. If they test positive they banned from the tournament and no winnings. It has been talked for decades about cleaning up the billiards image. Drugs has no place here either. It should be all natural ability for winning.
‘Will filler keep kicking puppies in a weak field?’
😂😂 bravo
When the NFL went on strike then ended their strike,some of those Replacement players then made NFL Rosters.just sayin this sucks but at the same time could create opportunities for some??
Thanks for uploading and explaining the recent situation, very clear and easy to understand.
As others have mentioned, it feels like the WPA are shooting themselves in the foot here. I wonder what their end game or solution is, because surely banning all the top pros will result in no one joining them or wanting to compete long term on the circuit...
"Joshual Filler has been withdrawn..." Haha! "Withdrawn" is such an ambiguous term. It implies that Filler on his own didn't wanna go or made he decision to drop out. Replace the word "withdrawn" with "removed" and you get the correct meaning! But that way does not sound very good and it is bad PR for Matchroom! So "withdrawn" it is.
Goodbye WPA. You've effectively become the BDO of darts (PDC dominates as Matchroom already does and now definitely will), and it was self inflicted 😂
Filler (not him). Damn that's funny!
Did they not learn anything from the PGA vs LIV fight?
Beyond words... Unless they clean up they're act. I've lost interest in competing in WPA sanctioned events... Good on all those that stuck to their guns... As for Filler & Ouchan, shame on the both o' you!
Even though matchroom had a chance to take the high moral road and forgiven Filler and Ouchan I can understand their anger at the backstabbing these two did. Hopefully Matchroom can do a hostile takeover once WPA becomes too weak to sustain itself because it will bleed talents and sponsors down the line.
This conflict between organizations is sad😢. I agree the WPA is really hurting themselves more than anything. Guys like Filler and Ouschan should have stuck by their statements. They are big enough players that if their sponsors dropped them they could find new ones in a heartbeat.
As for the new video format. I like the info, but it feels like it was made by AI. You should be narrating your own videos.
The WPA ia clearly going to crumble
Their loss...this is the beginning of the end for the wpa...their tournaments haven't been all that anyway.
Interesting, you are using an AI voice , but it works. Is there enough money available to support two leagues? Obviously both want all the money, but the good thing that nobody is mentioning is that there seems to be enough interest to have two competitors, which a few years ago seemed impossible. It is obvious to me that the sport has grown past the ability for one orginization to manage it and frankly, having two will make it more competitive with each wanting to have the star players in their league. In hockey there is the NHL and the WHA. One attracts more great players because of the money the players can make. This is why in soccer/football you see some star players moving from europe to USA. Money. This competition is new for pool and hopefully the organizers will start upping the payouts and benefits to players as a way to entice them. The big difference than the other sports is that pool is generally a solo sport and not one of teams. So maybe they need to look more towards how tennis and golf have run things. There are top events globally and although there are different conditions and prerequisites to qualify to play in those tourneys, they dont ban the players because of them playing in other competitors tournaments. That is petty and does not help the game or players. If you want to own more if the pie, then offer more perks and money. If they did that, then the players could choose which one they wanted to perform in and if a promoter wanted to have a tournament around the same dates as another, then make it more profitable for the players or choose another date. There is nothing wrong with having two major tournaments on the same dates and having the players have to choose. It is good for the spirt and players. More players could qualify and more of the top players would be rewarded. Dont do the banning as that is deteimental to the sport, the players and the audience. The misconi and now reyes cup shows there are enough great players around the world that often different markets never see as the cost to travel and attend these tournaments and the potential prize money don't match up. Its time for a world cup of pool every two or three years based on country of origin and not continent. Or ad an intermediary step, have a world cup based on regions such as north america, south america, europe, asia including australia, and middle east up to india.
Still look like Government (WPA) against Private Sector ( Matchroom)😂
ahhhh i see....thanks for the clarification
Keep in mind that those at the top, pool is their job. Its how they put food on the table and pay their mortgage. And even the top players aren't wealthy, its not like they hare making NFL or NBA money. If a player had to play for financial reasons, sponsor reasons where they would actually take a hit by not participating, I don't blame them. - Lets remember who the bad guys are here: Its NOT any of the players.
Btw, excellent video. I agree with your conclusions entirely and this entire drama doesn't do billiard sports image any favors. We are trying to turn the corner from seedy back room pool sharks with criminals financing ("The Hustler") to a professional polished sport that oozes class, honor, transparency, and good sportsmanship (along with ever-growing prize money fueling the rise in popularity of billiard sports).
P.s. I really want power-breaking to make a comeback. The newest templates allow for a high percentage 1 in the side pocket. However, the excitement of the break was diminished compared to when the best players blasted the rack as hard as possible added a lot (along with the randomness/excitement such unpredictability provided)
But why??? What's the explanation??
The " pool organization" is trying to keep the money for their circle of players, bottom line their scared of competition.how do you become a better player? Play against people that can beat you, reach deep inside yourself and practice with the desire to win. I have been playing for years, had to lay off for family obligations.
This does not bode well for WPA as the "unsanctioned" inaugural Reyes Cup was insanely fun to watch.
Very similar to the BDO v PDC darts, years ago. The money won in the end
just what is was thinking as an ex darts player. BDO fought tooth and nail and in the end they had to concede. Best think WPA can do is is talk to Matchroom and allign schedules so they wont conflict, then both can grow and create a win/win situation.
As is going now one of the 2 will die, and we all know who that will be, not the organisation that is banning players (BDO did the same with players who went to the PDC)
every pool player needs to boycott wpa forcing their sponsors to follow the players.
Easy $$$ for Josh Filler 🙄
The WPA have become a global cue sport laughing stock,they should seriously rethink their rules, stopping top players from playing is only going to make them even more unpopular than what they already are.
Thanks for explaining
Matchroom is great, but not for the sport itself, only for 9-Ball and this is in my opinion wrong. Games like 8- & 10-Ball are needed, and not to forget Straight Pool, One Pocket and Bank. The way it goes we will have tons of 9-Ball players and soon we will see ball manufacturers to offer sets for 9-Ball only.
Seems the same as the PDC/BDO split in darts 30 years ago, WPA won't do well out of this
This situation did not end well when it happened in darts
WPA simply jealous for MATCHROOM for what they achieved for small period of time. Hope they change their mind for it is not good for players and billiards as a whole.
The WPA appears to want their own demise
Once again, money has become the "god" of the sport
This is such a dumb move on the WPAs part. Most players I know watch the events for the big players. They bring in new players and inspire them to be better. To think that essentially “firing” all your top talent and money makers is a good move is insanely illogical.
This explain well..
WPA sounds like a control or union ideology, not a sport ideology. If this continues, they can keep it and I will watch something else.
Can't marchroom simply just start hosting their own 8 ball and 10 ball championships
then they should ban commentators as well to choose either WPA or MR