SINGAPORE – A golden break appears to be on the horizon in the dispute between the World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA) – the international governing body for pool – and event promoter Matchroom Multi Sport Limited.
In December 2022, Matchroom decided not to seek WPA sanctioning for its events after 20 years of partnership. This was in response to WPA’s refusal to formally recognise the Matchroom Nineball Rankings as the official rankings for 9-ball, said Matchroom founder Barry Hearn.
The WPA then dropped a bombshell in October 2023, announcing that players competing in non-WPA events from March 2024 would lose ranking points and not be allowed to participate in national, continental and global level events under the WPA.
The impasse lasted for 15 months, during which players, including Singapore’s former world No. 1 Aloysius Yapp, were left in limbo. Those who chose to play non-WPA sanctioned events could not earn ranking points and risked being banned from competing at the SEA and Asian Games.
But there appears to be some resolution in sight. On Feb 28, the WPA announced it would treat seven Matchroom tournaments, including World Pool Masters, World Cup of Pool and the UK, European and US Open Pool Championships, as WPA-sanctioned events.
It added: “No athlete will face any penalty from the WPA or its members for participating in all these sanctioned tournaments.
“In addition to these events, the World 9-Ball Pool Championships scheduled for Saudi Arabia for the next 10 years will also continue to be sanctioned by the WPA. And we are delighted that Matchroom has made this a million-dollar tournament.
“The WPA is prepared to sanction further Matchroom tournaments on application... and we will continue to work with them to ensure that this happens.”
This is welcome news for the Singapore cuesports fraternity. World No. 14 Yapp had been concerned about his Spex Scholarship, which is based on WPA rankings and major Games prospects.
The 27-year-old, who is competing in the World 10-Ball Championship, said: “I decided to continue playing Matchroom events not just because of the prize money.
“It’s also about playing in more high-level tournaments and representing Singapore in more events.
“As the situation continues to evolve, it looks like WPA and Matchroom will work together in the end. That can only be good for the players if we can focus on doing our best on the table and not worry about any ban or repercussions.”
Cuesports Singapore president Christopher Chuah said that it is “heartened by the press release issued by the WPA and welcomes the ongoing positive discussions” between the two parties, noting that this “can only be for the good of the sport and athletes”.
While the storm may have abated, dark clouds still remain. In an Instagram post on Feb 29, Matchroom noted that while there are positive discussions ongoing with WPA, unresolved issues remain as “no agreement has been reached”.
The event promoter noted that its World Nineball Tour events – there are 11 from March to August, excluding the World Pool Championship – are sanctioned only by the World Professional Nineball Pool Corporation (WPNPC) and not the WPA.
“We owe it to everyone involved that a professional agreement can be reached that benefits all parties,” it added.
The matter of sanctioning fees for the seven Matchroom events identified by WPA is also unclear.
When queried by The Straits Times, WPA president Ishaun Singh would only say: “We are still in discussions and negotiations with Matchroom. We unfortunately cannot make any further statements or explanations until an agreement is reached.”
