Wing Shots

Making A Date

Matchroom announces dates for six-event series in 2021.

YOUNG RUSSIAN Fedor Gorst was just 19 when he captured the World Pool-Billiard Association World 9-Ball Championship in Qatar. He will be 21 when he finally gets the opportunity to defend that crown.

Matchroom Sport, which officially took over the event in early 2020, announced that the rebranded World Pool Championship will take place at Stadium MK in Milton Keynes, June 6-10. Not surprisingly, the COVID-19 pandemic that swept the world in 2020 also swept away any hopes for a 2020 World Pool Championship, running Gorst’s reign as world champion to 19 months.

“Of course I’m looking forward to that event,” said Gorst. “I want to see if I can defend my title. And I’m excited because it is a Matchroom tournament now and those are always special for me.”

Matchroom, which staged the World Pool Championship from 1999 through 2008, announced the dates in a release that saw the British promoter lay out dates for its six-event Matchroom Pool Series for 2021. The calendar launched with the Predator Championship League Pool event, a new entry to the series, in late March.

A month earlier, Matchroom had announced plans to stage the World Pool Championship in early May, followed closely by the World Pool Masters and World Cup of Pool.

Instead, the order will be reversed, with the World Cup of Pool kicking off the rapid-fire trio, followed by the World Pool Masters and, finally, the World Pool Championship. Somewhat surprisingly, slotting the Gibraltar-based Masters in the middle means players (and Matchroom’s production and administration staffs) will travel from Milton Keynes, also site of the World Cup of Pool, to Gibraltar for the Masters, and back again for the World Pool Championship. A week separates the conclusion of the World Cup (May 9-14) and the Masters (May 22-25), with two weeks elapsing before the start of the World Poll Championship on June 6.

Milton Keynes has played host to a number of Matchroom’s snooker, darts and boxing events that were held during 2020. The stadium offers a hotel and exhibition center under the same roof, allowing for a controlled, bubble-like atmosphere similar to the 2020 Mosconi Cup in Coventry.

While the wait for top-flight international competition appears to finally be over for both players and fans, fans will still have to be content with viewing the action on TV or online, at least through the World Pool Championship.

“That would be unlikely at this stage,” said Nick Teale, Matchroom Multi Sport’s Head of Media and Marketing, when asked if any of the first four events might welcome live attendance. “Sports events in the United Kingdom may be able to have limited crowds by June, however, with the multiple table format for the World Championship and the requirement to form a full ‘bubble’ in order to gain travel exemptions for international players, it is unfortunate that it will not be possible to welcome fans this year.”

Not out of the realm of possibility, however, is the potential for live crowds at both the U.S. Open Championship and the Mosconi Cup.

“We’re working hard to have fans at the U.S. Open and Mosconi Cup,” Teale said. “We hope to able to do so.”

Dates have yet to be set for the U.S. Open, with Matchroom working to pin down a site, although it is listed as “Fall” on the Matchroom calendar. The 2019 U.S. Open, the first with Matchroom at the helm, was staged in Las Vegas.

And while Matchroom did announce dates for the 2021 Mosconi Cup (Dec. 6-9), the site for that event is also in limbo. In fact, Matchroom hasn’t even pinned down the country that will hold the annual USA vs Europe team match. The home-home format in place for the past 15 years would have the U.S. hosting the 2021 event, but while the 2020 Mosconi Cup was technically staged in Europe, more than 2,000 fans that purchased tickets for a European party instead were forced to watch on television. The uncertainty of whether or not either country is likely to allow that kind of audience surely will factor into Matchroom’s decision, which isn’t expected anytime soon.