Seven-time Mosconi Cup champion Darren Appleton believes the Reyes Cup would be a more fiercely-contested event if players were selected based on ability and not political reasons.
Joshua Filler has notably been excluded from Matchroom’s Reyes Cup for its first two iterations due to seemingly favouring WPA-sanctioned events, something Appleton found particularly baffling.
Others who attended the recent World 8-Ball Championship in Indonesia instead of the Hanoi Open in Vietnam were also overlooked, including the likes of Shane van Boening and Eklent Kaci.
“It saddens me the politics in pool,” Appleton wrote on Facebook following Asia’s clean sweep over the Rest of the World on the opening day of this year’s Reyes Cup in Manila.
“We all know that if [Joshua] Filler and Albin [Ouschan] are playing, it’s a different ball game. It’s been two years now and the best player in the world, and maybe the best doubles player ever, is not playing.
“Even the Asian team is not the strongest five! Europe’s best five versus Asia’s best five is a 50/50 game, but if Fedor [Gorst] and maybe Shane [van Boening] were also on the ROW team, then on paper, ROW should be favourites.”
Appleton also mentioned the influence that sponsorship and federations can have on the decisions that certain players choose to make, something that causes them to miss World Nineball Tour events.
“Pool is a sport where players rely on sponsors and federation money,” Appleton added. “The event is not solely invite-only – a ranking system is in place. Just like Filler qualified last year for the Reyes Cup and Mosconi Cup but was booted out!
“Players are getting punished for being loyal to the people who pay their bills and provide that security blanket, which are the sponsors that pool players can’t survive without, and in some cases, federation money.
“There are a lot of short-sighted people who don’t consider why players make these decisions – everyone’s situation is different.
“I’m pretty sure all the players would love to participate in WNT events or vice versa PBS events, but decisions need to be made that are best for the individual.
“Unfortunately, these players are being ridiculed and abused by the public for it, and that’s not right, especially when people don’t know that individual or the reasons behind their choices.
“Solutions need to be made, as we are playing pool for small amounts of money, not millions like most sports.”
