For someone who has embraced a visionary pledge to provide a full-scale professional tour, Matchroom Pool boss Emily Frazer remains rational and pragmatic. “It’s important to believe in what you’re doing and keep pushing forward despite criticism,” she says, solely focused on presenting players with unprecedented opportunities.
“I listen carefully to the right people, trust my gut, and stay true to my beliefs,” Frazer adds. Her innovative ways and ability to discover untapped markets have already established a multi-million dollar circuit for players, with tournaments held from London to Orlando and Las Vegas to Manila, the latter being the same city in which Frazer initially encountered nineball pool.
“My first event was the World Cup of Pool back in 2012 in Manila,” Frazer remembers. “At that point, I’d been with Matchroom for about two years, but honestly, I wasn’t very familiar with pool. I was there to be the floor manager for the TV production so didn’t have any involvement on the events team. I remember thinking: ‘What on earth is this sport?’ But I was quickly stunned by how passionate and numerous the spectators were. The energy in the arena was incredible, and it made me realise there was something very special happening here.”
Frazer was bewildered and perplexed as to what this game she had stumbled upon entailed, a complete contrast to nowadays when she is regularly seen tableside engrossed in the action. Her interest has been gradually generated courtesy of the sport’s characters and the drama that commonly unfolds, and she’s truly fallen in love with the game.
“That moment came in 2018 at Alexandra Palace during the Mosconi Cup,” she reveals. “Shane van Boening potted the winning nine-ball to secure a much-needed point for Team USA after a tough couple of years of losses to Team Europe. It was an electric, defining moment.
“To hear someone of his stature tell me afterwards that he was nervous, really showed me how much pressure these events can pile on the world’s best. Shortly after, in 2019, we acquired the US Open Pool Championship, and that’s when I really felt driven to grow the sport and improve its future.”
It was five-time US Open champion Shane van Boening who proved to be the impetus behind Matchroom’s decision to revolutionise their schedule. A calendar that consisted of merely the Mosconi Cup, the World Cup of Pool and the World Pool Masters has now been transformed into a full-scale professional tour, on which players are now rewarded for their success.
“We realised the qualifying structure was weak – basically, it didn’t exist,” Frazer candidly admits. “I remember a key conversation with SVB a good few years back, where he mentioned retirement due to no structure in the sport, no new players coming through, lack of professionalism and money. I thought how can I stop probably the most current and influential player from retiring too early.
“Looking at how successful darts and snooker had become by building strong, consistent tours, we knew pool needed the same. It was clear we had to commit fully rather than just running three standalone events a year. That was the catalyst for going all-in with the World Nineball Tour and we couldn’t have done it without the backing and belief from Barry Hearn.”
And fully committing has allowed players to achieve things that they may otherwise have never accomplished. Mickey Krause was crowned the European Open champion last year, therefore earning Mosconi Cup and Reyes Cup bows on the European team, while Robbie Capito beat both Joshua Filler and Fedor Gorst to win the 2024 UK Open. Both fairytale stories saw them land their maiden major titles.
Those Open Championships have not only manifested the undeniable strength-in-depth that pool possesses, but also become fundamental to the World Nineball Tour during its embryonic stages. Their 256-player multi-table events, such as the European Open and the hugely-popular Hanoi Open, are now hosted in flawless fashion, while the US Open winner’s prize has been increased to $100,000 for this year.
“Behind the scenes, they’re never truly seamless!” Frazer laughs. “The 2019 US Open was a huge learning curve – it was our first time scaling up from a single table event to a 35-table event. If you looked at it now, you might say we were running it backwards. But thanks to some incredible people involved – who we all still laugh about it to this day, we pulled it off and have been building on that ever since. We’ve grown the US Open prize fund more than any other open event this year, which shows how far we’ve come and I only aspire to keep learning and growing.”
Aside from the more unexpected successes from the aforementioned Krause and Capito, the tour has saw players enjoy periods of dominance too. Fedor Gorst captured an unprecedented triple crown last term by winning the World Championship, the US Open and the World Masters in the same year, overtaking the World Nineball Tour’s initial success story in former world champion and US Open champion, Francisco Sanchez Ruiz, as world number one.
“Francisco helped us build a global profile for players on the tour,” Frazer adds. “His success turned him into a recognised brand, allowing him to travel and compete worldwide with that profile. His story has set the tone for other players and hopefully motivates many others to follow in his footsteps. He is also one of the biggest role models for junior players in this sport which shows a lot for his professionalism, personality and game.”
Promoting players and prompting them to enhance their social media presence has been high on the agenda for Frazer from the outset. Vietnamese number one and former Scottish Open champion, Duong Quoc Hoang, has naturally surfaced as one of the World Nineball Tour’s most marketable assets due to him being the leading figure in a country where pool’s popularity has skyrocketed.
“He’s certainly one of the most beloved players, especially in Vietnam,” Frazer acknowledges. “But there are plenty of other marketable players too – Fedor Gorst, AJ Manas and Jonas Souto to name just a few. Duong is humble and focused on playing for his country and becoming a champion, which embodies what the World Nineball Tour is all about: finding talent and changing lives for the better.”
Not all aspects of her desire to grow the World Nineball Tour and make its players famous have been straightforward for Frazer nonetheless. She has previously admitted that in hindsight mistakes have been made, such as controversially changing the orange five-ball, although dealing with those who are unwilling to move forward has been particularly troublesome.
“There are organisations and companies that think the sport is bigger than it is right now, which can cause unrealistic expectations and protection over a game with a couple of thousand followers,” Frazer explains. “Also some of the ‘old guard’ – the so-called ‘blazers’ some may say – are resistant to change and don’t see why we need to evolve to truly take the sport to the next level, and when we say next level we mean global and mainstream.”
In addition, the World Nineball Tour became embroiled in a prolonged quarrel with the World Pool Association – the sport’s governing body. Following a near three-year dispute, they recently settled their differences, which Frazer is extremely relieved over. ”I’m really pleased we’ve reached an agreement,” she says. “It means we can now focus on the bigger picture: growing the sport and ensuring players can compete without fear of bans or restrictions from the WPA. That’s a positive step for everyone involved.”
Perhaps one criticism of the World Nineball Tour thus far is their calendar being unveiled at somewhat short notice, with this year’s European Open in Bosnia and Herzegovina announced only weeks beforehand. “That won’t be happening again,” Frazer assures. “We’re committed to sharing the full calendar for next year right after this year’s Mosconi Cup, so players and fans will have plenty of notice.”
Whilst now having tournaments held in Orlando, Manilla, Hanoi and Atlantic City amongst others on their roster, the UK still remains a crucial territory for Matchroom. Nevertheless, growing a game that is extremely obscure in Britain is challenging, even more so when considering the popularity of snooker and English eight-ball.
“Nineball is the discipline that will take the sport to the next level with its drama, history, and commercial appeal,” Frazer passionately expresses. “While it’s not yet the biggest cue sport in the UK, only a few years ago we had just three events a year.
“So it motivates us to keep growing here, working with local pool halls and emerging talent to boost viewership,” she adds. “This year’s UK Open had more media coverage than any previous event, and we expect that to continue. Some leading sports have taken years and years to build what we have built in the matter of a season, it’s about staying focused and on track to the future.”
Regardless of how the game evolves on British shores, the future of the World Nineball Tour is an unequivocally prosperous one. From their decade-long deal with Saudi Arabia for the million-dollar World Pool Championship, which boasts a sumptuous $250,000 top prize, to the Mosconi and Reyes Cups, this year held in London and Manila, players have a scope for success that they have never had before.
“The World Pool Championship’s move to Saudi Arabia last year set a new standard with a world-class venue and hospitality players hadn’t experienced before,” Frazer says. “That’s the direction we want to keep moving in. We want to keep raising the bar for pool events globally and finding partners who share our vision. We truly are a global sport and aim to launch the game wherever there’s demand, with a packed calendar and life-changing opportunities for players of all ages.”
One Comment
nice job, Ben