Behrman Statement on ABP Sanction of U.S. Open

Shannon and I have always strived to cooperate with as many facets of the pool world as we possibly can. We have bent over backwards to assure players and fans alike of the best experience in American Billiards. We have tried very hard to be completely non-political. We are not interested in politics, only in promoting the game we love.

However, the press release this morning from the ABP has put us in a very difficult position that unfortunately endangers the future of the U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships. Many of the players from the 25 or more countries that attend the U.S. Open are dependent upon WPA sanctioning of our event in order to acquire the funds required to travel to the United States. If we lose the WPA sanctioning we would lose the ability to feature these great international players. I have been reminded that the WPA will only accept co-sanctioning from the home federation of the country in which an event is held. The WPA doses not accept co-sanctions. As accepting a sanction from the ABP would force the WPA to pull their sanction of the U.S. Open we must now state that we have not sanctioned our event with anyone other than the BCA and the WPA. We will be seeding the top players form the WPA and BCA rankings and the spots that are left over will be distributed fairly and in accordance wit the wishes of my Tournaments Directors. We are happy to continue to co-operate to the limits of our abilities with the ABP. This is in no way a rejection of their organization or its goals. We are simply forced to adhere to internationally accepted standards of sanctioning World Ranking events.