This year sure has been feast or famine for the world’s top men pool players.

For six months, players around the globe waited and wondered when and where they’d have an opportunity to cross cues and compete. In the meantime, promoters sleepwalked through the first half of the year, backloading the calendar with event after event in efforts to take advantage of Asia’s seemingly insatiable thirst for big-visibility international tournaments, particularly Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines.

Not that pool is new in those areas. Asian players and events in Southeast Asia have been strong and plentiful for years. (Although the explosions in the talent level in Vietnam and Indonesia are relatively recent.) But the expansion of true, big-money international tournaments and the growth of promoters Matchroom and Predator has suddenly turned that part of the world into hotbeds for the sport, competitively and certainly commercially. Players from all corners of the globe are relative household names in Asia today, thanks in no small part to the players’ growing engagement on all social media platforms.

With the proliferation of major tournaments in recent years, the idea of “swings,” in which Asia, Europe and the U.S. would host a month or more of continuous tournament action to reduce the expense of back-and-forth travel for players, has been a popular topic of conversation. And the idea has merit — to a point. From mid-September through the end of October, there will have been six significant events throughout Asia — the World 10-Ball Championship; Peri Open; Hanoi Open; World 8-Ball Championship, Philippines Open, Qatar 10-Ball World Cup — and that count doesn’t even include several substantial doubles and mixed doubles opportunities, or the Reyes Cup.

Countless players spent 30 or more consecutive days chasing those events around Southeast Asia, which is a lot to ask, both physically and financially.

Not surprisingly, competition between promoters and politics played large roles in the breakneck pace, which brings us back to our biggest hope for 2026 — cooperation. The stage is set for pool pros to enjoy the biggest, most lucrative, most competitive and most exciting year in …. ever! The players have waited and prayed for opportunities like these. If the powers that be could focus on making that logical, manageable and equitable, just think of how far we can go.