Emily Frazer talks Mosconi Cup, Matchroom documentary and snooker experiments

The Mosconi Cup might be the most Matchroom Sport event possible, as Emily Frazer describes it as ‘snooker meets darts…but it’s going towards the darts.’

The iconic Europe vs USA event has been running since 1994 and featured the greats of Nine-Ball pool over its annual editions.

This year’s Mosconi Cup got underway at Alexandra Palace on Wednesday and comes to a conclusion on Saturday, with Friday night a 2,000-seat sell-out.

The team tournament attracts attention like little else in the world of pool and Frazer believes it is that rare twist on an individual sport, along with the atmosphere it brings, that makes it so popular.

The Matchroom Multi Sport CEO told Metro: ‘The team element is a massive factor as to why you want to watch the event.

‘With pool, it’s so singular throughout the year, same with the snooker, but as soon as you see in other sports like golf and tennis, when they get together, it just brings a whole different level to it.

‘For anyone who’s a casual sports fan, I’m saying tune into the Mosconi Cup because this is the one that if you don’t really know too much about -Nine-Ball, this is what’s going to get you excited.’

‘The biggest thing is obviously the atmosphere’

The five-man teams bring a range of characters to the table, with Frazer explaining: ‘On Team Europe you have the silent assassins like a Pijus Labutis and then you get Jayson Shaw, who’s basically calling out the other captain, saying that he’s going to eat him for breakfast.

‘Then you’ve got Team USA playing for their country, wearing their hearts on their sleeves. It just reels you in.

‘But the biggest thing is obviously the atmosphere. The Mosconi is darts meets snooker and at the moment it’s going more towards the darts! We’ve got the fan boards coming in, which I copied from the darts.

‘The Mosconi’s that kind of event that definitely would appeal to more of a casual sports fan, and that’s the only way that we’re going to grow Nine Ball pool, is to attract new viewers in.

‘I woke up on Wednesday so excited and that’s what this event brings.

‘And the one thing I love about the pool players is that they are so humble, win or lose. They are actually a delight. Some aren’t. Jayson Shaw is the worst loser. And I’ll say that to his face. I’m happy to say that.’

How did the Matchroom Netflix documentary go?

Frazer was thrown into the limelight herself as one of the stars of Netflix documentary Matchroom: The Greatest Showmen.

The show seemed to delve more into her personal life than others at Matchroom, which she says came about naturally.

‘I’m just glad I didn’t get cancelled. You just forget you’re mic’d up!’ Frazer said.

‘I don’t think they specifically said, right, we’re going to go more personal with Emily. I think I’m just maybe a bit more open about certain things.

‘I loved the fact that Multi Sport got such a recognition from it, because I do think that we are the underdogs of Matchroom Sport. We always have been and I’m sure we will continue to be.

‘But we will build our own part of the company. We are very unique. My team is so different to all the other teams.

‘It feels like it’s in their blood to go out and fight for an event. Everyone is so buzzing for this event. Not one person is complacent. We might all be tired, don’t get me wrong, but everyone has that fire in their belly. And I really liked that they all got a sort of a light shone on them.’

Snooker suffered while Multi Sport shone

One part of the business that did less well out of the documentary was snooker, which got far less of a mention than boxing, darts and pool, while the coverage it did get was not always complimentary as Eddie Hearn visited the Brentwood Centre to be met by a rogue pigeon at the English Open.

‘Obviously, we’re all headquartered at Matchroom in Essex,’ said Frazer. ‘I think snooker had the worse end of the stick where they were in Brentwood, that was the tournament that was the closest that Eddie went to.

‘It would be fantastic to be able to showcase the Masters at Ally Pally and their Worlds in April is obviously an incredible event. If I was them, I’d love to have the Masters at Ally Pally exposed because that’s a different beast.

‘But it was great for us all to have a Netflix show and hopefully, there’ll be another tournament they can look at for the next season, if there is one.’

‘I think it’s good for snooker to have this one event that’s a little bit different.’

Frazer’s Multi Sport operation is involved in snooker, most notably running the Champion of Champions event last month, where Mark Selby beat Judd Trump in the final.

The event has become known for a different look to other snooker events, mainly around the dress code, which Frazer sees as an opportunity for the sport to grow.

‘At Multi Sport we are the ones that have a go at a new sport. Like with the gymnastics, netball, basketball. We are the guinea pigs,’ she said. ‘I think that’s why we operate so well as a team, because we’re not afraid to try new things.

‘If it works, brilliant, let’s double down on that. If it doesn’t, oops, let’s not do that again. Or how do we make that better?

‘With the jerseys, we want to give the players their own identity, with their nicknames, because I think that’s such a big thing in the darts.

‘MVG, with the green jersey for Michael Van Gerwen. Snakebite with the hairstyle of Peter Wright. You have to try and get those personalities across.

‘I always try to bring that into the pool and that’s what I was trying to channel this year with the snooker.

‘I think it’s good for snooker to have this one event that’s a little bit different. We love having that event at Multi Sport, these are high profile sportsmen. It’s incredible for us to run the tournament and we see the media that we get around Champion of Champions, and we go, “gosh, how do we get this in Nine Ball?”

‘Although I remember when we first tried dance cam, and I think everyone on Twitter completely slagged me off. But it’s live sport and we’re trying to have fun with it at the end of the day.

‘I do appreciate that snooker is not pool. It’s the elegant cue sport and they are two very different sports. I think my personality is best suited for the pool. That’s for sure.’