Years ago when this tournament first lost its WPA sanctioning as a world championship, the members here on AZ were more closely split if it should still be coincided a world championship. I recall the year Schmidt won, some people said it had the best straight pool players on the planet, so why shouldn't Schmidt be considered a world champion?
Well, this year is the reason why. This tournament has dwindled to almost nothing, and no one can deny that. This is what happens when you don't have it WPA sanctioned, and the money is low. The WPA sanctioning brings in the international top guns (who won't come otherwise even if the money was high). And the lack of money keeps even the US players away.