Sigel and $$

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kkdanamatt

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Mike Sigel was the first pro pool player to win $100,000 on the pro tour during a 12 month period, from mid-1986 to mid-1987.



MICHAEL SIGEL
​
$102,176 (Equivalent to $240,420 in 2020 dollars)

EARL STRICKLAND
​
$36,165

NICK VARNER
​
$31,503

BUDDY HALL
​
$26,070

ALLEN HOPKINS
​
$24,567

DANNY MEDINA
​
$17,886

KIM DAVENPORT
​
$16,239

EFREN REYES
​
$15,762

MIKE LEBRON
​
$14,464
 
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goin2bepro said:
Not the first but....Earl should have got a million for one set.
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I believe it ended up as around $400,000 as a lump sum rather than an annuity, similar to how you can collect Lotto jackpots. But yes, Earl was in front for a long time.

At snooker, one single well done rack (frame) in the right event was worth about $250,000 at one time, but they stopped it due to players getting better.:frown:
 
Sigel is/was such a jerk. I hope he has millions, because he would need it to have a few friends.

Compare him to Nick Varner - a real ambassador for pool and just a great champion.

Ken
 
Ken_4fun said:
Sigel is/was such a jerk. I hope he has millions, because he would need it to have a few friends.

Compare him to Nick Varner - a real ambassador for pool and just a great champion.

Ken
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Varner won over $100K in 1989 I believe. That year he basically won everything he entered.
 
Ipt

Ken_4fun said:
Sigel is/was such a jerk. I hope he has millions, because he would need it to have a few friends.

Compare him to Nick Varner - a real ambassador for pool and just a great champion.

Ken
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I kinda agree with you; it's probably an ego problem, but some pool players do owe him some gratitude, if: If it's true that he influenced Kevin Trudeau to start the IPT. I know, many will say it was a big scam; but it did bring more money to some players than ever before; I especially was impressed with the first tournament where some of the old pros were given $30,000 (?) for just showing up.....not sure if that's accurate either, but it was a nice gesture..
 
Mich said:
Varner won over $100K in 1989 I believe. That year he basically won everything he entered.
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Certainly an historic performance for Varner in 1989, but he didn't win everything. His website says "He won everything in sight including 11 Pro Tour events out of 22." Billiards Digest shows him wining 8 out of the 18 major Men's Professional Billiard Association events that year plus 3 more wins in satellite 9-Ball events. He also entered some bar-table 8-Ball and 9-Ball events, but no wins are shown for those.
 
Mike, no doubt, has an ego the size of Texas, but the truth remains that he has made some attempts to better our sport and deserves recognition for it. That said, his sometimes poor attitude and demeanor have offended more than a few over the years, and I think it has caused some to have a diminished view of just how great a player he was.

Those, like me, who saw his entire career up front, know that he is on the short list for greatest player of all time and may well be America's greatest ever player, having legendary accomplishments in both the straight pool era and the nine ball era.
 
kkdanamatt said:
Mike Sigel was the first pro pool player to win $100,000 on the pro tour during a 12 month period, from mid-1986 to mid-1987.



MICHAEL SIGEL
​
$102,176 (Equivalent to $240,420 in 2020 dollars)

EARL STRICKLAND
​
$36,165

NICK VARNER
​
$31,503

BUDDY HALL
​
$26,070

ALLEN HOPKINS
​
$24,567

DANNY MEDINA
​
$17,886

KIM DAVENPORT
​
$16,239

EFREN REYES
​
$15,762

MIKE LEBRON
​
$14,464
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Wow, all those World Champion players (Efren, Varner, Buddy Hall, Hopkins, Strickland) made no more then $30,000 in tournament winnings during that year, and Sigel won over a $100,000?

That is amazing.
 
animatedvmaker said:
Wow, all those World Champion players (Efren, Varner, Buddy Hall, Hopkins, Strickland) made no more then $30,000 in tournament winnings during that year, and Sigel won over a $100,000?

That is amazing.
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Justin, it's probably going back way before you were born.
 
He played many position shots with follow or draw. He can back the cue ball up more precise than any player ever.
 
animatedvmaker said:
Wow, all those World Champion players (Efren, Varner, Buddy Hall, Hopkins, Strickland) made no more then $30,000 in tournament winnings during that year, and Sigel won over a $100,000?

That is amazing.
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$30,000 doesn't pay the bills when you are playing tournaments all over the U.S.I wonder how much those players made after the tournament was over?
 
sjm said:
Mike, no doubt, has an ego the size of Texas, but the truth remains that he has made some attempts to better our sport and deserves recognition for it. That said, his sometimes poor attitude and demeanor have offended more than a few over the years, and I think it has caused some to have a diminished view of just how great a player he was.

Those, like me, who saw his entire career up front, know that he is on the short list for greatest player of all time and may well be America's greatest ever player, having legendary accomplishments in both the straight pool era and the nine ball era.
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Every pool player I have ever met that actually met said Willie Mosconi was an a$$hole. He may of been one of the greatest of all time, but the first thing I always hear about him was he was an a$$hole.

No doubt Siegal was a great player, I only met him two times looking at his POS cues. He was an a$$hole, and anyone that was foolish enough to actually buy any of his cues has taken a bath on them.

I look at Johnny Archer, Ewa, Varner and many others that actually promote the sport and IMO are worthy of praise and were great champions.

Ken
 
sjm said:
Mike, no doubt, has an ego the size of Texas, but the truth remains that he has made some attempts to better our sport and deserves recognition for it. That said, his sometimes poor attitude and demeanor have offended more than a few over the years, and I think it has caused some to have a diminished view of just how great a player he was.

Those, like me, who saw his entire career up front, know that he is on the short list for greatest player of all time and may well be America's greatest ever player, having legendary accomplishments in both the straight pool era and the nine ball era.
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Stu, I totally agree with you.
Sigel's personality is abrasive, causing pool fans to forget how dominant he was from the mid '70's to the late '80's.
When Sigel got to the finals in tournament play he was the odds-on favorite to win it all.

That's why his money winnings, which I posted, are so remarkable, compared to the other nine players on the top ten list.

Efren has often said that the best player he ever faced was Mike Sigel.
 
I remember talking to Mike and him saying he had this billionaire friend that was ready to dump a bunch of money into pool and he was going to start playing again. That was Trudeau. Trudeau wanted Mike to be the guy everyone hated like in wrestling. There needs to be good and evil to make things click. Mike was always nice to me though. Captain Hook was a great guy. Mike the Mouth was a blow hard.

He made me a cue that I love and play with to this day.
 
I love how some based upon perceived opinions of Mike's personality would like to diminish his skills and achievements. A bunch of BS. If there is one overarching opinion about it all it would be Efren's! I interacted with Mike at the Glass City Open in Toledo, OH in the mid eighties and I have nothing to say but he is one of the best of all time.
 
kkdanamatt said:
Mike Sigel was the first pro pool player to win $100,000 on the pro tour during a 12 month period, from mid-1986 to mid-1987.



MICHAEL SIGEL
​
$102,176 (Equivalent to $240,420 in 2020 dollars)

EARL STRICKLAND
​
$36,165

NICK VARNER
​
$31,503

BUDDY HALL
​
$26,070

ALLEN HOPKINS
​
$24,567

DANNY MEDINA
​
$17,886

KIM DAVENPORT
​
$16,239

EFREN REYES
​
$15,762

MIKE LEBRON
​
$14,464
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Those Figures are less half the Payout in Snooker for a single Tournament like the UK championship. Newly added Saudi Tournament has matched the Crucible championship in prize money...£500,000 for first prize. ...$640,000 US...£200,000 second prize.

Chinese 8 ball is creeping up in prize money.

Anyways, lots of potential in billiards at the pro level for cue sports that get their act together. American pool needs a seismic shift in rules/play to make it more entertaining. 9 ball just doesn’t do it.
 
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What a great run tournament and ship shore tourney too.


Nine ... corner said:
I love how some based upon perceived opinions of Mike's personality would like to diminish his skills and achievements. A bunch of BS. If there is one overarching opinion about it all it would be Efren's! I interacted with Mike at the Glass City Open in Toledo, OH in the mid eighties and I have nothing to say but he is one of the best of all time.
Click to expand...
 
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