I’ve read every post in the original thread. And for those who were unhappy with my 2020 decisions, you made excellent points of which I cannot disagree.
Yet, none of my decisions were snap judgements. As I handed out prize money this year to the players, I asked them what could make 2020 better than 2019 and would encourage their return. The entry fee and the single-elimination idea were brought up the most, and before I made any decisions.
Jay Helfert knows as well as anyone what it takes to run a successful major tournament, and how everyone has their well intentioned opinions and I respect his.
The International 9-Ball Open with a staff of 40, had to raise over $100,000 to survive. I failed in crucial areas:
Sadly, we only got 96 players, needed 128.
Sadly, we were short on spectators.
Sadly, the vendors deserved more traffic.
Sadly, we needed more hotel room reservations.
Soooo, changes had to be made or nothing would change.
I decided to lower the entry fee to $500, increase the field, and announce alternate breaks. The purpose is to draw more players, which will draw more spectators, reserve more hotel rooms, and bring more traffic to our vendors.
The most heat came from eliminating winner breaks and it’s obvious why. At the same time, there will be more hill-hill matches with alternate breaks that may be just as memorable. Each player will know he'll have at least five turns at the table and we'll still have our share of come-back matches. Only time will tell if this fails or succeeds. I do know that all of us want it to succeed and continue!
And I'm not done with major announcements. Before long, I will announce why 2020 will be bigger and better than 2019.
Yes, please comment!
Yet, none of my decisions were snap judgements. As I handed out prize money this year to the players, I asked them what could make 2020 better than 2019 and would encourage their return. The entry fee and the single-elimination idea were brought up the most, and before I made any decisions.
Jay Helfert knows as well as anyone what it takes to run a successful major tournament, and how everyone has their well intentioned opinions and I respect his.
The International 9-Ball Open with a staff of 40, had to raise over $100,000 to survive. I failed in crucial areas:
Sadly, we only got 96 players, needed 128.
Sadly, we were short on spectators.
Sadly, the vendors deserved more traffic.
Sadly, we needed more hotel room reservations.
Soooo, changes had to be made or nothing would change.
I decided to lower the entry fee to $500, increase the field, and announce alternate breaks. The purpose is to draw more players, which will draw more spectators, reserve more hotel rooms, and bring more traffic to our vendors.
The most heat came from eliminating winner breaks and it’s obvious why. At the same time, there will be more hill-hill matches with alternate breaks that may be just as memorable. Each player will know he'll have at least five turns at the table and we'll still have our share of come-back matches. Only time will tell if this fails or succeeds. I do know that all of us want it to succeed and continue!
And I'm not done with major announcements. Before long, I will announce why 2020 will be bigger and better than 2019.
Yes, please comment!