Tournament Seeding

metal5d

Pool Player
Silver Member
Some of the regional tournament series are beginning to seed the top ranked players. Sometimes this even includes giving them first round byes. Do you think that seeding is fair? Does it benefit all players, the seeded players, or the unseeded players?
 

ScottW

Fo' shizzle!
Silver Member
Seems like a simple answer there - the seeded players, of course. That bye is one less match they have to play to win or place decently.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but how would anyone else benefit besides the seeded players? :/
 

metal5d

Pool Player
Silver Member
ScottW said:
Seems like a simple answer there - the seeded players, of course. That bye is one less match they have to play to win or place decently.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but how would anyone else benefit besides the seeded players? :/

Well I was at a tournament and some of the seeded players were trying to convince a few of us unseeded players it was better because if you beat one of them then you would not have to face another ranked player for a few matches.

I disagree and think that the draw should be just that. I can understand seeding in pro tournaments where they want to insure a good group of players for the final matches on TV. My opinion is that this is very unfair to the average players who make these tournaments so successful and provide most of the prize money. I think if they continue to incorporate seedings, that the regional tournaments will lose a lot of their following.
 

Cane

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Mixed feelings on Seeding Tournaments. If a tournament is slated for Television, then yes, seed the tourney. Why? Well, what we need the most is to appeal to the audience with NAME RECOGNITION. Face it, serious poolplayers don't really care who is playing as long as it's a good match. We bi#Ch about the production companies cutting the matches short because we want to see every shot of the match, but the generally recreational poolplaying public wants to see names they recognize... Allison, Karen, the Black Widow, Earl, Johnny, Efren, etc. They don't want to see Joe Blow that had a good run and made it to the final 12 or so. Name recognition gets audiences, PERIOD. So, for tournaments slated for TV, while I don't generally like Seeding, I completely understand it.

Now, if the tournament is not being filmed and produced for TV, then NO WAY. Let the draw fall by pure chance and maybe a guy who's just getting the rolls that day makes it to the finals or semi's. Wish all tournaments could be that way. Unfortunately, when a production company is spending a fortune getting something "ready for TV", then they have to consider the names that will most likely be in the finals and hope they're names that the recreational poolplaying public will recognize.

later,
Bob
 

pooltchr

Prof. Billiard Instructor
Silver Member
Bob, I'm not sure I agree. I have run enough tournaments to know that a totally blind draw will generally still have the top players around at the end. Yes, occasionally a dark horse might make it to the cash rounds, but I think even for television, that can give a pretty good story line. After all, lots of people like to pull for the under dog.
The only advantage to seeding is that if the top players get a bye in the first round, more of the other players have a chance to get at least one win on the right side of the bracket. but if they don't have the skill, they probably still won't cash out. I think a purely random draw is the only fair way to set up the brackets.
Steve
 

BillYards

Playing Style: Wu Tang Fu
Silver Member
Yeah, and taking it a step further: seeding combined with a calcutta seems to be a real scam...

I have to agree with the random draw being the best. Anyone could easily argue against a seeding process... As a TD, I would not want that responsibility hanging over my head.
 

CaptainHook

NOT Mike Sigel
Silver Member
I take it were talking about 9 Ball here? My 2 cents. Since it goes in streaks for everyone, i say no seeding. That way everyone has a fair chance. Look at how much the leader board changes in 9Ball. We hardly see Archer in the semi's anymore and he was the man in the 90's. But recently he won in Music city. And
sometimes we see Earl, but where are all the great's? There is a constant changing of the gaurd. Now we see names like Corey D, Danny B, etc etc.
So to keep it fair, i am against the Seeding. :)
 
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