Sometimes, especially with local and/or regional tournaments that are held in pool rooms, the wait time is long, resulting in some finals beginning late at night.
I have been at some tournaments where you didn't even know what time your match was. There weren't enough tables to accommodate the tournament in the pool room, and because of this, nobody knew when they were going to shoot.
One year at the Carolinas Open in Goldsboro, all players had to show up at 8 a.m. on day two of the tournament, but they did not know when they were going to play pool. Johnny Archer was the only competitor in this event that was told he could waltz himself in at noon and get accommodated with a noon time for his match. If you don't think everybody else was pissed off, well, we were pissed off royally at the favoritism showed to Johnny Archer.
My other half's match didn't start until 3 p.m., even though we had to stand around like vagrants from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., with no chair to sit in. There not only were not enough tables in this pool froom, but there weren't enough chairs. My feet were so swollen from standing on them day after day after day at the 5-day-long event. I would have paid somebody $100 for a chair, but there were none available. If you can believe it, they had "reserved" signs on the chairs in this bar. Most times, they were vacant because the person they reserved them for weren't there. I will never forget it.
Anyway, these finals sometimes begin after midnight. The players, rather than staying the whole time, decide to chop up the winnings and leave, not only saving expenses but getting sleep or getting a head start on the road back home.
I believe they should be forced battle it out, even if they do the chop-chop, to at least have a legitimate first and second place, but this doesn't happen in smaller events. I understand the "why," but I agree that it sucks a big weenie.
