unknownpro said:
Many of us have walked much the same road. Don't knock this thread just because you were one of the lucky ones. Those left out have a little more interest in seeing that this does not keep happening to us, or others. Imagine if Keith had been left out for whatever reason. Keith is one of the best pool players in the world without doubt and deserves his spot. So does Danny Harriman, among others, myself included, in my not so humble opinion.
I am interested in this thread to see how many really good players applied and were not selected....
Unknownpro, the topic at hand has been debated in numerous other threads. This thread is a repeat of the same subject matter.
I know a few players who I think should have gotten in the IPT. Ronnie Allen is a legend, and in some circles, he is considered the best one-pocket player ever.
Guess what, though, Ronnie Allen doesn't know how to use a computer, and this is true with MANY older players, for whatever reason. They never did develop the skills set to maneuver their way around the Internet, unlike the young'ns of today who learn keyboarding in school as a mandatory class.
I personally sent in Spanish Mike Lebron's application when I saw him last month because he really wanted to be a part of the IPT tour. Though he lacks computer skills, he gets around the tournament trail and heard about the IPT through word of mouth. He took it upon himself to get somebody -- me -- to help him get his application submitted before September 30th. He was a man on a mission, and guess what, he got selected.
I do not know the selection criteria, but being that there were over 3,000 applications sent in by pool players from around the world, only 150 were chosen. I imagine there are another 3,000 players who did not send in an application because, like Ronnie Allen and Spanish Mike, they lacked the computer skills to get theirs in AND/OR maybe were not aware of the IPT untill after the fact.
However, the IPT will launch, and hopefully, by next year, all of the players who still desire to be a part of this tour can qualify by competing in one of the tournaments by paying the entry fee of $1,000.
Now, $1,000 entry fee may seem like a lot of dough, but when you consider the million-dollar purses up for grabs, $200,000 and $350,000 and $500,000 first-place prize monies, the IPT Tour looks mighty inviting. It gives players a reason to be all that they can be, and when players began to have a goal to reach for, winning an IPT event, it may elevate their game to heights beyond their own expectations. The IPT provides HOPE to pool players around the world, and quite frankly, that's truly a good thing.
JAM