With the recent talk about the positive that the IPT has done, I got to
thinking about what the IPT could have been. Assuming that the IPT is not some big scam, which is a big assumption at the moment, consider this...
The Events
The richest yearly event in pool is the World Pool Championship which
pays out $400,000 this year. The IPT could have taken this event as their guide and held a series of $500,000 events. The 3 million that was paid out for the KOH and Venetian event would have funded 6 tour stops.
Smaller paydays might not have garnered the attention from outside sponsors, but lets be serious. Outside sponsors are not knocking down KT's door to give him money. He got one shot advertising from Emerson and Vonage that has disappeared and he signed Party Poker to one event. Charlie Williams landed Party Poker for past events, so KT hasn't accomplished anything huge here.
Another negative here is that each event would have had an equal amount of prestige in this scenario. KT seems stuck on making each event bigger than the last. First was the King of the Hill, then the North American Open, then the World Open. I expect the next event will be the Solar System Open and then the Milky Way Open will be next.
The Billiard Industry
Instead of thumbing his nose at the rest of the Billiards Industry. KT could have sat down with the established players in the industry and talked about what he was doing. I am sure the WPA would have been willing to sit down and discuss how the IPT could flourish. Sitting down with them wouldn't mean KT had to do everything that they suggested. But to be fair, they do have a little experience under their belt. And they certainly would have provided better advice than a former top player who has played in less than 3 tournaments in 10 years and still thinks he is the #1 player in the world.
Other Tournaments and Promoters
Instead of scheduling on top of other major events, what if KT had spent a little time making sure that other smaller (they would all be smaller) events were given a little respect. Hell, instead of making fun of other promoters, offer a spot on the IPT to the top finisher at each of the majors.
While that might not have brought in money for those spots, it would have built relationships with existing promoters and would have led to support from those promoters.
As far as that goes, take Mike Janis' NUTS idea and offer 2 spots to the top two point earners on each of the major tours. Imagine how many players would flood into the smaller tours if they had the chance to qualify for the IPT by finishing well. With that kind of support for each regional tour, the regional tours would easily kick in a couple bucks per tournament entry.
I realize that this is all a pipe dream and the damage has already been done as far as the IPT (Isn't Paying Today) is concerned. But it fun to imagine what could have been if someone had gotten involved who was actually interested in expanding the billiards industry instead of owning it.
thinking about what the IPT could have been. Assuming that the IPT is not some big scam, which is a big assumption at the moment, consider this...
The Events
The richest yearly event in pool is the World Pool Championship which
pays out $400,000 this year. The IPT could have taken this event as their guide and held a series of $500,000 events. The 3 million that was paid out for the KOH and Venetian event would have funded 6 tour stops.
Smaller paydays might not have garnered the attention from outside sponsors, but lets be serious. Outside sponsors are not knocking down KT's door to give him money. He got one shot advertising from Emerson and Vonage that has disappeared and he signed Party Poker to one event. Charlie Williams landed Party Poker for past events, so KT hasn't accomplished anything huge here.
Another negative here is that each event would have had an equal amount of prestige in this scenario. KT seems stuck on making each event bigger than the last. First was the King of the Hill, then the North American Open, then the World Open. I expect the next event will be the Solar System Open and then the Milky Way Open will be next.
The Billiard Industry
Instead of thumbing his nose at the rest of the Billiards Industry. KT could have sat down with the established players in the industry and talked about what he was doing. I am sure the WPA would have been willing to sit down and discuss how the IPT could flourish. Sitting down with them wouldn't mean KT had to do everything that they suggested. But to be fair, they do have a little experience under their belt. And they certainly would have provided better advice than a former top player who has played in less than 3 tournaments in 10 years and still thinks he is the #1 player in the world.
Other Tournaments and Promoters
Instead of scheduling on top of other major events, what if KT had spent a little time making sure that other smaller (they would all be smaller) events were given a little respect. Hell, instead of making fun of other promoters, offer a spot on the IPT to the top finisher at each of the majors.
While that might not have brought in money for those spots, it would have built relationships with existing promoters and would have led to support from those promoters.
As far as that goes, take Mike Janis' NUTS idea and offer 2 spots to the top two point earners on each of the major tours. Imagine how many players would flood into the smaller tours if they had the chance to qualify for the IPT by finishing well. With that kind of support for each regional tour, the regional tours would easily kick in a couple bucks per tournament entry.
I realize that this is all a pipe dream and the damage has already been done as far as the IPT (Isn't Paying Today) is concerned. But it fun to imagine what could have been if someone had gotten involved who was actually interested in expanding the billiards industry instead of owning it.
