I can't remember where he said it but KT has talked about "wild cards" in recent times so brace yourselves for a few shocks at the end of the year. Jeannette Lee pvt chat with KT and the noises the Snooker players are making certainly adds fule to fire.
It might suprise you to hear that I don't disagree with the concept of wild cards, the vast majority of the IPT's press came from Ronnie which can only help the tour long term.
I've said it before but there seems to be an obvious solution to this issue. Although arguably the WPA never advanced billiards to the level the IPT has introduced (financially atleast) there is a great tour structure in place in various cue disciplines. Why not take the top players from the following tours:
UPA 9 Ball
Euro Tour 9 Ball
San Miguel 9 Ball
Womens 9 Ball
Snooker
+ x number of wild cards for the IPT each year that could be used for hall of famers, promising juniors, various current champions like US Open/WPC etc.
These tours would probably see a surge in interest and as Colin suggested x % of each entry fee could go to the IPT instead of the multitude of qualifiers. I still like the idea of them holding a qualifier at the location before each event as this covers no-shows and also gives local players a chance to get involved which would increase the crowds at each event.
Sadly I can't see this happening anytime soon but it would almost make the IPT into some kind of Billiards super tour, pitching all the top players the each discipline against each other, but safe guardian the current structure/events that have been built up over the years.
