Most prestigious\hardest tournament to win?

Joseph Ortega

Joseph Ortega

Daddy's little girl
Silver Member
I have been watching ESPN reruns on TV for the past couple of weeks and Allen Hopkins keeps referring to the Challenge of Champions as the most prestigious and hardest tournament to win.

Ive obviously never won a major tourney but I find it very hard to believe that a player would rather win the COC rather than the US Open or WPC. It is obviously a great tournament to win ($50K) but difficulty wise arent there many more tourneys that are harder to win?

Does AH say this because of the sponsors and he has to play it up? If so, then I understand.

This is not to knock the COC because with the sudden death- winner take all format, im sure it has to be extremely nerve wrecking, is this why he says its the most prestigious? I wouldnt be able to run three balls with all that pressure, but still.


This quote is from the AZB front page. "The Challenge of Champions is widely considered the toughest tournament to win in professional billiards"

If you ask me, which i dont know why you would :rolleyes: i would say that the WPC, BCA open, US Open and the Derby are harder and even look better on a resume..........

what do yall think? What are the hardest tourneys or more prestigious majors out there?
 
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It is considered by some to be the hardest because the field is inviational with players that were all playing very well for the year, because it is winner take all, because it is single elimination, and because of the amount of money on the line ($50,000). Basically all of those things create a pressure that may not be there in other events. I have heard one pro say they thought it was the toughest but I forgot who said it, and they may have just been giving lip service (I'm thinking it might have been a COC winner in the post match interview where I heard it).

That being said, IMHO, I still think the World Championships, the Derby City Classic 9 ball and the US Open are tougher tournaments and are seen as bigger accomplishments.
 
kilojo420 said:
Ive obviously never won a major tourney but I find it very hard to believe that a player would rather win the COC...

This quote is from the AZB front page! "The Challenge of Champions is widely considered the toughest tournament to win in professional billiards"
Click to expand...
Don't equate "toughest to win" with "player would rather win." It's the toughest to win because it's an invitiational of only a handful of players. That's awfully tough to win if you never get invited.

Fred <~~~ Occam's Razor and all
 
I don't think the COC is nearly as difficult to win as the other majors. You only have to win three matches, in a field of eight players.

Granted, those 8 are a pretty tough field, but in the WPC you have 400 guys who can put a 6pack on you.

They're longer races, so you're never going to see someone slop out a victory by getting one good roll.

Winner break format is also brutal, because the aforementioned world beaters may never let you shoot.

I've been watching the same COC reruns, and the level of play isn't as consistently high as in the finals of a US Open or WPC.

Basically, the tournament is a crapshoot, and Allen Hopkins is just tooting his own horn. It's his tourney, so of course he tries to hype it up. He does the same with that awful 7ball event.:rolleyes:
 
Matt Braun writes those press releases, and he's a pro! By the way, it's his event so he will praise it to the Moon. Why not?

Hardest to win? Try the U.S. Open or the WPC. Next question. :grin-square:
 
what if the IPT had been succesful, would it have taken the place of all others as far as being prestigious?

How hard was it to win one of those events in comparison to the difficulty of say the Open or the Derby?
 
Though the field is usually pretty tough, there is no men's pro event having a world class field that is easier to win than the Challenge of Champions, which requires just three wins in a format that increases the chances of the underdog in every match.

Splitting two races to five and then winning a one-rack playoff against a stronger player is so much easier than winning a race to eleven or thirteen.

These points aside, I've been to about eight of these, including the men's and women's events, and highly recommend them as great events to attend. Matt Braun and his wife do a magnificent job every year, and I admire them for it, and Mohegan Sun is a beautiful venue.
 
Icoc

I go every year to this event and i agree with Matt Braun.
Invite only. Never a repeat champ. And the champ plays 7 new players.
Usually has the US Open and WPC in the field as well as others.

So i would treat this like the Breeders Cup

And the WPC and the US Open like the Derby and Belmont

You win the Derby - Belmont you recieve a mount in the the Breeders Cup.

Also look at the past winners.

2007 - Feijen
2006 - Archer (Future HOF)
2005 - Chao (Future HOF)
2004 - Engert
2003 - Bustamante (Future HOF)
2002 - Reyes (HOF)
2001 - Chao (Future HOF)
2000- Bustamante (Future HOF)
1999 - Ortmann (Future HOF)
1998 - Lee
1997 - Ortmann (Future HOF)
1996- Souquet (Future HOF)
1995- Chao (Future HOF)
1994- Varner (HOF)
1993 - Hopkins (HOF)
1992 - Hall (HOF)
1992 - Lebron
 
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