The Predator 10 Ball event
- Thread starter Grady
- Start date
first......
beetle said:
lol, so are we gonna split the first and second place prizes?
seriously though, I thought Grady came on here a few weeks back and appologized for being so critical about the UPA and their tournaments. I also commended him, as did many others, for doing this. Now this thread that exhibits the same disdain about the same topic. Should be an entertaining thread though, imo.
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I guess they limited the amount of players because the venue is a hotel, they had 5 days available and 8 tables + a tv-schedule to keep.
I know you put up many events before Grady, and if you think you can do it better then Charlie then go ahead and organize your own tournaments.
I know you put up many events before Grady, and if you think you can do it better then Charlie then go ahead and organize your own tournaments.
Thoughts
I'm trying to keep players from being discriminated against like I was. It's bad enough that there are 4,6 and 8 man invitationals that no new, exciting young players ever have a chance of playing in. Now even the 96 man event is an invite. That sucks, period.
Now, as for my background, I've had 21 events, with respectable prize money and no player ever had to kiss somebody's ass to get to play. I'm going to continue to do tournaments but I have to start with medium size ones first.
I plan on telling stories and regaling the members here with historical data. Ask me about anything. I'll gladly talk. BUT these invitational events have to stop. They're not fair. No qualified player should ever have to sit at home and not be able to play in almost any big event he or she wants to or have to qualify.
As for the fiasco in Arizona, the UPA gets a sanctioning fee and dues from it's members. How can they not be responsible for at least most of the prize money?
I'm trying to keep players from being discriminated against like I was. It's bad enough that there are 4,6 and 8 man invitationals that no new, exciting young players ever have a chance of playing in. Now even the 96 man event is an invite. That sucks, period.
Now, as for my background, I've had 21 events, with respectable prize money and no player ever had to kiss somebody's ass to get to play. I'm going to continue to do tournaments but I have to start with medium size ones first.
I plan on telling stories and regaling the members here with historical data. Ask me about anything. I'll gladly talk. BUT these invitational events have to stop. They're not fair. No qualified player should ever have to sit at home and not be able to play in almost any big event he or she wants to or have to qualify.
As for the fiasco in Arizona, the UPA gets a sanctioning fee and dues from it's members. How can they not be responsible for at least most of the prize money?
it was a good tournament - it looked very professional and was good for the game. hopefully the tv coverage is decent too.
but even though grady is being a big negative. he does have a point. we don't want too many of these tournaments being invitational only.
but even though grady is being a big negative. he does have a point. we don't want too many of these tournaments being invitational only.
which top pros were not invited?
One of the few pros I talked to while in Vegas was Rob Saez. He tried to get BigNasty (Chad) to comment on the 'new' ranking system & how that would effect pool. Chad took the fifth. I had never met Rob before but never shy with my words, I interrupted the conversation to ask him what the rankings really mean. When you have invite tournaments, the Prince of Abdul or whatever his name is plays in the World 8 Ball, Mike Sigel can play in any tournament even if he hasn't played in a decade = what do rankings really mean? I agree with Grady. Who cares that the BCA is now in charge of the rankings. Charlie Williams & Predator will invite who they want, the 14.1 people will invite who they want, the Prince of Abdul will invite who he wants. Golf has rankings that work. Tennis has rankings that work. Lesser sports too. Pool needs to wake up. BTW, Rob agreed with me.
Rob is a very cool guy. I met him out here in Phoenix and saw him agian out in Vegas a couple of times.watchez said:
As far as the tournament goes. I thought it was awesome. I got to sit in the VIP section and watch lots of great pool. I watched Tony Drago shoot for the first time and WOW he is fast. I timed his second rack from the time he picked up his playing cue to the time the 10-ball fell and it was 1:04. His match was 11 minutes old and he was up 5-0. Broke and ran the first 3 before coming up dry on the 4th break. Anyways I thought it was a great tournament and don't really understand the rankings either. I think they should all be open to whoever wants to pay to play.
BVal
What always bothered me about an invitational was the fact that they can call it "THE WORLD POOL AND BILLIARDS CHAMPIONSHIPS" and the uninformed believe whomever wins truely is the "WORLD" champ....but that isn't always the case. How do we know the finest players REALLY got to participate?
when politics, the buddy system, and what "tour" you play on can bar you from playing in the world championships even though you are qualified......there is a real big problem!
Yes, I know the problem.....no structure to the Pro rankings. But, when there are only 98 players, and WE ALL know some of them are not in the top "98" in the world....it's tainted.
Can I solve any of these problems?....no
Do I promote any events?....no
what I can do is believe in "OPEN" events....if you got the bucks to pony up, come on and play. Let the chips fall where they may!
when politics, the buddy system, and what "tour" you play on can bar you from playing in the world championships even though you are qualified......there is a real big problem!
Yes, I know the problem.....no structure to the Pro rankings. But, when there are only 98 players, and WE ALL know some of them are not in the top "98" in the world....it's tainted.
Can I solve any of these problems?....no
Do I promote any events?....no
what I can do is believe in "OPEN" events....if you got the bucks to pony up, come on and play. Let the chips fall where they may!
Well, the front-page news about Mark Griffin coming to the rescue for American pro players is a godsend. I hope he knows what he is getting into, but I'm sure he does! 
Years ago, I stated that it would be cool if there was one website that would list every single tournament happening. Of course, in order for that website to be accurate, the tournament promoters must provide the information. This type of resource would help scheduling tournaments for promoters, as well as players looking for somewhere to play.
If and when the new USA Pro organization comes to the fore, I think no entity should be allowed to call their tournament "world championship" from here on in unless they adhere to the USA Pro rankings.
If the independent promoter wants to invite a select group of players, that's fine. Just don't call it "world championship," and don't expect the USA Pro organization members to compete it unless it is sanctioned by the USA Pro organization or WPA.
Personally, I would like to see the BCA organization -- not the BCA League -- be taken out of the loop from here on in, with one exception. Years from now, I better see Mark Griffin in the Hall of Fame for his contribution to American pool. God bless him and our American pro players.
JAM
Years ago, I stated that it would be cool if there was one website that would list every single tournament happening. Of course, in order for that website to be accurate, the tournament promoters must provide the information. This type of resource would help scheduling tournaments for promoters, as well as players looking for somewhere to play.
If and when the new USA Pro organization comes to the fore, I think no entity should be allowed to call their tournament "world championship" from here on in unless they adhere to the USA Pro rankings.
If the independent promoter wants to invite a select group of players, that's fine. Just don't call it "world championship," and don't expect the USA Pro organization members to compete it unless it is sanctioned by the USA Pro organization or WPA.
Personally, I would like to see the BCA organization -- not the BCA League -- be taken out of the loop from here on in, with one exception. Years from now, I better see Mark Griffin in the Hall of Fame for his contribution to American pool. God bless him and our American pro players.
JAM
I agree...if you can do better have at it. Instead of telling us what you would do, DO IT!! Forget about saying that you just need however many sponsors and whatever venue and so on...GO GET THEM!! I could say that I could have a million dollar tournament if I had a million dollar sponsor...no kidding...ya think?!?!?! At least there was some sort of event for players to attend. You want to be offended because you weren't invited, but would you really have went. I do not know. Had you went though, I am sure that there would've been a rule issue or table issue or payment issue or sportsmanship issue or whatever. You enjoy seeing those outside of your circle of peers fail. That is my opiniion at least.
Nobody is holding you back. Will you do it...maybe because you have had many successful events in the past. But, this time before you do it, you feel compelled to bash those who stepped up. Correct?
As far as the payouts in Arizona go, I have no idea on that. I am speaking solely on the Predator event. That is the title of this thread.
Nobody is holding you back. Will you do it...maybe because you have had many successful events in the past. But, this time before you do it, you feel compelled to bash those who stepped up. Correct?
As far as the payouts in Arizona go, I have no idea on that. I am speaking solely on the Predator event. That is the title of this thread.
JAM said:Well, the front-page news about Mark Griffin coming to the rescue for American pro players is a godsend. I hope he knows what he is getting into, but I'm sure he does!
Years ago, I stated that it would be cool if there was one website that would list every single tournament happening. Of course, in order for that website to be accurate, the tournament promoters must provide the information. This type of resource would help scheduling tournaments for promoters, as well as players looking for somewhere to play.
If and when the new USA Pro organization comes to the fore, I think no entity should be allowed to call their tournament "world championship" from here on in unless they adhere to the USA Pro rankings.
If the independent promoter wants to invite a select group of players, that's fine. Just don't call it "world championship," and don't expect the USA Pro organization members to compete it unless it is sanctioned by the USA Pro organization or WPA.
Personally, I would like to see the BCA organization -- not the BCA League -- be taken out of the loop from here on in, with one exception. Years from now, I better see Mark Griffin in the Hall of Fame for his contribution to American pool. God bless him and our American pro players.
JAM
Are all the players going to ditch the UPA? I think they should as it seems a pretty do nothing oganization with no real goal at this point. But in reality, I doubt they will.
Fragged said:
I think -- and I am not sure -- that there will be a meeting of the minds with all pro players down the road.
Originally, the UPA's press release said no members would compete at the upcoming Qatar event. Shane Van Boening was quoted as supporting the UPA fully. Later, however, Johnny Archer and Shane Van Boening are both on the player roster for the Qatar event representing the United States.
Hopefully, there will be a way to incorporate the UPA into the upcoming USA pro tour, whatever form it takes. In the end, it will be a win-win situation.
There has been no recent UPA press release. I would like to think that caucuses are taking place for the betterment of pool between the UPA representatives and others, but I'm on the outside looking in. I am feeling good vibes about what is happening.
Bottom line is this, we need to preserve American pool. Why?
USA, all the way.
USA, All the Way.
USA, ALL THE WAY.
That's why!
JAM