International Pool Tour
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The International Pool Tour is a professional sports tour created in 2005 by Kevin Trudeau. It aims to elevate pocket billiards, specifically 8-ball, to the level of other modern sports. Closely modeled on the PGA tour, the IPT is offering the largest prize funds in pool history, including over $8 million in its first full year, 2006. This has attracted the interest of some of the top pool players in the world. It's also different from the many 9-Ball tournaments, as all IPT events are Eight ball games with very strict rules.[1] Many pool enthusiasts were skeptical initially at the launch, but the first event was successful.[2] Some of the best pool players in the world competed in the IPT for enormous payouts. Winning US$250,000 or more was a tremendous boon to a professional pool player who previously might typically only win $5,000 to $15,000 for a tournament victory.[3]
Shortly after being founded in 2005, Deno Andrews was brought on as Tour Director. However, the IPT in 2006 then failed to pay participants as it claimed it would and critics point to this event as having had major negative effects on the pool world as a whole.[4]
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[edit] Events
The first IPT event, the King of the Hill Shootout held in Las Vegas, Nevada, was an exhibition match between Mike Sigel and Loree Jon Jones in 2005.[5] Later that year in December 2005, an invitational King of the Hill Shootout occurred at the Orlando Convention Center in Orlando, Florida, consisting of 42 players who competed in a round-robin format. BCA Hall of Famers in attendance received $30,000 just for showing up. Efren Reyes defeated Sigel in the finals and pocketed $200,000.[6] All of the 165 matches were filmed and were later available for sale as DVDs.[7]
The league currently consists of 150 players. At the end of the 2006 season, the bottom 50 players are eliminated from the tour and replaced with the top 50 of the 2007 IPT Tour Card Qualifier. Everyone who makes the cut for the 2007 season is guaranteed $100,000 prize-money — but much more can be earned through tournament wins and bonuses. The IPT has already been credited with revitalizing the sport and bringing the game to a higher standard.
In 2006, the IPT secured major television contracts with OLN and Eurosport. OLN is currently running a television show produced by the IPT. The show premiered on June 4th, 2006 on the OLN network. Eurosport will broadcast live from each IPT event to millions of potential viewers across Europe. This coverage is unprecedented in the sport of billiards.
In the era of Pool Champions Willie Mosconi and Irving Crane, the standard dress code for professional pool saw players dressed in tuxedos when competing, but beginning in the 1970s, the dress code had relaxed in competition with contenders wearing sneakers, baseball caps, T-shirts, and bluejeans. Trudeau re-established a dress code for the IPT members and required all IPT members and competitors to adhere to it, to project a better image for pool. All male pool players were required to wear suits, long-sleeved shirts, and leather shoes.
In September 2006, just prior to the IPT World Open Eight-ball Championship in Reno, Nevada, Kevin Trudeau announced that the IPT had entered into an agreement to be acquired by Ho Interactive, a new company started by casino owner billionaire Stanley Ho. Two new sponsors were also announced offsetting the bad news that the IPT championship scheduled for October 2006 in London, England, had been cancelled.[8]
In October 2006, the IPT cited confusion pertaining to the delivery of competitor payment checks and factors related to its impending acquisition by Ho Interactive as key causes. Tournaments have been postponed and are officially being rescheduled. Tentatively, the IPT was targeting February and March 2007 for the next season for the tour, but as of August 2007, the future of the IPT is uncertain.[9]
Currently the IPT are hosting one on one matches that are broadcast online.
[edit] Tournaments
| Tournament | Date | Location | Winner | Nationality | Prize | Runner-up | Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| King of the Hill Eight-ball Shootout | 2005, November 30 to December 4 | Orlando, Florida | Efren Reyes (1) |  Philippines |
$200,000 | Mike Sigel |  USA |
| North American Open Eight-ball Championship | 2006, July 22 to July 30 | Las Vegas, Nevada | Thorsten Hohmann (1) |  Germany |
$350,000 | Marlon Manalo | Philippines |
| World Open Eight-ball Championship | 2006, September 3 to September 9 | Reno, Nevada | Efren Reyes (2) | Philippines |
$500,000 | Rodney Morris | USA |
[edit] References
- ^ Loree Jon Jones Player Bio, InternationalPoolTour.com. Retrieved June 22, 2007
- ^ "IPT Pool Tour Goes Off With a Bang", by Pete Williams, Buzzle.com, December 11, 2005. Retrieved June 26, 2007
- ^ Definition of IPT, Billiards.about.com. Retrieved June 26, 2007
- ^ L Jon Wertheim. "Jump the Shark", New York Times (op-ed), New York Times, November 24, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-11-24.
- ^ "8-Ball Legends to Compete in World Championship Match: New Pool Tour Launches with Biggest Prize Money In History of Sport", AzBilliards.com, Las Vegas, Nevada, July 21, 2005. Retrieved June 25, 2007
- ^ "Magician is King of the Hill", ProfessorQball.com. Retrieved June 25, 2007
- ^ Kevin Trudeau Speaks, November 29, 2005, Orlando, Florida. Retrieved June 25, 2007[clarify]
- ^ IPT | File Not Found
- ^ IPT | File Not Found
