The International Pool Tour attracted many top players from all around the globe. This tournament was one the first multi-million-dollar tournaments to be aired on television. It aimed to make pool more mainstream. Kevin Trudeau founded it. Kevin Trudeau was an avid player of pool and was already a successful businessman at the time he founded IPT.
It was a professional sport tour that featured bright lights and professional production. The event also included some of the most talented pool players around. This was an important step in the history of pool. It was a sport that was not well organised at the time. There were eight sets of race-to-8 matches per day. Only two players in each group advanced to next round.
Trudeau wanted to give the game serious consideration. He began the tour with $13million in funding. Although the tour was short-lived it brought the sport back into the limelight. The tour offered more than $6M in prize money over its life span.
During its initial year, the tour featured four events. The King of the Hill Eightball Shootout had a $200K prize pot. The North American Open had a purse of $2 million. Other tournaments included the IPT Players 8-Ball Championship, which was scheduled for October 22-29. In 2007, the tour was canceled due to problems with the facility.
The tour's first year featured the highest amount of prize money in history. Reyes won a total of $500K for his victory over Roderick Morris in the World Open Eight-ball Championship. He was also awarded the $163k first prize in the Predator World 14.1 Championship for his win over Niels Fiesen.
Efren Reyes is considered to be a superstar. Known as Bata, he is the king of the billiards hotshots. His reputation of "running tables" gave him his nickname. He has won 14 tournaments. He won a bronze medal in eight ball at the 2002 Asian Games.
He earned $500 an hr as a pool instructor when he was younger. His entrance into the world pool was an unexpected one. He decided to make it a career as a pro tournament player several years ago. He was then the face of IPT. He is currently the color commentator for U.S broadcasts.
The World Cup of Pool was a tournament where Reyes and Francisco Bustamante represented the Philippines. They defeated Roderick Morse and Earl Strickland. They won the Dr. Louis Pannullo Trophy.
The International Pool Tour also featured Mike Sigel and several other celebrities. Sigel, before he was a pro, sold imported goods and gambled on the road. After word spread about the league, Sigel began to compete. He won two world titles and is currently a twotime World Professional Pool Champion.
Trudeau had been a long-time enthusiast of pool and thought up the tour after seeing a radio advertisement for a Chicago region pool tournament. The tour originally planned to hold a challenge game in August 2005. It was cancelled by the facility after negotiations failed.