The International Pool Tour attracted the best players from all over 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 started it. When he created IPT, he was an avid pool player and was already a successful entrepreneur.
The professional sports tour featured bright lights, professional production and the best pool players in the world. This was a significant step in pool's history, which was not well-organized. The players would play multiple race-to-8 sets per day, but only two of them advanced to the next round.
Trudeau was determined give the game a serious shot. With $13 million of funding, he started the tour. Even though it was short-lived, it helped bring the sport to the forefront. The tour offered more than $6M in prize money over its life span.
The inaugural year of the tour saw four events. One of the most popular events was the King of the Hill Eightball Shootout. This event had a prize money of $200K. Another was the North American Open, which had a $2 million purse. Other tournaments include the IPT Players 8-Ball Championship. It was scheduled for October 22-29. The facility problems caused the 2007 cancellation of the tour.
The first year of the tour featured the most prize money in the history of pool. Reyes was awarded $500K for beating Roderick Morris at the World Open Eightball Championship. He also won $163k for his victory against Niels Fijen in Predator World 14.1 Championship.
Efren Ries is considered a legend. He is known as Bata and is considered the king among billiards hotshots. His nickname stems from his reputation as "running the tables." He has won 14 tournaments. He won a medal in eightball for the 2002 Asian Games.
As a young man, he earned $500 an hour as a teacher of pool. His sudden entrance into pool was not expected. A few years ago, he decided to become a tournament pro. He was the face IPT. He is currently the color commentaryator on U.S. broadcasts.
Reyes and Francisco Bustamante represented Philippines in the World Cup of Pool. They beat Roderick Morris and Earl Strickland. They won the Dr. Louis Pannullo Trophy.
The International Pool Tour featured several other stars, including Mike Sigel. Sigel, before he was a pro, sold imported goods and gambled on the road. But after word of the league got out, he started competing. He was the winner of two world championships, and a two time World Professional Pool Champion.
Trudeau was a long-time pool fan and came up with the idea for the tour after he saw a radio advertisement about a Chicago pool tournament. The tour originally planned to hold a challenge game in August 2005. However, it was cancelled after negotiations broke down with the facility.