Dear Pool Players and Fans,
Back in 2006 when Dragon Promotions revived the World 14.1 Championships, the Professional Players and pool fans of the world rejoiced!
The WPA even sanctioned it in the first 5 years that Dragon Promotions held the event, a popular tournament which Charlie Williams and Cindy Lee were cool enough to bring back.
At the end of the day, the year, and the history of pool, these past 5 tournaments (2006-2010) will be regarded by history as the true World 14.1 Championships, now called the World Tournament by Dragon Promotions. The winners will go in the record books, and in the mind and hearts of the fans.
And I believe this event will be regarded as the true World 14.1 Championship this year, 2011, and into the future, that this is undoubtedly the largest International 14.1 event in the World, filled with almost all of the best 14.1 players from around the world every year, and that almost every pro player considers it a true World Championship. Period.
At the end of the day all that matters is that the players and the fans consider this the real World 14.1 Championships.
I urge the WPA to stop trying to make a power move with this event without even then offering to replace it with what they would consider a real world event. This move is unpopular with all of the fans and the players.
I believe and hope that the BCA will do the right thing and continue to accurately list in their record books the winner of this event as the true World Champion.
After all, the World 14.1 Championships has a long colored history of such disputes, (some of Willie Mosconi's World Titles were won in a 2 man challenge match) and at the end of the day, the printers of the record books will do the correct thing, and list this years event as the true World 14.1 Championship along with the true World Champions.
So WPA, please put the politics aside as you would only be doing the right thing for this historic branch of pool by continuing to sanction this event which now by consensus reality (Pro Players, Fans, & All Other Players), is still, the one and only true World 14.1 Championship, this very Dragon Promotions World 14.1Tournament.
The WPA's explanation is to vague and insufficient to deprive all pool lovers and the history of pool, one of its oldest traditions and most coveted titles. This isn't about the WPA. These great champions deserve better and the world deserves better.
While it is nice that the WPA does sanction the 9-Ball and 10-ball World Championships produced by other promoters around the world, this move by the WPA with the World 14.1 Championships is a blunder and a baffling attempt to discredit what has already achieved credible status the World Over.
This tournament (this year and all the past 5 years) is actually one of the most true World 14.1 Championship ever, in that tournament's long history, when you consider the true international field and depth of skill and talent. For that, the pro players, fans, and myself, congratulate Dragon Promotions on a job well done.
Thank you very much,
Max Eberle, USA
