IPT ‘King of Hill’ shelved; Reyes still unpaid

Giving up the chance to win top honors and prestige in the Asian Games, Efren "Bata" Reyes might soon be giving up his claim for the P25 million prize he won in the recent IPT (International Pool Tour) World 8-ball Open tournament.

This came about after the IPT announced yesterday that the IPT King of the Hill tournament, slated in December in the same week of the Asiad and where Reyes is seeded in the finals having emerged the top player in the IPT ranking for the year, has been rescheduled for 2007.

Also scrapped for the year are the IPT Masters Championship and the Tour Card tournaments.

Various reasons have been issued for the postponement on the IPT website, many relating to the Stanley Ho Interactive acquisition and financing schedule being pushed back due to recent legislation signed into law relating to online gaming in the United States.

But it has been reported weeks after Reyes outclassed the elite field to rule the 8-ball tilt in Reno, Nevada that IPT founder Kevin Trudeau went bankrupt and there was no money to give those who competed in the week-long event, including Reyes, who won what had been regarded as the richest purse staked in pool tournaments — $500,000.

Trudeau had been insisting that a tie up with billionaire Ho is already in the works and that the Ho Interactive’s acquisition of the IPT would become official in the next few weeks that would pave the way for the distribution of prize money.

But a month has passed and no official word from Trudeau regarding the players’ purses but the announcement that the next three IPT tournaments have been reset.

Reyes, together with buddy and World Cup winning teammate Francisco "Django" Bustamante, begged off to spearhead the country’s bid in the Asian Games in December to play in the IPT King of the Hill, where the 52-year-old pool legend, as finalist, is already assured of $100,000.

Reyes, whose stirring victory in the World Pool Championship in 1999 in Cardiff, Wales brought the sport to a higher level, would have been a top favorite in the Asiad along with Bustamante.

Meanwhile, the IPT said the new dates for the three events would be published in the coming days as the IPT event team is in contact with each of the venues. Tentatively, the IPT is targeting February and March for these tournaments and they will most likely be held in Chicago.

Under fire from the players, the IPT has offered its apologies to those who have already made travel arrangements to attend these events. Players who have played in qualification tournaments and won qualifying spots in the 2007 Tour Card Tournament will be contacted shortly with the new dates, according to IPT.

However, the IPT reiterated that these events have not been cancelled, but rather in the process of being rescheduled.