In a rather unsurprising move, FLW Outdoors today announced that its 2007 Forrest Wood Cup will no longer include the much-maligned (but sometimes praised) bracket format.
The 2007 Cup uses a Bassmaster Classic-like qualification system, where anglers from various FLW Outdoors tours, series and circuits can qualify. Seeding the various anglers, apparently, would have proved unfair.
FLW Outdoors CEO Charlie Evans said: "The NCAA-style bracket format has served us well for many years on the FLW Tour. There is, however, no equitable way to pair anglers in head-to-head competition when they qualify through different circuits. But the bracket will not disappear. We will use the format in our East-West fish-off for the FLW Series."
In summary, here's how the 2007 Forrest Wood Cup pro field will be built:
- Top 40 from the 2007 FLW Tour
- Top 30 from the 2006 FLW Series
- Top pro from each of the five Stren Series divisions, as decided at the 2006 Stren Series Championship
- 2007 BFL All-American winner
- 2007 TBF National Championship winner
- 1st- and 2nd-place team boaters from 2007 Ranger owners tournaments
The 81 pros will compete for 2 days, after which the Top 10 will advance. Weights will then be zeroed and the best 2-day total from days 3 and 4 will determine the winner.
