There are several ways to look at a field as any championship nears. There are local favorites, dark-horse picks, gut-picks and more.

But more often than not, a simple look at the numbers is a good way to assemble a watch list or potential fantasy team.



To help fans get a better handle on who might be most likely to make this year's Cup Top 10, BassFan reached back through Cup history.

The Top 10 Mark

A Top 10 analysis of Cup history isn't an exact science, simply because the Cup – or FLW Tour Championship, as it was formerly known – has undergone so many format changes.

For example, the field used to cut to the Top 10, then the Top 5 for the final day. Later, FLW instituted its bracket format and 12 pros survived to fish the final day. Only for the past 2 years has the Cup format mirrored the FLW Tour, where the Top 10 survive day 2 and compete amongst themselves over days 3 and 4.

In order to unify the statistics, BassFan held to the Top 10 cutoff across all cups ever fished. After recording each pro who made each Top 10, BassFan then cut the list to only those pros competing in this week's Pittsburgh Cup.

In the table below, current Cup competitors who finished inside the Top 10 in a prior Cup are listed. Next to each pro is his number of Cup Top 10s, his total number of Cups fished, and the resulting percentage of Top 10s per total cups.

For example, Brennan Bosley fished one Cup, made the Top 10, and thus his percentage is 100%.

Clark Wendlandt fished 10 Cups, made the Top 10 six times, and thus his percentage is 60%. In other words, Wendlandt has made the Top 10 in 60% (more than half) of the Cups he's fished.



Of course, the data is somewhat skewed due to the number of cups a pro fished. However, it's clear that some pros have the competitive edge in the championship.

Several factors likely contribute, not least of which would be skill and versatility. However, championships also demand a certain savvy most anglers lack, like the ability to manage spectator traffic, or to choose a bite that'll hold up under that spectator traffic, even though another bite might seem better.

The standout within the field is certainly Clark Wendlandt, whose record survives the test of time. But also note Anthony Gagliardi, whose four of seven Top 10s is stout.

And Kevin Vida's resume is certainly attractive to a fantasy player. Plus, Vida's a smallmouth aficionado from the north who looks like a very strong pick for Pittsburgh.

Jay Yelas won the Bassmaster Classic by choosing water that wouldn't be affected by spectator traffic. That's the type of savvy that's led to his three of five Cup Top 10s.

Darrel Robertson gets the job done more often than not.

And many BassFans will note that Tommy Biffle's three Top 10s (in six Cups) were all 2nd-place finishes.

The most curious pro on the list might be Andy Morgan, who just can't seem to find his championship form. Put Larry Nixon on that list too.

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