Regardless of your opinion of the new FLW Championship format, putting the pros in brackets does make for some interesting match-ups on paper. Looking at it that way, by far the hardest bracket (or group) is the one that includes Rick Clunn, Paul Elias, Tom Mann Jr. and Larry Nixon.
The first match-ups there are Clunn vs. Elias and Mann vs. Nixon. What do these pros think about being in the "Group of Doom?" Doesn't matter, they say.
Elias: Weighty Problem
Even though Elias said he "definitely ended up in the hardest bracket," he noted that "I could end up beating all of those guys, win my bracket and still not have enough weight to be fishing for the big money -- after I beat that quality of fishermen. To me that just doesn't add up.
"I would feel really poorly if I made it through that bracket, made it to the final day of competition and didn't have enough weight to be in that final two guys. The odds are that whoever wins our bracket will have some pretty decent weight."
Mann: Have to Beat Them All
"I could beat 2-3 of the best fishermen in the world and still not have a chance to win the tournament," Mann said. "I have to beat Larry to go on, but that doesn't make much of a difference. You have to beat everyone in every tournament.
"He's one of the best fishermen in the world, but that's neither here nor there," Mann said of Nixon. "Just because I drew him in the first round has no bearing on my decision-making. You have to beat them all anyhow."
Nixon: Catch Fire
Nixon said he still isn't sure how the bracket system works. "I really don't know how to look at it," he said. But the bottom line for him is "you still have to catch them to win.
"I'm just looking at them the way I look at all tournaments. You try to catch the fire out of them and you wind up where you wind up.
"We'll know more after it's over, but I just figure that the guy who catches the most fish will win it anyway. You have to get up there toward the top after 3 days or you can't win."
Tomorrow: The BassFan.com Scouting Report for Cross Lake!
