2002 FLW Championship under way
Pros set to battle competition, slot limit in quest for $260,000 first-place prize money
SHREVEPORT, La. – Following a ceremonial moment of silence for the victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the top 48 pros and co-anglers of the 2002 season hit the open waters of Cross Lake shortly after 7 a.m. to kick off the most important and prestigious Wal-Mart FLW Tour competition of the year. With a brilliant sunrise serving as backdrop for the start of today’s action, pros wasted little time gearing up for their head-to-head battle as dictated by the championship’s bracket format that will dominate the first three days of competition.
Championship rules
During the opening round of competition, the tournament format matches the No. 1-seeded angler (in this case, Jay Yelas of Tyler, Texas, based on the 2002 year-end standings) against the 48th-ranked pro (Harmon Davis of Marlow, Okla.), the No. 2-seeded angler (Kevin VanDam of Kalamazoo, Mich.) against the 47th-ranked pro (Marty Stone of Linden, N.C.), etc. Anglers will face off against the same opponent for the first two days of competition.
After the day-two weigh-in has concluded, the angler in each matchup who has the most combined weight over the first two days of competition will advance to the next round.
With 24 anglers remaining on day three, bracket matchups continue with each angler starting over from zero. At the end of competition on day three, whoever has the most weight in each of the individual matchups will advance to the final day of competition.
However, before the start of the final day of competition, all 12 remaining anglers will be reseeded based on their combined three-day catch weights. Hence, the angler who survives the head-to-head matchups over the first three days of competition with the most combined weight over the course of the tournament will be seeded No. 1 heading into the finals.
On the final day of competition, the Nos. 1- and 2-seeded anglers will battle it out for the $260,000 first-place prize money. Anglers seeded No. 3 and No. 4 will compete for the third-place prize, etc.
The Co-angler Division format is different and somewhat more basic than that of the Pro Division. All 48 co-anglers will fish during the first two days of competition. After the day-two weigh-in, the 24 co-anglers with the most combined two-day weight will survive the cut. On day three, the remaining 24 anglers will start over from zero and fish for the first-place prize of $25,000. At the end of day three, a co-angler champion will be crowned.
Slot-limit strategy
Anglers will not only have to battle some tough competition on Cross Lake today, but also a difficult and sometimes maddening slot limit. Specifically, the Cross Lake slot limit demands the following restrictions: Anglers can keep all fish between 12 and 14 inches. They are also allowed to keep up to four fish over 17 inches. However, anglers may keep no fish between 14 and 17 inches.
As a result, anglers are going to have their choice of at least three separate strategies throughout the four-day event. They can target a bunch of small fish and hopefully guarantee that they record a five-fish limit at the end of each day’s competition. They can choose a more risky strategy and target big fish over 17 inches and hope that they can land a few monsters. Or anglers can use a combination of the two strategies to fashion together a competitive limit that will allow them to advance to the next round.
However, only time will tell which anglers ultimately chose the correct path.
FLW Championship action continues at today’s weigh-in, scheduled to take place at 3:30 p.m. at the Wal-Mart Supercenter, located at 6235 Westport Road in Shreveport.
Vital statistics:
Sunrise: 6:57 a.m.
Temperature at takeoff: 74 degrees
Expected high temperature: 96 degrees
Water temperature: 87 degrees
Wind: from the north at 3 mph
Relative humidity: 73 percent
Day’s outlook: mostly sunny
Related links:
Photos
Day-one pro and co-angler pairings
2002 FLW Championship bracket