Virtual Championship 2006: Bracket 20
Opening round – Robertson vs. Dudley
Virtual Championship 2006
Opening round – Bracket 20: Robertson vs. Dudley
Another exciting season of tour-level pro bass fishing drew to a close in record-smashing fashion on Lake Champlain last month, leaving only the Wal-Mart FLW Tour Championship on the horizon before 2006 is etched forever in the history books. FLWOutdoors.com will once again host its own “virtual championship” – a featured daily poll where readers can make their own picks and weigh in on who they think will be crowned champion during the Aug. 2-5 year-ending event on Logan Martin Lake in Birmingham, Ala.
In the days leading up to the championship, FLWOutdoors.com will ask readers to vote on who they think will advance in each of the daily bracket challenges (polls are located on the right-hand side of the FLW Outdoors and FLW Tour home pages). After each day’s votes are tabulated, the virtual championship bracket will be immediately updated to reflect the readers’ choices.
Will fishing fans correctly forecast the winner of this year’s championship? Vote each day to support your favorite qualified angler and to learn more about the 48 pros who will actually compete on Logan Martin Lake for a top prize of $500,000.
Today’s featured bracket matchup: Darrel Robertson (No. 20) vs. David Dudley (No. 29)
Darrel Robertson – No. 20 seed: Fishing for a living can be a tough way to make ends meet, considering the level of competition, but Darrel Robertson of Jay, Okla., makes it look easy. The Castrol pro has won more than $1.3 million in his FLW Outdoors career, which averages out to more than $131,000 a year. His biggest payday came in 1999 to the tune of $600,000 for winning the Ranger M1 Millennium tournament at Cypress Gardens. He picked up an additional $260,000 that same year at Ft. Gibson, winning the FLW Tour Championship. In 2005, he deposited $100,000 as runner-up in the Wal-Mart Open on Beaver Lake and almost repeated that performance this year, finishing in fifth at the same event. With two major wins and 16 top-10s, there’s little doubt about Robertson’s ability to win and win big. With $500,000 on the line at Logan Martin, Robertson is a threat.
David Dudley – No. 29 seed: Like his Castrol teammate, Dudley has a habit of winning big. In 2002, he earned a record-setting $700,000 with a single win at the Ranger M1 Millennium tournament on the Mobile Delta in Alabama. He followed that up by winning the FLW Tour Championship and $500,000 the following year. All in all, Dudley has three wins and 27 top-10 finishes. He started off the 2006 FLW Tour a little slow, but has gained momentum coming into the championship, finishing the regular season with a sixth- and 17th-place finish. If that isn’t enough to build his confidence going into the championship, he’s ranked No. 1 in the FLW Series after being in striking distance of a win in three straight events. He’s on a roll and looking for his second $500,000 payday. Even if he falls short of that goal, he’ll become the fifth man to achieve more than $2 million in earnings by appearing at the championship and collecting the minimum $15,000 paycheck.
Virtual Championship 2006 (click for complete details and poll results)
Wal-Mart FLW Tour Championship 2006 (click for more information)
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