The Internet Invitational, a tournament created specifically for YouTube by Barstool Sports and Bob Does Sports, has taken the online golf world by storm, racking up millions of views on each episode. But Barstool Sports host Sam “Riggs” Bozoian is no stranger to showcasing behind-the-scenes drama from golf matches online. Since last year he has been confronting his ‘haters’ by playing high-stakes rounds of golf and showing footage of the matches on YouTube.
The series, which launched last February, pits Bozoian against internet trolls who have criticized him on social media. There are currently eight episodes available to watch on YouTubeeach of which has garnered hundreds of thousands of views.
On this week’s episode of Subpar, Bozoian joined hosts Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz in the studio to break down the success of the Internet Invitational, but he also explained how he selects his “H8er” competition opponents.
“It’s hard. It’s actually hard,” Bozoian said.
“It almost encourages people to lean in more, like if I go really hard on him, he’ll pick me.” Stoltz commented.
Barstool Sports host weighs in on Internet Invitational villain Luke Kwon
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Jessica Marksbury
“We had a plan in the beginning to film five [the H8er matches] before we released any of them for that reason,” Bozoian replied. ‘You can see it. For example, I could look back when someone sends me something mean, which happens. I can scroll through it pretty quickly and say, oh if you would send me something similar in 2021. You’re probably a hater candidate.
“So we do it that way. And then I have to shout out my producer Kyle Tims, one of our editors who crushed it with the Invitational, but he’s as much of a ride-or-die guy as you’ll ever find,” Bozoian continued. “So he’ll like to spend his spare time chasing people who follow me in the comments. He’s the best. So if I put him on the case, he’ll find people.”
But even once potential candidates are identified, it can still be difficult for the stars to align for a match.
“It’s almost like this Goldilocks zone of people that you have to try to find,” Bozoian said. “They really have to have a history of hate so that you can actually play it and get people in the video. It can’t be like BS where they just do it to get on camera because that’s stupid. They have to be willing to actually do it, which immediately eliminates 90 percent of the people who aren’t willing to actually do it. And then they have to be in the sweet spot of a handicap range because I get people who think I’m worthless, whatever, but then every time we do that. Come up with something like: Okay, I play it, they say: I’m a 7, so I need a few shots.
“I’m like, no, you said there’s no way I have a 5 handicap,” Bozoian continued. “So if we’re playing someone, I’d go somewhere between a 2 and a 7 that I could play against, but then you start thinking, if someone has the best hate record of all time and he’s going to be perfect for the show, but he’s got a 10 handicap – I’m not sitting here claiming that I’m the best golfer in the world, but it’s going to be a stupid video. I’ll just kill you. And even if you’re a scratch, you’ll just beat me. I’m not claiming that I’m a scratch golfer. So you have to find people who are right in that area, and then you get people who can’t do it just from a logistics point of view.
“We’re like, hey, we have a two-day period where we’re in Boston, we’re setting up golf courses. Can you come on August 4 or 5? And they’re like, no, I have a real life and a job. So it’s actually a lot harder to plan.”
For more on Bozoian, including his thoughts on Internet Invitational villain Luke Kwon, watch the full episode of Subpar below.
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