After an exhausting Saturday prejudging, it looks like it will be a rerun at the Montreal Pro. This year, however, the ending will be slightly different, as it could be Darrem Charles edging past Johnnie Jackson for the win.
Charles, Jackson, Chris Cormier and Quincy Taylor appear to be the top four at the show, with Troy Alves on the outside looking in at an Olympia qualification. The top three at the contest will qualify for the Olympia, but since Charles has already qualified, whoever finishes fourth will grab the third bid. As has been the case since the Arnold Classic, the judging panel did a thorough job in terms of comparing the competition. At the end of the prejudging, Charles and Jackson were called out along in a likely preview of the top two. The judges then put them back in the lineup and called out Cormier and Taylor.
Charles, Jackson and Taylor finished 1-2-3 at this contest a year ago. Charles was slightly off conditioning-wise in 2006, but that was not the case today as Charles took the stage as the best conditioned competitor show. That should be enough to put him ahead of Jackson and give him a professional win for the sixth consecutive year. Jackson was much improved from his earlier showing this year (8th at the Keystone Classic in June), but still not as sharp as he was when winning this contest a year ago.
Cormier, competing in nearly two years after a severe back injury almost ended his career, and Taylor will likely battle it out for third. Cormier looked a little flat early, but seemed to improve as the prejudging went on. Taylor, meanwhile, was much improved from his showing at the Europa Super Show a month ago but still lacked the razor-sharp conditioning he showed at these shows in 2006.
