Strickland once ran 11 consecutive racks against Nick Mannino during the first PCA tournament in 1996 where there was a stipulation that anyone who could 10 racks would win US$1,000,000. Jimmy Mataya, who was present at the event, witnessed Strickland's last shot, a tough nine-ball in which Earl showed no fear and "fired it in with authority" to win the prize. Up to that time, no one had ever run 10 racks of 9-ball in a row during a professionally sanctioned event. The feat has never been duplicated in a tournament since. This Million dollar Challenge event was a kickoff for the new tour, which Earl Strickland, C.J. Wiley, and others helped to build. He won it on the first day of the event and the very start of the brand new tour association (PCA). The insurance company backing the event refused to pay and lawsuits were filed. Two and one half years later, the insurers were forced to pay up. Unfortunately, due to expenses of the legal battle, Earl received less than $1,000,000 and the resulting negative publicity around it led to a very premature demise of the new PCA tour. Earl was very gracious about the money, but sorely disappointed that the new tour got off to a bad start. The scandal and a feud with the already existing feud with the Professional Billiards Association fearing lost revenues and television contracts spelled doom and led to a quick demise of the new tour.