My opinion:
Something I'm seeing a lot in this thread is about "pool players," where they're expecting to compete in a way to determine who is best, or to improve their game, or to play all night, or etc.
I think people here are looking at this league with the expectation that it's meant to be like other leagues, targeted specifically at good pool players, but with big prizes.
That's not what it's meant to be.
It's meant to be a way to attract all types of people to the pool table and draw more interest into pool. People that play pool at the bar, friends and family, casual players, good pool players, and more. It's meant to bring as many people to the light of pool as possible.
A lot of people here may not appreciate that. They may prefer tournaments with strict rules, shirt fouls, double elimination, etc that spans across a 3 day period. Those things still exist, but that's not what this league is meant to be. If you choose to look at it in that way, it won't look appealing.
I personally have some friends that enjoy the game of pool, because pool is fun, but they're not at a caliber similar to me or many local tournament players. And for that reason, they don't compete and don't play as often as they would like because they're embarrassed they're not good enough. With this style of league, they could comfortably come out and compete along with the other talented players or players of similar caliber to themselves while still having a chance to win.
Many players say "Why would I pay $100+ to compete in a pro tournament knowing I'm going to lose?" That's a fair argument. Some will do it for the experience and challenge, but a lot of people aren't ready to throw $100 away time and time again. This style of league would give lesser talented players a chance to win instead of "throwing money away."
People here are often complaining about why pool is in the gutter, why the prizes are so small, and why it isn't on ESPN anymore. It's because not enough people care about it. Pool needs the general population to care about it if we want it to expand and earn big-money sponsorships.
So if you're looking for a new league specifically targeted at good pool players with the intention of finding out who has the best raw talent... then this league might not be for you; and that's okay. There are other leagues and tournaments that attempt to do that.
This is for everyone; beyond pool players with their own equipment. And it's trying to give everyone a chance so it's not immediately prohibitive out of the gate.
