Without knowing it, I believe that the match is taking place during the week has to do with the tight schedule of tournaments, travel and stuff. Quite a challenge to find common time of two professionals outside their tournament itinerary.
A ref would further delay the match. rack your own is the way to go. Especially in long sets like this, coz it increases the chance for a player to find the zone.
I am not a fan of the shot clock. There are racks where you need thinking time for evaluation. Having a shot clock destroys for me the essence of pool, the tactical battle! Best negative example is the Mosconi Cup, where a couple of key shots have to be rushed. I find this stupid and it doesnt do the game justice. I agree though, that for televised matches - or streamed for that matter - players should be instructed to play and decide at a "decent" pace. How to achieve this in reality.. I dont know but the shot clock is a blunt instrument for a very delicate game...
johnny: can u remember the TAR match between Appleton vs Shane when they had shimed the table to incredibly tight pockets? Almost no break'n'runs, players were scared to go for shots... it was horrible! none of them had a fair chance to get in stroke. So, yes I agree, too small pockets are a pain to watch. I am not quite sure though it is here the case.
Despite all the moaning from me as well, I am very grateful, I have a chance to watch live from thousands of miles away two world stars match-up over a couple of days. I remember well the days when I had to watch VHS 120 mins low quality crap of what you could very rarely get hold of. Thank god we live in this new era...!
Shud start in roughly 20 mins
enjoy folks