HoosierAlan
Registered
The purpose of this post is to give a firsthand account about the Dennis/SVB match and a full explanation of why it didn't happen. This is being written collaboratively by Alan and Jason Sword, and is completely factual and based on direct observation and firsthand interactions.
The original downfall began with the Dennis/Ko match in New York. The money didn't match the flyers promoting the match, which raised suspicions as to whether the match was on the square. After Dennis won a grueling race to 100, he was told the match was for far less than initially promised, and given $0 by John French. This all happened after French spent large quantities of time on the live stream citing the previously agreed upon amounts. After the match, Dennis received $0 from the money at stake, and a paltry $750 as royalties from the stream. French then immediately signed the Ko brothers to a "contract," which further compromised the integrity of the match and the reputations of the players involved. This was very upsetting to Dennis, and he wanted no further part in the matches French was organizing (except the highly-touted match with SVB, as this had been highly anticipated for quite some time). After Dennis returned to Illinois with French, he immediately got on a train to St. Louis to get out of an increasingly toxic situation. In St. Louis, he met and stayed with Justin Bergman and Roberto Gomez.
As DCC rolled around, Dennis knew he was entitled to a free hotel room at Horseshoe (a perk for being a previous all-around winner). French did not have free accommodations, and when he tried to book a room he was told none were available. Upon hearing this, French informed Dennis that the two of them would be sharing a room for the entirety of the trip. This was unacceptable to Dennis, so he told French that French could have the room, and Dennis would find other accommodations. After this, Dennis found Bergman, and asked if he could stay in Bergman's room. Bergman agreed, and Dennis roomed with Bergman, Sky Woodward, and Roberto Gomez for the duration of the trip. Jason and I had no previous knowledge that Dennis would be staying in the room we paid for, but he was certainly welcome. We had no staking engagement with Dennis, and he is certainly not "under contract" with us.
One night during DCC, the subject of Dennis' contract came up. Dennis said he had been asked to sign a contract by French, but that French had assured him the contract was only splitting DVD royalties. Dennis had a copy of the contract on him and asked us to read and interpret it (since he is unable to fully understand written English). We were shocked when we read the contract, which gave French 50% of "any and all compensation received as a professional pool and billiards player, including but not limited to, salary, endorsements, winnings, calcuttas, compensation, video royalties, and any other royalties." When we explained this to Dennis he was understandably furious. He told us that he had explained to French that he has had a full-time stakehorse in the Philippines for fifteen years, and would not jeopardize that relationship. Dennis immediately called John and demanded to speak to him in-person. It's unknown what transpired during this conversation, but afterwards Dennis said he wanted to completely cut ties with John French. He did express the desire to play SVB in Beloit, and he hoped that would still be possible since he was under the impression that the money for both sides had already been posted.
After the DCC, Sky and Hank were staying at Jason's house. Sky, Warren, and Dennis had a tournament scheduled in St. Louis in a few days, so Dennis and Warren (unexpectedly to us) decided to spend a few days with us. During this time, a money match was set up in Cincinnati for Warren and Sky to play Billy Thorpe. Dennis did not play in any money matches. During the entirety of both matches, he practiced his break on a separate table (in anticipation of his match with SVB). When we returned from Cincinnati, we saw on Fast Lenny's Facebook thread that many top pros were questioning the integrity of the match. This led SVB to investigate, and he found that the money had not yet been posted for either side. After more digging, it became clear that French was directing proceeds from the videostream to his personal Paypal account. As suspicions arose on various Facebook threads, French indicated a strong desire to cancel the match. This didn't seem possible, since all the money for the stream was already in his account. Also, many people had booked flights and accommodations to watch the match live. Dave Coles, owner of The Carom Room in Beloit, had spent thousands of dollars and countless hours preparing for the match. Coles, Hank Smith, Jason and I did everything we could to save the match. We suggested playing for less money, and even offered to stake Dennis ourselves. But after reading about the mess that had unfolded, SVB (understandably) decided he wanted nothing to do with the match anymore.
Throughout this entire process, John French has attempted to deflect all blame towards me, Jason, and Dennis. The truth is we attempted everything possible to make this match happen. Dennis desperately wants to play Shane. It has been John's inconsistencies that have undone one of the best matches of all-time. Jason and I are still hoping to coordinate with Dennis and SVB, and hopefully we can still make this match a reality.
The original downfall began with the Dennis/Ko match in New York. The money didn't match the flyers promoting the match, which raised suspicions as to whether the match was on the square. After Dennis won a grueling race to 100, he was told the match was for far less than initially promised, and given $0 by John French. This all happened after French spent large quantities of time on the live stream citing the previously agreed upon amounts. After the match, Dennis received $0 from the money at stake, and a paltry $750 as royalties from the stream. French then immediately signed the Ko brothers to a "contract," which further compromised the integrity of the match and the reputations of the players involved. This was very upsetting to Dennis, and he wanted no further part in the matches French was organizing (except the highly-touted match with SVB, as this had been highly anticipated for quite some time). After Dennis returned to Illinois with French, he immediately got on a train to St. Louis to get out of an increasingly toxic situation. In St. Louis, he met and stayed with Justin Bergman and Roberto Gomez.
As DCC rolled around, Dennis knew he was entitled to a free hotel room at Horseshoe (a perk for being a previous all-around winner). French did not have free accommodations, and when he tried to book a room he was told none were available. Upon hearing this, French informed Dennis that the two of them would be sharing a room for the entirety of the trip. This was unacceptable to Dennis, so he told French that French could have the room, and Dennis would find other accommodations. After this, Dennis found Bergman, and asked if he could stay in Bergman's room. Bergman agreed, and Dennis roomed with Bergman, Sky Woodward, and Roberto Gomez for the duration of the trip. Jason and I had no previous knowledge that Dennis would be staying in the room we paid for, but he was certainly welcome. We had no staking engagement with Dennis, and he is certainly not "under contract" with us.
One night during DCC, the subject of Dennis' contract came up. Dennis said he had been asked to sign a contract by French, but that French had assured him the contract was only splitting DVD royalties. Dennis had a copy of the contract on him and asked us to read and interpret it (since he is unable to fully understand written English). We were shocked when we read the contract, which gave French 50% of "any and all compensation received as a professional pool and billiards player, including but not limited to, salary, endorsements, winnings, calcuttas, compensation, video royalties, and any other royalties." When we explained this to Dennis he was understandably furious. He told us that he had explained to French that he has had a full-time stakehorse in the Philippines for fifteen years, and would not jeopardize that relationship. Dennis immediately called John and demanded to speak to him in-person. It's unknown what transpired during this conversation, but afterwards Dennis said he wanted to completely cut ties with John French. He did express the desire to play SVB in Beloit, and he hoped that would still be possible since he was under the impression that the money for both sides had already been posted.
After the DCC, Sky and Hank were staying at Jason's house. Sky, Warren, and Dennis had a tournament scheduled in St. Louis in a few days, so Dennis and Warren (unexpectedly to us) decided to spend a few days with us. During this time, a money match was set up in Cincinnati for Warren and Sky to play Billy Thorpe. Dennis did not play in any money matches. During the entirety of both matches, he practiced his break on a separate table (in anticipation of his match with SVB). When we returned from Cincinnati, we saw on Fast Lenny's Facebook thread that many top pros were questioning the integrity of the match. This led SVB to investigate, and he found that the money had not yet been posted for either side. After more digging, it became clear that French was directing proceeds from the videostream to his personal Paypal account. As suspicions arose on various Facebook threads, French indicated a strong desire to cancel the match. This didn't seem possible, since all the money for the stream was already in his account. Also, many people had booked flights and accommodations to watch the match live. Dave Coles, owner of The Carom Room in Beloit, had spent thousands of dollars and countless hours preparing for the match. Coles, Hank Smith, Jason and I did everything we could to save the match. We suggested playing for less money, and even offered to stake Dennis ourselves. But after reading about the mess that had unfolded, SVB (understandably) decided he wanted nothing to do with the match anymore.
Throughout this entire process, John French has attempted to deflect all blame towards me, Jason, and Dennis. The truth is we attempted everything possible to make this match happen. Dennis desperately wants to play Shane. It has been John's inconsistencies that have undone one of the best matches of all-time. Jason and I are still hoping to coordinate with Dennis and SVB, and hopefully we can still make this match a reality.
