The way I saw it they play pretty even with both of them shooting straight. Sounds like egos are involved now.
Personally I would have kept Zach off the streams and not allowed the internet railbirds to see his game at all.
As for the idea that Geno is micromanaging that is true to a degree. This appears to be a public experiment on what happens if an older experienced player travels with a younger inexperienced one. Part of building a champion is to put him into increasingly tougher games to learn how to fade the pressure and how to observe and learn from better players.
When you get to championship level you have to have learned how to bring your A game even when there is nothing left in the tank. If gambling you have to either manage the matches so that you agree to play only x-hours a day or play a certain number of sets and stick to it otherwise you run the very real risk of playing so much that you have no energy left at all. But pool players are notorious for matching up with no set times and just playing until someone quits.
I myself have had many sessions which lasted 12 hours or more. In fact a while back I had $500 a rack action playing one pocket, a truly sweet game for me, and I ruined it by playing way past my bedtime. Had I managed the sessions better then I am positive that I would have won much more than I did with a lot less pressure. So part of being a champion, which I am not, is in my opinion having the resolve and discipline to control the environment as much as they possibly can.
The question is whether Zach is actually learning any lessons or is just a road trip for him where he will still act like most young hotshots running around and gambling more for ego rather than for the goal of becoming a truly top player.
I took a 15 year old Jimmy Wells on his first road trip and I can tell you he played for nothing but his ego. Had nothing to do with money for him and it was a nightmare and I had to turn him loose.