I have no idea what your first sentence has to do with anything. As far as major 9 foot tournaments paying well enough to encourage top level talent, there are only two that I know of.. Turning Stone and the U.S. Open. And the Turning Stone tournament does not pay well enough to induce international players to come just for the tournament, so the only high level talent you get are the few world class pros that live in the U.S.. And, as such, American players might only have 1 or 2 in their bracket before the Semis/Finals, where in the U.S. Open, you have to slay giant after giant after the shortstops go out in the 2nd or 3rd round.
So, in effect, there is only one good tournament for guys like Justin Bergman to jump to that next level. Whereas in Europe, you have a tournament almost every weekend where you might get the chance to get down against a guy who might have beat Filler multiple times in tournaments. And that's the difference.
And I am totally not arguing with you that Bergman is not a favorite in any tournament where a couple of world class players are in the field. He is simply not at that level yet. He MIGHT be #2 i the USA, but it is a very distant #2. Shane might be the best player in the world, and Bergman would probably never make the final 16 of a world championship, even if he attended.
No offence to Bergman, if he reads this. He just REALLY needs to work on his break to get to the next level.