Regardless of how the money is distributed, we will all know great pool when we see it, no? Honestly, it's pitiful to me that the stars in our sport have to gamble to make money. No one is asking pro athletes in other sports to wager before each match. No knock on gambling at all, just saying thinking and rewards need to evolve, just my opinion course.I'm guessing this match is for real money. Gorst can easily post 50K from the 250K he just won at the WPC. Shane has deep pockets too, although he has even more deep pocketed backers. A 100K match is easily doable for these two pool stars. I say it's the real deal!
Yes, they will each get a perk from the Pay For View money, but that's just the gravy for playing a popular match. In the highest echelons of Pool (or any sport for that matter) the top guys all want to be accepted and acknowledged as the very Best, #1! Even in the NBA Finals where the players are are all multi millionaires, to be the NBA Champions means more to them than just the money.
I get that many are skeptical about the legitimacy and provenance of the prize funds in these types of match ups, and rightly so. To be honest, deception is incentivized due to the minimal relative dollars involved etc. I get that. However, players make more when they improve their brand over the long run, and that necessarily involves winning matches.
These guys can't dump their way to success, period.
Looking forward to a great match, and I for one don't care about the outcome...my prediction is that truly top flight pool will be on display, and the victory will be well earned.