Then you have not been around sports very long. Baseball, look at the great closers. Not the good ones, but the great ones. When the game is on the line, based are loaded, or it's a one run game, whatever, they dominate.
You bring that same closer in when the score is 6-1, and he does NOT pitch the same.
So, with pool players, just like any sport, it's going to come down to focus and having the ability not to let any pressure affect you.
I think folks are saying for SVB, he seems to thrive on it, and his focus changes when the "game is on the line"... which is the $10K. With a hundo, the desire and focus just might not be there for him. Same with the top closers in baseball, they need that adrenaline rush to play their best.
When I played baseball, I played better when I was pissed off. So, If I was not playing well, I'd look for a reason to get pissed off and take any action by the other team as a personal insult to myself and my teammates
Always helped my playing angry... In pool, that does NOT work at all for me, LOL