I think the root problem is there is no unification of the sport. If the pro's only played one game, which today seems to be 10 ball, there would only be ONE US Open, ONE World Championship, etc.
As it is, there is currently and very recently a US Open for 8 ball, 9 ball, 10 ball, One Pocket, and there is a world championship for 8 ball, 9 ball, 10 ball, and Straight Pool (when there was enough money).
I wonder if we'd be better off playing only one game on the professional tournament level, and combining all the money from the other game into that single game. Just a thought, I certainly don't have the answers

But to even consider something like this, the whole sport needs to be unified.