corvette1340 said:
These IPT matches aren't very good anyway because they are exhibitions with no real desire displayed by either player. At least that is how it has been in the first 3. That being said I will still watch if I have a wager on the match. The only viable match up I see is Foldes, who looks like a lock, and Efren. Any other match that features Gerda or Austin, wouldn't really be a good match, imo.
I don't totally disagree with your thoughts here. At this point, Earl is probably too much of a long shot now too and can be taken out of consideration. Vilmos Foldes is a lock. So we are down to a choice of Efren, Gerda or Austin as the opponent.
While Efren is the obvious choice for best skill, we get to see him all the time, and will be seeing him again in the very next challenge match. I do not want to see the same people all the time in these challenge matches, especially back to back challenge matches. I like to see different people, maybe even people that I normally would not get an opportunity to see. As much as I like Efren, I would rather have variety than to see the same player (even Efren) over and over, so I just can't vote for him for this particular match.
That leaves Gerda and Austin. I don't want to see Gerda because seeing a non top 10 female player just does not excite me for a match like this. Besides, I have seen her a hundred times on ESPN (years back when she would make the occasional TV rounds).
Austin gives us a unique opportunity to see somebody that we would not normally get to see. A chance to see a 14 year old that can hang with the big dogs. A chance to pull for an American. A chance to pull for the underdog. A chance to possibly see him pull off the upset, something he has a shot at doing. A chance to see part of the future of American pool as he is coming up, as he may very well be a future American superstar.
Considering the choices, Austin is the best choice for this particular match and will be getting my votes.