Count me among the Earl haters, but I'll momentarily overlook the fact that he is routinely abusive of fans, referees, tournament officials and promoters.
Earl had a great career for sure and is rightly counted among the greatest rotation pool players ever but he is not one of the premier players anymore and he proves it over and over. Every once in a blue moon, we see shades of the Earl of yesteryear, but a player is judged on their average game, not their best game, and Earl's average game of 2014 isn't very good.
Earl doesn't beat the big names anymore. The only time in 2014 I saw him collect any scalps of note was in the Derby City Bank pool event, and if the WC of Pool were a bank pool event, Shane's choice of Earl would be, Brumback and Woodward forgive me, OK by me.
Even in regional play, nobody thinks Earl is the one to beat. In Joss tour events, Dechaine, Shaw and Sossei are far more successful.
If Earl, and it's extremely unlikely, plays like he did in 2003, perhaps the last year in which he played like the Earl of old, he and Shane are the clear favorites to win the WC of Pool. However, given how Earl plays now, I'm guessing they will lose in the quarterfinals, which would be a complete failure for America, and would reinforce the international impression that American skills over the green felt are second-rate.
Of course, when Shane and Earl lose in the quarters, I look forward to reading on AZB about how well Earl played.