I've heard from insiders that the main reason there is difference in table behaviour is the fact that the rack area of the tv-table is tapped for all nine balls.
On the other tables, only the last three balls are tapped.
Therefor the wingball wouldn't go in as regular with the speed they are hitting it on the tv-table; which then would mean the soft-break isn't as reliable as a common hard-breakoff (as it has balls cannoning and flying around the table, trusting to luck more for potting balls).
I'm afraid this is what 9-ball has become, until there is a deliberate change in material. (but that would also trigger the 'consistance is fair' debate I think)
And as long as the 'mainstream' audience pays tickets to see a match in this fashion, it will not likely be changed.
I'm making a bit of a sidestep here, but the same is / was going on in the gaming industry. Some games were made too easy for the mainstream gamer and the hardcore gamers couldn't appreciate those games anymore.
Well, I see most here at AZ Billiards as hardcore poolplayers; having more experience with the conditions the pro's are in. In comparison to the regular Joe, gasping at the TV about a guy that runs 10 racks in a row.
As long as that is what the (most) people pay for, it's not likely to get changed.
The breakshot is a technique that many players have spent years on to perfect. I love to see f.e. Niels Feijen and Francisco Bustamante get up in that classic pose, kicking themselves in the back of the heads and bending their shaft over the cloth with great force, but perfect control.
In this 'evolution' of 9-ball, that will vanish and even snooker players could finish up the remainder of the 8 or 7 balls still on the table in a stop-shot / roll-through fashion.
If you (myself included) feel that 10-ball is a more 'just' game, in relation to nowadays 9-ball under said conditions, we must try to advertise it more.
(As said) Bring it to the Philippines. Make it big. Increase price money to attract the pro's. (don't name it IPT though

)
The regular audience is not going to fully understand the reason of this discussion (no offense) IMHO. This dis-satisfation is from a players' perspective.
(a final note: I heard tables where the Sardo tight rack is used are also tapped. I thought the Sardo rack ensured a tight, perfect rack without the table having to be tapped at all? Is the Sardo rack a bit less consistent when being employed on a regular surface?)
This was my first post here. Hope it made sense.
Hi! btw
