Star Quality

[JanieWatkins]

Has anyone, apart from me, noticed that the players who are now regularly practicing and competing on the Star Tables are getting ahead of their other opponents:

The winner of the first EASB Southern Pro Ticket event was Sam Baird. He practices regularly on the Stars.

Last weekend we had a pro am down at the Academy in Gloucester and after the round robin groups, all four players who came through to the semi finals practice on Star Tables.

i'd be interested to find out how many of the leading pros are still playing on their old Riley tables, or other tables in their clubs - Has this had any impact on the unexpected results in the Masters this week?

One Pro I know, who will remain nameless, still practices on a "match" table at his club and he's admitted that he needs to get on the Star tables because he's not giving himself a level playing field when he goes to qualifiers, venues and other events on the Star Tables.

I think this is going to be a major factor for the amateurs when they go off to play in the World snooker Q School in May.

If the pros are struggling to come to terms with the Star tables if they don't use them regularly, then the amateurs who only practice around their clubs are giving themselves a major disadvantage.

i'd be interested to hear what players think about this.

[Neil Taperell]

Very interesting Janie . You may well have found something there .

I thought the table played very slowly yesterday and last nights match showed this .

It looked like the players were getting frustrated with it .

[JanieWatkins]

Very interesting Janie . You may well have found something there .

I thought the table played very slowly yesterday and last nights match showed this .

It looked like the players were getting frustrated with it .

I haven't seen as much of this year's Masters as I'd like and I'm not down there this week but from what I have seen the table does seem slower than usual, so that may be having an effect.

I know we've had enquiries from players booking in to come down to Gloucester to start getting solid practice on the tables here as they begin to prepare for the Q School.

And of course we've got the QSP series running for precisely that objective. To give all these lads the chance to properly prepare ahead of the Q School.

I think it's going to make a big difference when we get to the Q School in May and even looking further ahead to next season's PTCs etc.

[MattWilson]

I completely agree with you Janie.

I know of a pro, who shall also remain nameless, who not only does not practice on a Star table, but practices on a club table with big pockets... although it has to be said it hasn't hindered his progress in the game over the last 2-3 years! But I do think that he could do himself a massive favour by practicing on even a Riley Aristocrat (which he has in a club 45 mins from him).

It is not easy to find clubs with Star tables or match tables (affordable for practice). Personally, over the last 3 years I have practiced on only club tables and this has done nothing but damage my game. Unfortunately, the nearest match table to me is in Wembley (half an hour drive on a good run) and there is never a guarantee that I can play there - I'm not even a member of the club! I work full time and cannot afford to travel around in the evenings to find suitable facilities for good quality practice, and even then match tables can be very expensive to play on.

This plays a big part in my tournament selection - PTC/Q-School events are great for those who practice on match tables and are used to the conditions. However, if you do not then it is a COMPLETELY different game to playing on club tables, and often the tables can make you look quite silly if you are not used to the throw of the cue ball when using side spin. When I played for England at Prestatyn in 2008, it was only in the final (best of 3) match of 6 that I played anywhere near my capability and I will admit to feeling quite embarrassed at the standard I played.

I would LOVE to practice more often on Star/Aristocrat tables, but there just aren't the facilities near me to do so. It is massively frustrating. I played in the World Open qualifier at SWSA and it took me 5 frames to get used to the tables. By then I was 2-0 down in my second match, best of 5! There is very little point in playing in straight knockout events at SWSA/EISS IMHO unless you are regularly practicing on match tables, which is the reason why I have not entered the QSP series at Gloucester.

For the top players in the game, it must surely be a necessity to practice on at least a Riley Aristocrat, if not a Star table. You need to mirror match conditions in your practice sessions, otherwise you might as well not bother. Some people laugh when I liken it to a footballer playing in boots with lead weights in the soles. That is my opinion.

MW

[JanieWatkins]

that's very interesting Matt and we're very aware of the frustration of the players who work etc and can't get the time.

We're working on a range " Academy Memberships" at the moment which will provide some packages for players to travel from away for weekend breaks and things like that so that maybe some of you guys could get down here occasionally and benefit from the Academy set up.

It's interesting what you say about the choice of events. I was talking to some players recently and they were actually saying that now they can enter events like PTCs and go and play in the good conditions and have plenty of tournaments that they'll be rethinking whether they want, or need, to go and play in the local or association events on the club tables.

So some people are going in one direction and some in the other direction.
Of course for the players who are practicing on the Star tables and tournament cloths and playing PTC, QSP etc, they've got a big advantage when they go back to play on the club tables too. They can play in the hard conditions already and if they can adjust back to the slow cloths, dodgy cushions, lousy lighting, then the pockets are like skips by comparison.
I'm not sure it actually does them any good because it's very easy to get lazy on a club table.

[wildJONESEYE]

Very interesting Janie . You may well have found something there .

I thought the table played very slowly yesterday and last nights match showed this .

It looked like the players were getting frustrated with it .

what has that got to do with janies point.

they played yesterday on a Star Table anyway .

personally the running of a table should be figured out by players within 3 frames.

we have had many discusions on here regarding tables being easier today than years ago and Murphy and Cope went a long way yesterday to prove that point.

professionals should be adaptable in all sports Golfers play in all weather,Cricketers play on different types of wickets etc.

players should stop moaning and learn how to play the game.

[Neil Taperell]

What i mean't was that they did not seem to be able to adjust to the pace of the Star table .

I agree that as professionals they should be able to adapt to any conditions .

[wildJONESEYE]

What i mean't was that they did not seem to be able to adjust to the pace of the Star table .

I agree that as professionals they should be able to adapt to any conditions .

they been using Star Tables since 2009.

question janie asks is are some still practicing on riley going on for 2 years now.

[cueman]

what has that got to do with janies point.

they played yesterday on a Star Table anyway .

personally the running of a table should be figured out by players within 3 frames.

we have had many discusions on here regarding tables being easier today than years ago and Murphy and Cope went a long way yesterday to prove that point.

professionals should be adaptable in all sports Golfers play in all weather,Cricketers play on different types of wickets etc.

players should stop moaning and learn how to play the game.

The trouble yesterday was not really down to the table itself, it was the atmosphere in the arena due to very heavy rain and sudden warmer temperatures causing the cloth to become very heavy.

It is tough to adapt to conditions when the cloth is heavier, cushions bouncing and sliding, a lot of kicks, some not noticable to the viewer, Murphy's yellow for instance, didn't jump but was such a thick contact.

Its all well and good saying players should adapt but you cannot adapt to conditions that are rare. You take a premier league club and have them play on hackney marshes and it will be a big leveller, they wouldn't be able to pass the ball around at speed, they too would get frustrated, doesn't make them bad players though!

[wildJONESEYE]

The trouble yesterday was not really down to the table itself, it was the atmosphere in the arena due to very heavy rain and sudden warmer temperatures causing the cloth to become very heavy.

It is tough to adapt to conditions when the cloth is heavier, cushions bouncing and sliding, a lot of kicks, some not noticable to the viewer, Murphy's yellow for instance, didn't jump but was such a thick contact.

Its all well and good saying players should adapt but you cannot adapt to conditions that are rare. You take a premier league club and have them play on hackney marshes and it will be a big leveller, they wouldn't be able to pass the ball around at speed, they too would get frustrated, doesn't make them bad players though!

mate the table was not that bad.

rain and temperatures isnt something that happened for the first time yesterday

[damienlch]

this may sound ignorant but why would one brand of table run faster than the other? i would have thought it's the type of cloth used that matters...

[JanieWatkins]

this may sound ignorant but why would one brand of table run faster than the other? i would have thought it's the type of cloth used that matters...

Yes it's partly the cloth.

The key I was getting at is that the Star Gold table, with the tournament cloth is the official World Snooker table used at all their events.

And it will also be used at the Q School, PTCs etc

so it is very useful to structure your practice and some tournaments on those tables to get used to the conditions that you'll be playing in the world snooker organised events.

Obviously things like atmospherics can affect any table, as we've seen with the damp getting in the cloths at Wembley this week which is making the tables run much slower than usual.
This is often a problem in countries like Thailand, China etc, with high humidity and because the top players are so tuned to the fast running tables, they start struggling with position etc when the table runs slow and we see fewer high breaks - maybe that's why Ding knocked in 3 tons today - he's more used to adapting between UK and China conditions.

[magicman]

I've always thought it odd that pro's don't practice in similar conditions to pro tournaments. I know Mark Joyce paid for an Aristocrat and TV lighting to be installed at his club. If you're a pro and the club you practice at doesn't have these facilities then find somewhere that does, or at least a venue that will allow you to install a match table and decent lighting.

[the legend]

Im sorry i cannot accept the premise that you need to practice on star tables any more than you needed to play on rileys or bces before them.
Its a very easy excuse for playing poorly,the favourites who have got beat this week played very well in other tournaments this year on the same tables.
A more logical reason for some average play so far this week is the pockets which vary tournament to tournament due to how the fitter has done his job are on the tight side this week.
And as for amateurs if they start thinking they need certain conditions to have a chance they are in trouble.
If the table they practice on has a newish decent cloth either hainsworth match or strachen and the balls are fairly new they will be ok.

[roykay]

I once watched Ray Reardon at Prestatyn,a long time ago on one of the upstairs tables. Tha table was dreadfull and very damp. Ray kept leaving himself half ball or thinner shots especially noticible with the black. No screw/stun or soft screw shots. He told me afterwards that it was deliberate and the only way to play in those conditions and keep some contral of the cue ball.
This does show how adaptable the best players can be once they recognise whats wrong with the table. I have allways thought that players should be able to adapt to different conditions as long as the table is good, but just different.
A rank bad table is another matter ,stay away from them if possible.
Roy Bacon