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The PIOS series is meant to be the second division of this sport, but looking at the way the competition is run, it seems as though getting relegated from the Main Tour to the PIOS is not so much dropping from division one to division two - It's more like falling from the Premiership to parks football in one season. There is no money, no exposure, no sponsors, and IMHO it does nothing to contribute to the growth of the game outside of the UK 'heartland'. There are over 100 players competing on the circuit, but it seems nine-tenths of them are from the UK and Ireland.
The abbreviation stands for Pontin's International Open Series, but it would be more accurate to call it the Pitifully Insignificant Oblivion of Snooker!
The question is, what can the WSA do to make it more attractive?
I have a far-fetched (and potentially stupid) idea.
Since players from outside the UK won't come to the PIOS, it seems the logical answer is to take the PIOS outside of the UK. This, as far as I can see, would have several advantages.
Firstly, taking events to different countries would increase the chances of finding decent sponsorship. Even if you only find a local sponsor for each individual tournament, that's still better than the current situation.
Secondly, it would give local players a chance to compete without losing money (or if they did, it wouldn't be much). As it stands, if I were a player from mainland Europe, I wouldn't want to pay my way to Prestatyn every month just to win one match and come away with £70 (or lose in the first round and get nothing at all)
Thirdly, there may be a slim chance of TV exposure. Again, even if a less-watched station or some obscure channel show the tournaments just to fill up airtime, It's still better than nothing.
Fourth and most important, the fans would get to see players from their own country in a tournament that a local player could potentially win, and if they did, imagine the hype that would create.
As an example, if any German members can help me out here, Lasse Munstermann won the national championships, while Patrick Einsle has spent the season getting constantly beaten on the Main Tour and never getting past the qualifying rounds - which of the two players is getting more attention in the media?
Another issue is prize money, but again, if the PIOS expanded beyond Wales, this could be sorted out. Local sponsors in each country could surely be found - since the tour is all-amateur and obviously less glamorous than the Main Tour, they wouldn't need to pay massive money for sponsorship rights, but even a sponsorship of just a few thousand pounds/euros would help boost the prize fund, and the rest could come from ticket sales, the WSA themselves etc.
The fact is that the Main Tour is dominated by the UK and increasingly China, and I don't expect this to change any time soon, but the problem is that the standard is so high that players from outside the major snooker nations are at a huge disadvantage when they step up to the main tour from tournaments like the European Play-offs, national opens etc. WITHOUT having played events like the PIOS because, with all due respect, the standards of opponents outside of the UK are just not good enough for a player to make it in the pro game - every so often a freak like Tony Drago comes along, but he is the exception rather than the rule. Think of the players that have either fallen by the wayside or will never make it to the pro ranks: Helgason, Tyrkko, Valdimarsson, Haneveer, Stolk, bij de Leij, Munstermann, Grech...see the problem?
The only way to stop this hapening is to give players a higher standard of competition, and for them to get it regularly through a season, instead of one-offs like the European or World Amateur Championships.
A sample schedule I would like to see.
12 events - less prize money to pay out should mean more events than on the main tour.
Three events at Prestatyn - because you can't suddenly go from eight events to zero in a season.
That leaves nine more, so...
1. Academy Open - World Snooker Academy, Sheffield.
Why? - It's an impressive building so a tournament there means the WSA can show it off, plus there are Tournament-standard tables. Spectator space is an issue but apparently there are hardly any at PIOS events anyway (unless Jimmy White is playing)
2. Irish Open - possibly Dublin?
Why? - the Irish Masters used to be a Tour event, but why a snooker hotbed now doesn't have an event of any kind is beyond me.
3. English Open - anywhere south of Sheffield!
Aside from the Masters (which isn't even a ranking event anyway), southern England doesn't count on the 'World' Snooker Tour - this needs to change.
4. German Open - Furth
If the German Open becomes a ranking event and it is based in Berlin, have the division 2 event in Furth. It's already an established and well-supported pro-am, and you'd have Munstermann, Santos, Lippe and Einsle all providing local interest.
5. Swiss Open
Again, It's already a pro-am event that seems to get good support, and enough local Swiss players turn up - whether fans would still watch it without the professionals there, I have no idea.
6. Nordic Open - Sweden
Finland have Robin Hull in the pro ranks, Norway have Kurt Maflin coming into the pro ranks next year, Sweden have nobody (have they ever had anybody?), but snooker is popular, and a tournament here would give opportunities to players from all over Scandinavia (less distance to travel).
7. Baltic Open - Riga
If I remember correctly, Riga hosted the European U19 Championship, so they already know how to stage major tournaments. Again, a tour stop here would give opportunities to players from the Baltic states and Russia.
8. Malta Cup - the hotel lobby (sorry, I meant "Portomaso Hilton")
If this tournament gets dropped from the Main Tour, it could still survive as a second-tier event. Grech and Zammit have played as wildcards, and the crowds would still come to see Tony Drago. Also, it ensures Southern Europe is represented.
9. Benelux Open - anywhere with enough tables to host it!
Holland has a number of fairly decent players, Belgium has an established national tour, both countries hate each other, and most importantly...you'd get to see Roy Stolk ACTUALLY WIN A MATCH! What more do you want?
Apologies for this very, very long post, but are the things I've suggested feasible, or am I just hoping for something that is never going to happen?
The abbreviation stands for Pontin's International Open Series, but it would be more accurate to call it the Pitifully Insignificant Oblivion of Snooker!
The question is, what can the WSA do to make it more attractive?
I have a far-fetched (and potentially stupid) idea.
Since players from outside the UK won't come to the PIOS, it seems the logical answer is to take the PIOS outside of the UK. This, as far as I can see, would have several advantages.
Firstly, taking events to different countries would increase the chances of finding decent sponsorship. Even if you only find a local sponsor for each individual tournament, that's still better than the current situation.
Secondly, it would give local players a chance to compete without losing money (or if they did, it wouldn't be much). As it stands, if I were a player from mainland Europe, I wouldn't want to pay my way to Prestatyn every month just to win one match and come away with £70 (or lose in the first round and get nothing at all)
Thirdly, there may be a slim chance of TV exposure. Again, even if a less-watched station or some obscure channel show the tournaments just to fill up airtime, It's still better than nothing.
Fourth and most important, the fans would get to see players from their own country in a tournament that a local player could potentially win, and if they did, imagine the hype that would create.
As an example, if any German members can help me out here, Lasse Munstermann won the national championships, while Patrick Einsle has spent the season getting constantly beaten on the Main Tour and never getting past the qualifying rounds - which of the two players is getting more attention in the media?
Another issue is prize money, but again, if the PIOS expanded beyond Wales, this could be sorted out. Local sponsors in each country could surely be found - since the tour is all-amateur and obviously less glamorous than the Main Tour, they wouldn't need to pay massive money for sponsorship rights, but even a sponsorship of just a few thousand pounds/euros would help boost the prize fund, and the rest could come from ticket sales, the WSA themselves etc.
The fact is that the Main Tour is dominated by the UK and increasingly China, and I don't expect this to change any time soon, but the problem is that the standard is so high that players from outside the major snooker nations are at a huge disadvantage when they step up to the main tour from tournaments like the European Play-offs, national opens etc. WITHOUT having played events like the PIOS because, with all due respect, the standards of opponents outside of the UK are just not good enough for a player to make it in the pro game - every so often a freak like Tony Drago comes along, but he is the exception rather than the rule. Think of the players that have either fallen by the wayside or will never make it to the pro ranks: Helgason, Tyrkko, Valdimarsson, Haneveer, Stolk, bij de Leij, Munstermann, Grech...see the problem?
The only way to stop this hapening is to give players a higher standard of competition, and for them to get it regularly through a season, instead of one-offs like the European or World Amateur Championships.
A sample schedule I would like to see.
12 events - less prize money to pay out should mean more events than on the main tour.
Three events at Prestatyn - because you can't suddenly go from eight events to zero in a season.
That leaves nine more, so...
1. Academy Open - World Snooker Academy, Sheffield.
Why? - It's an impressive building so a tournament there means the WSA can show it off, plus there are Tournament-standard tables. Spectator space is an issue but apparently there are hardly any at PIOS events anyway (unless Jimmy White is playing)
2. Irish Open - possibly Dublin?
Why? - the Irish Masters used to be a Tour event, but why a snooker hotbed now doesn't have an event of any kind is beyond me.
3. English Open - anywhere south of Sheffield!
Aside from the Masters (which isn't even a ranking event anyway), southern England doesn't count on the 'World' Snooker Tour - this needs to change.
4. German Open - Furth
If the German Open becomes a ranking event and it is based in Berlin, have the division 2 event in Furth. It's already an established and well-supported pro-am, and you'd have Munstermann, Santos, Lippe and Einsle all providing local interest.
5. Swiss Open
Again, It's already a pro-am event that seems to get good support, and enough local Swiss players turn up - whether fans would still watch it without the professionals there, I have no idea.
6. Nordic Open - Sweden
Finland have Robin Hull in the pro ranks, Norway have Kurt Maflin coming into the pro ranks next year, Sweden have nobody (have they ever had anybody?), but snooker is popular, and a tournament here would give opportunities to players from all over Scandinavia (less distance to travel).
7. Baltic Open - Riga
If I remember correctly, Riga hosted the European U19 Championship, so they already know how to stage major tournaments. Again, a tour stop here would give opportunities to players from the Baltic states and Russia.
8. Malta Cup - the hotel lobby (sorry, I meant "Portomaso Hilton")
If this tournament gets dropped from the Main Tour, it could still survive as a second-tier event. Grech and Zammit have played as wildcards, and the crowds would still come to see Tony Drago. Also, it ensures Southern Europe is represented.
9. Benelux Open - anywhere with enough tables to host it!
Holland has a number of fairly decent players, Belgium has an established national tour, both countries hate each other, and most importantly...you'd get to see Roy Stolk ACTUALLY WIN A MATCH! What more do you want?
Apologies for this very, very long post, but are the things I've suggested feasible, or am I just hoping for something that is never going to happen?