Snooker shoot out 2018

[Mark187187]

I think I've only seen them play 4 or 5 times, and Strickland won all but one convincingly- he lost in Mosconi Cup back in London 1996. I saw Strickland play and he was pretty poor throughout that Mosconi, I think he lost all his matches, definitely not playing at his prime that week. I know Ronnie played a bit in the mid 2000's. His record was pretty bad, probably 3 or 4 losses for every win and didn't go deep in any tournaments. His run out stats were down about 10%. I think over the course of a tournament, break and runs would average out about 30-40%, with the players in the later stages well over 50%.

Not saying he couldn't play to a higher standard, but he'd have to focus on the game for a few years, and that's not going to happen unless he retires from snooker. Tbh, if Ronnie had been born in the states, he probably would have risen to the top of the game. But he didn't, and there's no substitute for living and breathing a game for 10-20 years+.

Anyway, my point wasn't really about snooker players transferring to playing pool, or whether snooker players are more skillful or talented. It was about whether people would enjoy watching a pool match in spite of the bigger pockets. Tbh, I think the pocket size is irrelevant at the highest level, the skill level is still evident. I'd still rather watch that than another snooker shootout.

[Mark187187]

I feel I've gone off the topic for this thread though. My point really was that snooker is fine as it is, it doesn't need a gimmicky tournament like the shootout. If people have a genuine desire to watch a shorter format cuesport they already can, and I'd rather see something like pool gain a higher profile over this snooker format. Probably not going to happen, but it would make me happy if it did, because I enjoy watching sports played to a high standard, and the shootout didn't deliver that for 90% of this years matches.

[JimMalone]

I spoke to Michael today , as you can imagine he is overwhelmed with his performance and the pressure it takes off him by not having to worry about his tour card . He is also looking forward to the Grand Prix , but we weren’t sure about the qualifying criteria for the Players Championship . He also hopes he can take his form into the next tournaments . I spoke to him before this tournament and he was very happy with his game .
A very pleasant and unassuming guy , hope he can kick on from this result .

The Players Championship is only contested by the Top 16 players on the list from the start to the season until the last event before the Players Championship. So it includes all the points garnered so far plus the points of the World Grand Prix, the Welsh Open and the Gibraltar Open.
Right now Georgiou is tied #29 with Michael White on this list with 61.500 points. In 16th place right now is Martin Gould with 98.500 points. So Georgious chances to qualify for the Players Championship are very slim. He would need something like two semifinals in the Welsh Open and the Grand Prix or a runner-up at one of those events and another strong run, while at the same time the players ranked around 15 to 20 shouldn't to much.

[vmax]

Bigger pockets than snooker yes, but not an easy game, just very different. The two games can't really be compared. Pro pool has good players, great players and legends. The legends are every bit as talented as their snooker counterparts.

until they get on a snooker table

Anyway, I like snooker and I like pool. Both are very skilled games when played at a high level. Both entertain me equally, but If I have an hour free I would choose a race to 5 or 7 pool match over a few frames of shoot out all day long. Other than the last hour this year, the other 3 days of the tournament were pretty painful.

That's mainly down to the idiots in the crowd IMO.

It was about whether people would enjoy watching a pool match in spite of the bigger pockets. Tbh, I think the pocket size is irrelevant at the highest level, the skill level is still evident. I'd still rather watch that than another snooker shootout.

When you see balls drop after touching the cushion a foot from the pocket you know it's easier than snooker. To be honest the pockets need to be bigger to facilitate the difficulty of the clearances where the balls can be anywhere rather than the usual places on a snooker table, but in 9 ball after the break when two or more balls are potted the table is pretty wide open for an run out. The paying public aren't that stupid, apart from the lesser mortals in the shootout audience, and will soon lose any respect they might have gained for the game.

I feel I've gone off the topic for this thread though. My point really was that snooker is fine as it is, it doesn't need a gimmicky tournament like the shootout.

I love test cricket, I love one day cricket and I love T20 cricket. The shootout has it's place but the organisers need to get the audience to give respect to the players and keep quiet when they're at the table. If that happens the standard will rise, more of the top players will enter and more of you will be converted.

[anish147]

My feeling is that the shootout is designed to create controversy, conversation and draw more media attention to the sport...also, by offering so many perks to the winner and opening out the competition to some who may otherwise not be on TV, the sport has opened up and potentially gives hope to some talented players who just need a break. I'm not a fan personally, but it may just raise the profile of snooker which is not a bad thing