World snooker Championship qualifiers

[Neil Taperell]

I think to start, pro pocket sizing should be standardised and templates be readily available to buy. 2nd the cloth that goes on at the start of a tournament should remain to the end? Why they have this changed every few days is crazy really. As for the rest, table heating is pretty simple to add to any club table. Lighting? Not sure how much of an impact this has? Stick some crowd effect wallpaper on the walls add a few Betfred banners and play some fake crowd noise and jobs a goodun ...

Lighting will have a big impact , in my opinion , another heat source to speed up the table .

[mikee]

That’s correct ,the big bank of lights give the table an extra zip on the cushions .Selby and O’Sullivan both said last year it’s impossible to replicate tournament conditions on club or home tables as the cloth is changed every 3 days ,this is what’s wrong with the game ,Ronnie said he can’t be arsed to practice much as getting to the match table is nothing like what you have been playing on in practice .The old no 10 cloth used to be 35 ounce and lasted until the final ,or semi final ,no heaters then Either .,a thicker cloth and keep the heaters would be a start for some normality and consistency ,seeing the back of those Star tables would be even better .

[Danger Steve]

Personally I think it’s about time tables had a revamp! The technology is old now, there must be something more high-tech that could be done? Adding more fancy electronics? Making the game somehow more technologically advanced? Although this would probably widen the gap even more between pro’s and amateurs as tables would cost too much... can’t win either way! Lol

I did think yesterday what if pro players where made to have a young apprentice or 2? That way the younger player would get experience playing on better tables and at playing the best in the world.

[Danger Steve]

That’s correct ,the big bank of lights give the table an extra zip on the cushions .Selby and O’Sullivan both said last year it’s impossible to replicate tournament conditions on club or home tables as the cloth is changed every 3 days ,this is what’s wrong with the game ,Ronnie said he can’t be arsed to practice much as getting to the match table is nothing like what you have been playing on in practice .The old no 10 cloth used to be 35 ounce and lasted until the final ,or semi final ,no heaters then Either .,a thicker cloth and keep the heaters would be a start for some normality and consistency ,seeing the back of those Star tables would be even better .

Really?? Mikee how do the big lights effect the speed of the cushions, do you know? You would think if they are LED lights, then LED’s give off virtually not heat. So it can’t be the heat from the lights? Never heard this one before, interesting...

[PatBlock]

Really?? Mikee how do the big lights effect the speed of the cushions, do you know? You would think if they are LED lights, then LED’s give off virtually not heat. So it can’t be the heat from the lights? Never heard this one before, interesting...

They certainly do Steve. Maybe not quite as much as incandescent lights, but at the end of the day, heat is light and vice versa. I've got quite a few LED torches and they can get very hot indeed after they've been on for a bit. I've also got an LED spotlight above my pool table and that also gets quite hot. So that huge bank of lights over the tournament tables will make a big difference to the overall temperature.

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[Danger Steve]

From like 20 feet away though? Hummm.. I’m going to have a touchy feel of my lights tonight and see just how hot they get after a couple of hours.

[Danger Steve]

I know on my own table when humidity is low and the temperature is about 19/20 degrees and I’ve had the table heating on warming up for an hour or two the cushions seem to have more bounce some days. They also seem to have better bounce when I’ve given the balls a good clean!

[PatBlock]

From like 20 feet away though? Hummm.. I’m going to have a touchy feel of my lights tonight and see just how hot they get after a couple of hours.

Yes from 20 feet away. Those lighting rigs are huge, I don't know how many watts they are but it must be thousands, you'd definitely feel it at that distance. It partly depends on the spectrum or colour temperature they use, but as they want the colours to show up correctly I would imagine it's quite a wide full spectrum, including some low end frequencies which are closer to the infra red end.

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[PatBlock]

They also seem to have better bounce when I’ve given the balls a good clean!

Mr Sheen?

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[mikee]

I have stood under the lighting rig at the Crucible ,and its warm ,there really is a lot of lights .

[mikee]

I know on my own table when humidity is low and the temperature is about 19/20 degrees and I’ve had the table heating on warming up for an hour or two the cushions seem to have more bounce some days. They also seem to have better bounce when I’ve given the balls a good clean!

Steve I made my own electric ball cleaner a few weeks ago with some some soft carpet , a bucket and a Clarkes 10inch electric buffer ,balls come out like new ,just chuck em in with some polish for a few mins while you brush the table ,and the jobs a good un .They come out like new .

[Danger Steve]

Yes from 20 feet away. Those lighting rigs are huge, I don't know how many watts they are but it must be thousands, you'd definitely feel it at that distance. It partly depends on the spectrum or colour temperature they use, but as they want the colours to show up correctly I would imagine it's quite a wide full spectrum, including some low end frequencies which are closer to the infra red end.

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I was on the 3rd row back at the Champ of Champs and had my jacket on the whole time it was so cold!! I guess Robbo & Judd were ok then with the lights giving off heat! There was me thinking I was just being soft! Lol

[Danger Steve]

Steve I made my own electric ball cleaner a few weeks ago with some some soft carpet , a bucket and a Clarkes 10inch electric buffer ,balls come out like new ,just chuck em in with some polish for a few mins while you brush the table ,and the jobs a good un .They come out like new .

Sounds great! I defo need to make one of these, do you have any pics I could see? Cleaning them all is a proper ball ache at times! So much so I sometimes don’t even bother with the reds, just the white, pink & black.

[neuronic]

Meanwhile on Judgement Night: Graeme Dott only trailing by two, needs the last three. Cmon, Graeme.

[Cue crafty]

Oh for someone to mention a new player who's mustard!!