Riyadh Season World Masters

[itsnoteasy]

Until Neal Foulds spoke I genuinely thought it was someone doing an impression of the drivel he normally talks.

[MrRottweiler]

It's like something by Cassette Boy Neal knows that it reflects badly on all of them and the whole team look inept when Phil Yates is there. He seems like a genuine guy and maybe that's what's carried him through for so long. I remember the days when he was in the media room at tournaments and he's good at that. He should go back to that or even create a roving reporter job for him where he interacts with spectators at events. He might be good at that sort of presenter thing but his style and I have to admit his voice is not a good fit for the commentary box. He's constantly thinking of how to make what he's about to say impressive and it's irritating. It's like listening to Russel Brand.

[FredDavis'Leg]

That's a brilliant piece of commentary what are you talking about!? ;-)

Am I making it up, is Hendon not endorsed by the Great Clive Everton (tm) in some way?

Hendry is demonstrably the best commentator with Fouldsy a close second for me. But if they were still around / able Jack C, Clive E and Ted L would be my preference. More civilised voices for a more
civilised age. John Pullman too. If you listen to Dennis Taylor now and 30 years ago he says a lot more now. I still like JV too.

[Ice-Man]

In the USA electric chair, lethal injection, firing squad, hanging, gas chamber etc etc, privately owned prisons lobbying congress for 'three strikes and you're out' legislation, every other person is a gun nut, armed police, genocide Joe is the president, monsanto GM foods legal, no holiday pay for workers, go bankrupt if you get sick, Fentanyl epidemic, 800 + military bases all over the planet but not a scary place at all

.
What you said is correct, But the Snooker tournament was held in Saudi Arabia, Not America

[Vanwinkle]

I quite like Hendry. Can't stand Yates. I actually have trouble believing he is a real person. He's that bad.
I do like Virgo. Foulds knows his stuff. I like McMannus.... When I can understand his language, I find him knowledgable and entertaining.
Studd, Hendon, almost bad as Yates (but Yates in a class by himself)

Johnson...boring, monotone, but bearable compared to (see above.)
Taylor OK...not my fave, but I'll settle for him over (see above.)

[vmax]

All the best journalists, pundits, commentators are dead. What we are left with are those who want instant soundbites to big up their own miniscule insight into something relevant. Phil Yates wouldn't have made the local free advertiser back in the day let alone being free to air his bollocks on mainstream television, and that idiot Rob Walker, it's gotten to the point that I mute the telly when he's introducing the players or asking banal questions after a match, and somebody at the BBC thought he could be a commentator
I'm pretty glad I was born in a time when sport was simply all about glory and had almost nothing to do with corporate sponsorship, just look what satellite tv did to the beautiful game and what the cockney barrowboy takeover has done to snooker 🤢.

[FredDavis'Leg]

All the best journalists, pundits, commentators are dead. What we are left with are those who want instant soundbites to big up their own miniscule insight into something relevant. Phil Yates wouldn't have made the local free advertiser back in the day let alone being free to air his bollocks on mainstream television, and that idiot Rob Walker, it's gotten to the point that I mute the telly when he's introducing the players or asking banal questions after a match, and somebody at the BBC thought he could be a commentator
I'm pretty glad I was born in a time when sport was simply all about glory and had almost nothing to do with corporate sponsorship, just look what satellite tv did to the beautiful game and what the cockney barrowboy takeover has done to snooker 🤢.

No argument over Walker. Some of the 'questions' or comments he makes are among the more cringemaking to be heard on tv - the bit I watch anyway.

His MC introductions are passable on occasion, but I can live without the whole staged applause at the end of his spiel, someone clearly
holding up a sign saying 'CLAP!' on it. I am not sure he understands what have 'grace' means exactly.

[vmax]

A good interview here by Steve Davis of David Vine who anchored BBC tv snooker for 25 years. One of the greats who, along with David Coleman, Kennetth Wolstenhome, Barry Davies etc made BBC sport what it was, sure they're all what's known as 'privileged white males' these days but they earned their place by being good at what they did and weren't in place due to minorities box ticking.
David Vine was a Barnstaple boy like myself, my maternal grannies paper boy back in the 40's, and started his journalist career at the local rag, The North Devon Journal Herald, and moved onwards from there. His story about Eddie Charlton is LOL.

[FredDavis'Leg]

I grew up watching David Vine present the BBC coverage of snooker, a nonpareil of presentation, he was just as good on Ski Sunday. Sadly missed, part of the generation who seemed
to understand it wasn't about them, they were there simply to present and all the better for it. I suppose the world has changed and that is to be expected, but it doesn't mean necessarily it has
gotten better.

I would add Alan Weeks to your list of presenters too, his work on Pot Black and commentating on the gymnastics at the Olympics was brilliant, his joyful exclamation at the end of Olga Korbut's
floor routine from the 1972 Olympics I think is one of the best pieces of commentary I have ever heard, right up there with Al Michael's semi spontaneous 'Do you believe in miracles?' commentary,
which for a North American was very reserved ;-) It was a classy piece of work though, and is noted and acclaimed for what he didn't say, as opposed to him running off at the mouth with hyperbole,
something that is unheard of these days.

[SnookerfromtheThatcherEra]

I noticed on the live feed, none of the commentators mentioned the totally empty arena ("sold out", apparently) on the first day, and NO ONE mentioned on the night of the final that the final frame was delayed by a good couple of minutes (this was after the ad break, after the 'count down' when it's supposed to start) so that a row of Saudi VIPs who were rudely late could take their places in the front row - simply to be there for the final frame of the final.

There's a lot of bull**** euphemisms about "growing the game" but AFAIK Saudi has zero grassroots snooker scene, it's just cash prizes at the top end - countries were an existing grassroots game that needs boosting and growing would surely include Canada, Belgium, India, Australia, the Baltics and central Europe. But there's no bags of cash on offer there. Okay, but don't pretend it's "growing the game", then.

[FredDavis'Leg]

Yes, a Canadian Open in the style of the Home Series playing for say the Cliff Thorburn Trophy seems like a good idea to me seeing as snooker has a bit of a foothold
in that part of North America.

[Cue crafty]

Yes, a Canadian Open in the style of the Home Series playing for say the Cliff Thorburn Trophy seems like a good idea to me seeing as snooker has a bit of a foothold
in that part of North America.

I would personally love to see that. Sadly we had a decent number of Canadian members on this site a few years back, but the game has declined largely in the country and pool is the main game with fewer and fewer snooker tables around.

The Canadians around in the 1980's bought a great deal to the game, it would be fantastic to see that that influx of talent come back into the game.

[FredDavis'Leg]

I would personally love to see that. Sadly we had a decent number of Canadian members on this site a few years back, but the game has declined largely in the country and pool is the main game with fewer and fewer snooker tables around.

The Canadians around in the 1980's bought a great deal to the game, it would be fantastic to see that that influx of talent come back into the game.

That is a fair point, out of the 4 of them, Werbeniuk, Cliff and Kirk were all well known, and Cliff was a formidable player, a prototype for the way how Allen plays now!

They probably did punch a bit above their weight really, and were all memorable for different reasons, I even had Werbeniuk's autograph once but sadly lost in
time. In fairness he was probably the least of the three in terms of success. I personally wouldn't have too much of a problem with seeing players sitting drinking
as in the old days, but that is just me. Smoking too for that matter!

[neuronic]

I noticed on the live feed, none of the commentators mentioned the totally empty arena ("sold out", apparently) on the first day, and NO ONE mentioned on the night of the final that the final frame was delayed by a good couple of minutes (this was after the ad break, after the 'count down' when it's supposed to start) so that a row of Saudi VIPs who were rudely late could take their places in the front row - simply to be there for the final frame of the final.

There's a lot of bull**** euphemisms about "growing the game" but AFAIK Saudi has zero grassroots snooker scene, it's just cash prizes at the top end - countries were an existing grassroots game that needs boosting and growing would surely include Canada, Belgium, India, Australia, the Baltics and central Europe. But there's no bags of cash on offer there. Okay, but don't pretend it's "growing the game", then.

I did not watch a single minute of this embarrasing **** show, just went through some reviews on Youtube to see the "GOAT" Ronnie O'Sullivan clapping when some Saudi VIPs entered the arena just before the last frame and post match stating that "Everybody wants to get to Saudi!", actually smiling.

I despise everybody who played there, I despise all the personal greed that took a once very enjoyable sport and turned it into an everyday cash cow for the betting industry and some way too rich fellas. I find myself rewatching matches from the late 90s and early 00s nowadays mostly.

[SnookerfromtheThatcherEra]

I did not watch a single minute of this embarrasing **** show, just went through some reviews on Youtube to see the "GOAT" Ronnie O'Sullivan clapping when some Saudi VIPs entered the arena just before the last frame and post match stating that "Everybody wants to get to Saudi!", actually smiling.

I despise everybody who played there, I despise all the personal greed that took a once very enjoyable sport and turned it into an everyday cash cow for the betting industry and some way too rich fellas. I find myself rewatching matches from the late 90s and early 00s nowadays mostly.

Yeah - Ronnie "Stage Fright" O'Sullivan going from pulling out of the Welsh/German/etc to "Everybody wants to get to Saudi!" was pretty two-faced and stomach-churning - thought he had more class and self-respect than that.

Not a single player I saw mentioned the empty arena, or complained about the few spectators that turned up by the end walking around in line of vision, or being on their mobiles most of the time. Was like watching hostage videos, seeing them all sing Saudi Arabia's praises on Instagram. "Boulevard City" looked like some soulless shopping centre retail park out of Blade Runner. Honestly, I'd rather be in Prestatyn.

As I said higher up, Saudi is nothing to do with "growing the game", it's about growing the cash prizes for the top three or so players, while whitewashing Riyadh's image. I also find myself watching more and more YouTube of 1980s games - as someone else said higher up, both the crowds were better dressed, and the players looked classier, playing without all the horrible logos all over their waistcoats.