Crucible Theatre, Sheffield. Format Change

[Mr Snooker]

Hi all this as just been posted on the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, faceook


Barry Hearn Speaking today: said the World Championship format could be changed in future possible all matches best of 19 frames until the Final (best of 35 frames) as the BBC Sport Television want to reduce frames. Hearn always want to leave the format alone at the world championship but things could be change in future.

[cebs]

They hardly ever show more than an hour in the evening this days anyway and had no 7pm snooker on bbc TV till Saturday during the UK last week.

So what difference does it make to them really?

Could it apply this year as tickets have been on sale for a while unless they offered refunds for people I suppose.

Hasn't Barry Hearn said he would leave the WC format unchanged quite a few times since becoming the boss?

[Odrl]

Here we go again...

The BBC's pressure has already caused the cancellation of the Grand Prix, the dumbing down of the UK Championship and the Welsh Open, and now this... Hopefully Barry Hearn realizes in time what damage the BBC is doing to snooker and decides not to renegotiate their contract. It's just not worth it.

[gavpowell]

Can we be sure Hearn's not using the BBC as an excuse?

I can find no evidence of Hearn saying anything of the kind, nor anything on Facebook relating to this. Is this a wind-up?

[johno]

Crucible Theatre, Sheffield. Format Change

I'm sure Hearn has said in the past he would not alter the format of the WC, it would be a travesty. I can't believe they would go through with this

[svendh]

Hi all this as just been posted on the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, faceook


Barry Hearn Speaking today: said the World Championship format could be changed in future possible all matches best of 19 frames until the Final (best of 35 frames) as the BBC Sport Television want to reduce frames. Hearn always want to leave the format alone at the world championship but things could be change in future.

Can't find that on their Facebook page, have you got a link?

[neuronic]

A BO19 World semi?
Come on...

[Cyril]

The worlds took from 1927 until 1982 to find the perfect format we enjoy today so let us just hope they don't ever start meddling with it, and certainly not to bow to the whims of any television company. The status of World Champion is the absolute pinnacle few players ever accomplish and that's exactly how it should be. That's how the legends: Reardon, Davis, Hendry and O'Sullivan's greatness can rightly be measured against their contemporaries. To be a rightful world champion it surely has to be necessary to go "the full distance"!

[gavpowell]

The worlds took from 1927 until 1982 to find the perfect format we enjoy today so let us just hope they don't ever start meddling with it, and certainly not to bow to the whims of any television company. The status of World Champion is the absolute pinnacle few players ever accomplish and that's exactly how it should be. That's how the legends: Reardon, Davis, Hendry and O'Sullivan's greatness can rightly be measured against their contemporaries. To be a rightful world champion it surely has to be necessary to go "the full distance"!

I just looked at the tournament history - why was the format so erratic during the 40s and 50s? Joe Davis wins one title with 16 frames and another with 78!

I'd like to see how Ronnie would cope with the news that they were going back a few years and the final would be played over 140 frames

[svendh]

i cant find any information about that, seems to be a hoax like that they build a crucible replica in china

[Cyril]

I just looked at the tournament history - why was the format so erratic during the 40s and 50s? Joe Davis wins one title with 16 frames and another with 78!

I'd like to see how Ronnie would cope with the news that they were going back a few years and the final would be played over 140 frames

I suppose it reflects how the game was at that time. In the 1920's, billiards was still very much the premier game. It wasn't until 1934 when Walter Lindrum returned home to Australia with the Billiards title that the game more or less died off as a public entertainment and snooker took over. Of course, this was at a time when gate receipts, not sponsorship (or television), made up most of the players earnings - so the longer the match the bigger the share. It was also considered that a true test of skill required at least a match of a weeks duration (best of 75 frames) to determine the best player. The final was later played over a fortnight (best of 145 frames). Interestingly, when the organisers decided to make the 1950 News of the World Tournament 3 day matches instead of 5, the World Champion of that time, Fred Davis, withdrew on the grounds that 3 days was not a sufficient test!

[steveflanuk]

The thing with the length of matches in the World Championship is that, over a longer match, the better player will win the majority of the time. It should not be messed with.

Whilst the recent UK Championship was an enjoyable tournament - I still preferred it when it was best of 17 all the way through to the final.

[Cyril]

The thing with the length of matches in the World Championship is that, over a longer match, the better player will win the majority of the time. It should not be messed with.

Whilst the recent UK Championship was an enjoyable tournament - I still preferred it when it was best of 17 all the way through to the final.

Agree 100%.
Ronnie and a couple of others criticised the decision to reduce the number of frames in the UK and Mr Hearn didn't like it. The UK was rightly regarded as the 2nd tournament after the worlds for that reason. In my opinion, the great UK Finals were those 16-15 ones between Messrs Higgins (A), Griffiths, Davis, Hendry etc.

[mythman69]

I suppose it reflects how the game was at that time. In the 1920's, billiards was still very much the premier game. It wasn't until 1934 when Walter Lindrum returned home to Australia with the Billiards title that the game more or less died off as a public entertainment and snooker took over. Of course, this was at a time when gate receipts, not sponsorship (or television), made up most of the players earnings - so the longer the match the bigger the share. It was also considered that a true test of skill required at least a match of a weeks duration (best of 75 frames) to determine the best player. The final was later played over a fortnight (best of 145 frames). Interestingly, when the organisers decided to make the 1950 News of the World Tournament 3 day matches instead of 5, the World Champion of that time, Fred Davis, withdrew on the grounds that 3 days was not a sufficient test!

Why did billiards die off when Lindrum returned to Australia?

[DeanH]

Crucible Theatre, Sheffield. Format Change

the way I see it is that Lindrum was so good that no one wanted to play him, especially in AU.
Joe Davis had already gone out there and failed and never wanted to go back. There was no one else close that could get an event worth while