UK Championship '15

[mikeyd100]

I see that Maguire was having a dig at the tables and general setup with the UK championships yesterday.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/snooker/34960562

Seems a few players have had concerns then, maybe Ding had a point, ( although swearing his head off isn't the done thing of course ).

Watched Robertson's latest match and there were a few pings off some of the cushions.
Commentators stated that weather conditions could play a part.
I think tables get reclothed very soon so may help.

One thing that can be said is that it's the same for both players though.

[tedisbill]

One thing that can be said is that it's the same for both players though.

I hear this a lot, but surely people appreciate it's more damaging to the better player. If Neil Robertson has got extra skill, and he controls the white ball perfectly all the time, that gives him an advantage, and rightly so. But if the table is bouncing all over the place, and the balls are kicking a lot more, it puts both players back on a level playing field again. That's not right surely? I've just spent my whole life practising to be better than everyone else, and now the table is just a random number generator.

It's no good!

[mikeyd100]

I hear this a lot, but surely people appreciate it's more damaging to the better player. If Neil Robertson has got extra skill, and he controls the white ball perfectly all the time, that gives him an advantage, and rightly so. But if the table is bouncing all over the place, and the balls are kicking a lot more, it puts both players back on a level playing field again. That's not right surely? I've just spent my whole life practising to be better than everyone else, and now the table is just a random number generator.

It's no good!

Oh yeah I agree with you on that, it's not right at all but both players will suffer to some degree.

I totally see the point you make as well.

[cueman]

I do think the players complain way too much though. Ronnie said yesterday that whilst it can be hard a good player should have the skill and shot selection to not have to need to use the cushions so much. If they are bouncing why position the cueball needing to hit a cushion so much?

I also spoke to a table fitter earlier this year and he said its always the same, the players will find something to moan about. Simply put a table is an imperfect surface and you can never get conditions the way the players want. You can get them close but when you are setting up a table in a place that is not used for snooker all year round its impossible to get it completely level or to get the atmospherics right. They don't get the chance to see how the table performs and get feedback to try and adjust it, they get one go at getting it right and fact is it will never please all players. they all have varying levels of skill and ability to adapt, the best players can adapt. That is the difference between the modern day player and those from the past. An older school player would play certain shots to learn how the table is playing, the current modern day players are spoiled and don't know how to adapt because conditons are so good, yet they still find something to moan about.

[mikeyd100]

Fair comment but I'm sure you have seen very irregular bounces off cushions.
So going by what Ronnie has said, ( and I'm a big Ronnie fan ) players should adapt their game to not use cushions as much?????????

If Ronnie did say that then I will say Ronnie is talking out of his posterior

[daffie]

Fair comment but I'm sure you have seen very irregular bounces off cushions.
So going by what Ronnie has said, ( and I'm a big Ronnie fan ) players should adapt their game to not use cushions as much?????????

If Ronnie did say that then I will say Ronnie is talking out of his posterior

Doesn't he always...

But seriously though, a couple of good points made about the always-current topic of table conditions / player expectations.

[Terry Davidson]

I do think the players complain way too much though. Ronnie said yesterday that whilst it can be hard a good player should have the skill and shot selection to not have to need to use the cushions so much. If they are bouncing why position the cueball needing to hit a cushion so much?

I also spoke to a table fitter earlier this year and he said its always the same, the players will find something to moan about. Simply put a table is an imperfect surface and you can never get conditions the way the players want. You can get them close but when you are setting up a table in a place that is not used for snooker all year round its impossible to get it completely level or to get the atmospherics right. They don't get the chance to see how the table performs and get feedback to try and adjust it, they get one go at getting it right and fact is it will never please all players. they all have varying levels of skill and ability to adapt, the best players can adapt. That is the difference between the modern day player and those from the past. An older school player would play certain shots to learn how the table is playing, the current modern day players are spoiled and don't know how to adapt because conditons are so good, yet they still find something to moan about.

If the damned table fitter is supposed to be good then surely he can ADAPT and get the table playing the way it should. He is not under the gun trying to make a living against an opponent and can take his time and get it right.

Bad table conditions favour the weaker player and always have done. With the money they have there's no reason to have the table less than perfect for the players as it is a showcase after all.

[mikeyd100]

Doesn't he always...

But seriously though, a couple of good points made about the always-current topic of table conditions / player expectations.

Ha, good old Ronnie eh
Yes true, its a debate for sure.

[cueman]

I think this is why the current older crop are still doing so well. They have a higher skill level from playing on different tables growing up and learning to adapt. The current youngsters are spoiled, most start off in academies in the very best conditions and then they get to a venue and suddenly they are caught out and don't know how to adapt to different conditions.

[cueman]

If the damned table fitter is supposed to be good then surely he can ADAPT and get the table playing the way it should. He is not under the gun trying to make a living against an opponent and can take his time and get it right.

Bad table conditions favour the weaker player and always have done. With the money they have there's no reason to have the table less than perfect for the players as it is a showcase after all.

As I said its not possible to know until they start playing on the table to see how it actually performs. Cushions bouncing are usually more to do with the atmosphere than anything, a table fitter cannot do anything about that. How many tournaments do you hear of players complaining, seems to be every single event nowadays. I think the problem is the players simply can't adapt because they are too used to playing in academies where conditions spoil them, the older generation who have learned on all sorts of tables simply adapt.

If these conditions were so random why do we still see the same top players contesting the major finals!!

[daffie]

Meanwhile...a good start by Ali.

And by Peter as well.

[shmeeko69]

Why would the tables be poor???

The conditions within the venue can play a part. There could be moisture in the air or something else and it's been raining heavily in the York area for the past few days which again can play a part in how the tables play.

[Neil Taperell]

Granted ......but would that affect big bounces......that would be to do with the rubbers .

The weather would affect the pace of the table wouldn't it ?

[trains]

Higgins feathers the cue more than when he won his first world championship.

[shmeeko69]

Granted ......but would that affect big bounces......that would be to do with the rubbers .

The weather would affect the pace of the table wouldn't it ?

Perhaps. Just trying to apply logic to Maguire's comment.