Ranking points this season

[Rane]

Hello outthere

Does anyone know, why there are lesser ranking point for winning the Welsh Open than in any of the other tournaments this season. I can see, there has been awarded more points than last season for the Grand Prix and the two Chinese tournaments, but Welsh Open stays at 5000 for the winner.

[Odrl]

Probably because the prize money in the Grand Prix and the Chinese events is significally higher this year.

I assume that if the NIT or Bahrain were held again, they would be on the same level as the Welsh Open.

Speaking of other events... Is there still a chance they could introduce another event in February or March? Or is it definitely confirmed that there won't be any more?

[RocketRoy1983]

I would suspect that just the 6 will be held but it wouldnt be a surprise if the late Malta/Bahrain additions are anything to go by.

[João]

Yeah with the return of Drago to the main tour I can see Malta Cup being re-introduced in one of those two free months.

[wildJONESEYE]

its a stupid decision giving 2,000 less points for winning a tournament that has same number of frames played.

that will unbalanced the ranking positions for the end of this season.

[Templeton Peck]

Personally I think they should scrap the rankings and seed using a prize money list over the last ten 'open' tournaments.

[Monique]

its a stupid decision giving 2,000 less points for winning a tournament that has same number of frames played.

that will unbalanced the ranking positions for the end of this season.

Well when I raised that point about the GP last year I got stick ... it's all about prestige and money I was told . Draw your conclusions.

[Rane]

Well when I raised that point about the GP last year I got stick ... it's all about prestige and money I was told . Draw your conclusions.

I still find it strange that a new chinese ranker should be more prestigious to win than the Welsh Open, that´s has been there for many years, and as I remember it normally shows some good standard of snooker.

[Monique]

I still find it strange that a new chinese ranker should be more prestigious to win than the Welsh Open, that´s has been there for many years, and as I remember it normally shows some good standard of snooker.

It does but prize money is a misery ... I'm playing devil's advocate here, I admit. In my opinion prize money should have nothing to do with ranking points. Ranking points should be there to reward for performance and tournaments with similar formats should be rewarded with similar ranking. That's why last year I objected to the ranking points awarded for the GP ... and got stick

[Looki]

In my opinion prize money should have nothing to do with ranking points. Ranking points should be there to reward for performance and tournaments with similar formats should be rewarded with similar ranking.

Agreed. And low prize money combined to low amount of ranking points may cause that some players do not even attend.

[Monique]

Agreed. And low prize money combined to low amount of ranking points may cause that some players do not even attend.

Indeed or not try their best, as I have witnessed. And, no, it wasn't Ronnie.

[Odrl]

But in reality, players don't try equally hard in every event. Or maybe "try" is not the right word. They don't get themselves up for all events to the same extent.

When you have an event that has significally less prize money available, poor attendance, less TV exposure than the others, and the organization is generally on a lower level, you won't get players targeting that event. Players will still attend and try their best while they're there, and that's becasue it's still the 7th most important tournament on the calendar, but they'll try to build their form for the very top events. And that's what prestige is basically - how much and how many people want to win something. The Welsh Open does compensate a bit with it's history, but it's a history of it being a small event.

Now I could organize an event myself. I'd find a place on the calendar where players won't have anything better to do, and invite all the MT players. I could even organize qualifiers in Prestatyn. Now, I'd award very little prize money, but just enough so that the majority of players would attend. I wouldn't secure any TV contracts, and there would be no people watching at the venue. But the length of the matches would be best of 9 up to the QF, then best of 11 and 17. What would you say to me if I had the nerve to ask for the event to award the same ranking points as the Welsh Open (or any ranking points for that matter)?

[Looki]

Similar format same amount of points. That's what I cheer for (as I already hinted in the previous post). No matter how little prize money (as long it's not ridiculous, players has a living to do too) or attendance if it's a MT tournament the format should define the amount of points.

[Odrl]

Similar format same amount of points. That's what I cheer for (as I already hinted in the previous post). No matter how little prize money (as long it's not ridiculous, players has a living to do too) or attendance if it's a MT tournament the format should define the amount of points.

Fair enough.

And I think the more you wan't to win something, the more points it should carry.

[The_Teach]

Doesn't anyone else think that World Snooker have missed a trick by not awarding any points to the Pro Challenge series?

Even a heavily reduced tarriff (say 10% of the Worlds) would have incentivised players to turn up. 500 points to the winner of each of these could have made a huge difference to top 16 positions and staying on the tour.