Mark Williams Withdrawal

[chasmmi]

Ok I havent noticed this being covered yet so sorry if it has been but I was wandering what happens with this?

Normally in a snooker event if someone withdraws then players get 5-0 or whatever walkover victories.

So what will happen with this group format. Will Matches played against him already be discounted or will the rest get 3-0 victories as he is a no show?

I would assume matches against him wont count as it is unfair on those who have played him

But then again what happens if a player just doesnt turn up to one match halfway through the tournament then it would go down as a 3-0 loss to penalise that player but not throw him out the event I guess so it could be 3-0 victories for the remaining opponents.

And then this is snooker so the officials may opt to enact rule 17b which states:

Any player who tries to get out of a tournament without finishing all his required matches will be forced at gunpoint to play under the threat of his manhood being blown away if deemed not to be trying hard enough.


Which is it?

[Alex0paul]

All of his matches will be void. Therefore it affectively means there are only 5 players in that group. All of his previous matches wont count either.

Does anyone know if he will still get ranking points or not?

[elvaago]

Really sucks for the people that beat Mark.

[Kruger]

As far as I know, by-laws for GP have a link to general by-laws of Main Tour. Which explains nothing...

I do not know the regulations for the whole season but I expect it is always individual decision of the WPBSA Board whether a player who withdraws due to injury is eligible to be given prize money and ranking points.

Anyone has a more detailed info on this? I'm a little confused with Williams' situation

[Semih_Sayginer]

Really sucks for the people that beat Mark.

why?

was the rule not set "in stone" before the tournament started?

[The Statman]

All of his matches will be void. Therefore it affectively means there are only 5 players in that group. All of his previous matches wont count either.

Does anyone know if he will still get ranking points or not?

If he has a medical certificate, then he will most likely get the ranking points he would have got for genuinely coming bottom of the group.

This is a similar argument to O'Sullivan's withdrawal from China a few seasons ago. Once you have entered the tournament, you get ranking points for genuine medical reasons, but not if you just don't fancy going!

Good job Jamie Cope didn't make his 147 against Mark, otherwise the highest break would still be 141!

[elvaago]

why?

was the rule not set "in stone" before the tournament started?

Because the people that beat Mark now lost a point and this might prevent them from qualifying. If Mark had continued playing they might've qualified because of their win against him. I dunno if this is actually the case, but I'm sure Stuart Bingham would've had a bigger chance to qualify with a 1 win 2 loss situation with a chance of going 3 wins 2 losses than he has now with 2 losses and a max of 2 wins.

[Semih_Sayginer]

...and if you went to your local bookies and bet Mark Williams to win the tournament....or to top the group???

[The Statman]

...and if you went to your local bookies and bet Mark Williams to win the tournament....or to top the group???

You'd lose!

I guess it's no different to someone betting that he'd win the tournament and he withdrew before the event started. Or just got knocked out.

[The Statman]

Because the people that beat Mark now lost a point and this might prevent them from qualifying. If Mark had continued playing they might've qualified because of their win against him. I dunno if this is actually the case, but I'm sure Stuart Bingham would've had a bigger chance to qualify with a 1 win 2 loss situation with a chance of going 3 wins 2 losses than he has now with 2 losses and a max of 2 wins.

But everybody else's win figure will be down as well (except Lee, whom Williams beat).

It's unfortunate, but what can you do? This is what happens in any format where if someone loses a match they are not necessarily out of the tournament.

If Williams's condition had been anything more serious than a wrist injury, we would all be sympathising with him rather than sympathising with his opponents!

[cap]

...and if you went to your local bookies and bet Mark Williams to win the tournament....or to top the group???

They might refund the bet. They do that in horse racing, but that's if a horse withdraws before the race starts. Not sure if this would be treated the same.

[Semih_Sayginer]

agree statman

i know its not ideal, but id rather pity the guy who got injured not long before the event, and who wasnt doing anything considered an injury risk when he got injured, who made the effort to travel to the tournament and try to play, but had to withdraw, rather than some opponents who managed to beat him while he was injured.

again, not ideal, but thats the way i see it

[Semih_Sayginer]

They might refund the bet. They do that in horse racing, but that's if a horse withdraws before the race starts. Not sure if this would be treated the same.

depends on the bookies and the circumstances

if you bet on the day and the horse withdraws you get a refund

if you bet ante post (say weeks before) and the horse withdraws, you lose your stake

[APH]

As used by the IBSF and EBSA all events of which have a Round Robin Format.

WITHDRAWALS
7.1 If a player should withdraw from the Championship at any stage thereof, all matches and results scored by him shall be considered null and void, other than if players contesting for any position which takes them through to the next round have ALL played the withdrawing player, when his/her results will be included to decide final group positions.

8. GROUP WINNERS (2 from each group in the Grand Prix)
8.1 Four(4) winners from each Group will advance to the final knock-out stages, comprising 32 qualifiers in all.
8.2 Matches from Win Points will first decide the winners.
8.3 If two or more players in any Group have an equal number of wins at the end of the Round Robin Stages, the following procedures will apply to determine the position of the qualifiers of that Group:

1. If two or more players have an equal number of wins, the better or best will be the player with the best Frame Difference (See Supplement)

2. If still equal, the results of the matches between the players concerned will be the determinant for the winner between them.

3. If a tie is still involved, the best differential in the matches of the tied players will be the determinant.

4. If the end result is still equal a one-frame play-off using frame scores shall determine the winner. A re-spotted black will be the final decider if needed.

The system for Group Qualifiers is based on that a player that performs the best is the one who turns in the best results for his matches.

It makes sense that after 8.2 is applied and leaves two players level, the first consideration should be the frames won and lost.

Player A
Wins 6 Matches 4-1 Lost 1 Match 2-4 (against B) gives a frame difference of 16

Player B
Wins 6 Matches 4-3 Lost 1 Match 2/4 gives a frame difference of 4

Player A is a far better result than B but would be second because of the way 8.3 2 is used before 8.3 1 by the WSA

[Sarmu]

Lol if anyone made a maximum against williams, they loose maximum break prize and highest break prize.. that gotta be very sad