A good tournament or not

[cebs]

Morning ,

I wasn't sure about this event but i wish i had gone now, some of yesterdays action was great.

It like a final frame decider one after an another, some classic moments so far for me have been :

1. Ronnie with 6 reds/blacks and trying for a maximum and got booed when he had to play for the blue but then he was on for a total clearance.

2. Rory winning by 1 point with a black around 3/4 cushions with a second to go. Tony lost the plot at 57-0, he must have been fumming afterwards.

3. Neil winning on the black with zero seconds left on the clock.

4. Higgins running out of time by seconds to make a come back.

5. Steve Davies not taking a shot at the end of his frame so King could clean up.

6. Mike Dunn's long brown, what a shot that was and a nice fist pump to follow the win.

7. Judd's close win.

I would have liked to have seen more of Mark Allen and Ding but maybe next time, i thought both their attacking styles would have been suited to this and no time for Ding to drop his head (but he isn't doing that so much now anyway).

I reckon this afternoon will be even better, i cannot wait and hope they do this event more than once next season if they have any free weekends left.

I hope they release this event in full on dvd as i would watch it again, i must learn how to capture streaming video.

[franksandellsnooker]

This old man is usually very sceptical of gimmick events but I can honestly say I have hardly missed a game watching this and find it not only great fun and very entertaining, but something that in giving spectators a chance to see all of the top 64 in action ( in most cases ) is also providing value for money entertainment. I am sure sponsors for such events will be impressed by the exposure. Perhaps in venues outside the UK smaller numbers could make up an extra day in a tour visit for example and like 20/20 cricket I am sure it will encourage a new range of interest. :snooker:

[João]

Terrible, just terrible.

The good: sky sports is broadcasting "snooker" again.

The bad: EVERYTHING else.

[hotpot]

We still nedd the traditional tournaments and i hope they remain unchanged with the exception of the worlds where i think the semi,s and final can be slightly reduced but ever so slightly .

The more variety of snooker the more it will gain popularity , especially in the uk . We have to accept that a lot of people who watch sport now want to enjoy themselves and create an atmosphere whilst enjoying a few sherbets .

[Theguywithaplan]

One of the most entertaining tournament I've seen for a while. As long as it doesn't replace snooker in it's original format (which it won't) then I'd be very happy having at least one of these tournaments a year.

[DandyA]

yes, an excellent "festival" of snooker ... I've thoroughly enjoyed see all the top 64 players (quite a few of which I'd never seen play before) in a "pressure cooker" environment ... great venue too ...

well done to the WPBSA ...

[cebs]

Ronnie Vs Selby,

Nice one, no time for Selby to slow play Ronnie to death in this one.

C'mon Ronnie

[Leila Keller]

One of the most entertaining tournament I've seen for a while. As long as it doesn't replace snooker in it's original format (which it won't) then I'd be very happy having at least one of these tournaments a year.

+1. I can't judge and I don't think that it's better than classic snooker, but I enjoy it at the moment. At least it's a great show, for me.

[leelee]

I have enjoyed the games and i reckon its been a success for sky sports we all know its not a seriuos tournament so just enjoy anyway verdict = not bad at all

[gerbisto]

It's a brilliant tournament, much better than Power Snooker.

[loopy2]

I have enjoyed this tourny as a fun and fast potting shootout extra, but certainly could do without the crass robotic announcer and baseball uniforms.
The ball in hand situation, I shall sit on the fence for the time being.
On the whole a thumbs up from me.

[beechy1212]

Great entertainment. Apparently, hardly any tickets were bought a week before it started. After 1 hour of play, all 3 days were sold out. A lot of people are interested.

I think there is room for a bigger tournament, best of 5.

A massive thumbs up from me.

[CueAntW147]

Funny really when you think back in the day Alex Higgins & Jimmy White played quick in all the tournaments and here we are watching a bit of a re launch to a new audience based on speed really all these years on, wonder what Alex would have made of this in his prime, he did this for fun in his early exhibition matches.

I think its been good though quick fire stuff all the players there and if it appeals to a new audience and attracts attention to our great game so much the better.

It takes nothing away from all the established tournaments that all the traditional snooker fans love anyway, so i can't see there's any harm done, and makes it exciting for youngsters watching to get involved in snooker.

Great venue seen a few exhibition matches played there over the years, not to mention taking the kids to see the circus ( though some will consider this tournament a circus lol ) but for me its all good and we needed to do something to rejuvenate the game a bit.

So i'll see it as a welcome addition to the game good work !

[Rane]

I was quick to write it off friday evening, but after watching some more and especially the close frames, it was quite entertaining. Obviously it´s a format designed to players like O´Sullivan, Drago and Milkins, but still slow players like Dunn, Campbell and Bond made it to the very end. As a supplement it´s fine with me, but in the long run I find it annoying to see players messing around with the balls, when you know they can do much better.

[Odrl]

Well... I suppose there are two ways of looking at this event...

If it was something unfamiliar, unrelated to snooker, and I just happened to see it on TV, I would find it somewhat entertaining. That's pretty much the way I treated it this weekend. There were some interesting frames, especially those that were decided as time was running out. From a tactical point of view, I think the most interesting part was seeing the players change their tempo according to what the score was like and how much time was left, and having to judge whether the clock was working for or against them. Even with my curiosity now satisfied, I would probably watch it again if I had nothing better to do.

For all my criticism of the World Open, it doesn't really apply to this event. It isn't a replacement for a previously established tournament, and it's not going to distort the rankings or affect the proper events in any way. So as a snooker fan, I don't have any problem with it.

Having said that, just because it has the word "snooker" in the title, that doesn't automatically mean it can count on my "loyalty". I suppose people become snooker fans for different reasons, so I can only speak for myself here... The fact that snooker is a slow-paced game that takes time to reach its climax, that's something that has always appealed to me. I've always loved the way tension builds up towards the end of a long match, or even a single frame when only the colours remain. I love the anticipation when a player studies a difficult situation, I love those extra few seconds of drama when a player composes himself before a crucial shot, and I love the "stories" snooker can tell, if only you give it enough time. Those are some of the things that got me hooked on snooker. I think this format doesn't really showcase those attributes, not only that, you could say it actually goes against them in many ways. That's why it doesn't live up to what I would call snooker for me, and I think I know myself well enough to say that it probably never will.

If people enjoy it, I can only be happy for them. As I said, there is no reason it should bother me, and most of the time, it doesn't. But sometimes I can't help having a defensive reaction, especially when I think it's intruding on the game I love and perhaps failing to reach the standard I set for it. I have no doubt it will be some commentator including one of this weekend's matches in their head-to-head stats between two players before a big match, or some equally trivial thing, that might set off the alarm bells again in the future. But I suppose that's just a reflection of how profoundly sad it would make me, if snooker as we know it now would ever make a major step in that direction.