John Higgins criticises new format

[ADR147]

Barry Hearn has and always will be a total and utter idiot, the second he was appointed I just knew that the game would slip further under peoples radars and that he'd start to tinker with things that he shouldn't...

The guy's an eejit of the highest order who doens't give a rats about snooker, just lining his own pocket and making as much money as possible......

Just about every single person I've spoken to in the game has nothing positive to say about the bloke at all, which should tell you a lot.

you been drinking in the morning again?

when BH took over snooker was on its knees - i personally know of pro players who were thinking of giving it up to get jobs. Rodney Walker was terrible for snooker.

[DWOT]

Dread to think what you thought of Rodney Walker then.

Ask most players on the tour and they will tell you Barry Hearn has been a godsend to Snooker since he to took over. As much as I disagree with the change of format of the UK Championship, on the hole Barry Hearn has/is taking Snooker in the right direction. No doubt in my mind he is the best man for the job.

What direction is that then? ripping off a load of kids and players who have little or no chance of ever making it in the PTC's? Nice work that!!!!

Not the right man for the job but to be honest I'm not sure I know who is......

[DWOT]

you been drinking in the morning again?

when BH took over snooker was on its knees - i personally know of pro players who were thinking of giving it up to get jobs. Rodney Walker was terrible for snooker.

And did I say otherwise????????????

All I said and have said again is that Barry Hearn ain't the right man.

[spike]

What direction is that then? ripping off a load of kids and players who have little or no chance of ever making it in the PTC's? Nice work that!!!!

Not the right man for the job but to be honest I'm not sure I know who is......

Ask the majority of fans and players and you will find that most would disagree with you. Personally, I feel that Snooker is in pretty safe hands while Hearn is at the helm. I'm not saying he's perfect, but I honestly think he has done a marvellous job so far..

[Looki]

Barry Hearn was given the job of selling snooker back to the public who have fallen out of love with it. To give them the very same that have have turned away from would be ridiculous so change, any change has to come even if it's just shortening matches for the majority who have short attention spans.
The new PTC's have been good this year after being ignored by some of the top pros last year and snooker is on its way to having a tour not unlike the ATP with smaller events alongside the established majors. Just to be controversial I would like to see the WSC turned into something like a world open and the world champion being the man at the end of the season who gains the most ranking points just like in other sports like F1 and Motogp. After all the WSC is only there because at the beginning that's all there was and that is certainly no longer the case, world champions should be based over a season not just a certain two weeks of the year.

There already are about million short format tournies. If people turn away because couple of tournaments are too long/too boring then I think we're doomed. I don't think shortening the two wouldn't help it. Bring in the naked ladies, say I!

[CoachGavin]

sorry DWOT but I do not see how you can be so against a man who has increased the number of events in the calender so much that there are now 3 or 4 times the amount of events there was 2 years ago. The PTC's have given amateurs a chance to play against the top professionals and see if they are in with a shout of making the grade. I disagree with the UK championships being shortened but I think he has done a good job especially as he has only been in the job for 2 years. Do not see the problem.

[beechy1212]

Snooker is at it's healthiest for years. We can watch events near on every single week, even the qualifiers.

The WC has an aura about it that mus not be tampered with. However, the best of 11 in the UK for a few rounds is so much better. It will fill the arena and it will get more people watching on t.v. How many people actually want to watch a first round game of two sessions? It will be dead and it has been for ages.

Shorter matches with one session will be far more popular IMO. People watching and t.v revenue is far more important at this current time.

[SnookerFan]

Snooker is at it's healthiest for years. We can watch events near on every single week, even the qualifiers.

The WC has an aura about it that mus not be tampered with. However, the best of 11 in the UK for a few rounds is so much better. It will fill the arena and it will get more people watching on t.v. How many people actually want to watch a first round game of two sessions? It will be dead and it has been for ages.

Shorter matches with one session will be far more popular IMO. People watching and t.v revenue is far more important at this current time.

I would. In fact the past few years I've been buying tickets to the first three days of the UKs so I can watch matches over two sessions.

[cally]

Hmmm, interesting thoughts.

I don't agree with DWOT either...

Barry is/has been a godsend for snooker really, you just have to look around the rankings to see it!

Nobody hanging about in the top 16 for season after season that clearly shouldnt have been there, more 'lesser' ranked players getting the chance to earn a few quid. which after the work they put it they deserv whole heartedly..
which they never had the chance to do before barry... Just these little things mentioned has been more than most could have wished for a few seasons back....

Although, i have found a few tourney's, this and that a bit pointless from hearn, theres nobody out there that could do more is it? so why slate barry hearn, ya cant say he is not working damn hard to get snooker noticed can ya??

Yes, maybe he has put too much too soon. but how else is he supposed to see if things work or not?

It's early daze yet and he still feeling his feet for what will work and what won't, the tour will find it's rightful place soon enough.

Be patient, don't forget the state of things when he first came!

Not doing bad at all really, apart from these tourneys put on in 'exclusive' resorts in far corners of the earth, but like i said, it's early daze and it will settle to a nice calendar 'eventually'.

Although, gotta agree. Messing about with the uk shouldn't have been done, but hey ho, rough with smooth and all that...


Peace out...

[cueman]

One of the main gripes with a lot of snooker fans is the length of matches. Lots of people today want things done quickly, time is very much important now in whatever walk of life and people don't have the time or inclination to sit in front of a TV or in an audience to watch 2 sessions of snooker for up to 5-6 hours each match.

Hearn has a difficult balancing act to make, keeping the broadcasters interested by shortening the event is obviously paramount, because without the broadcaster you lose the biggest chunk of your revenue. Then he has to keep sponsors happy, and they are very much in short supply with many now dropping snooker in favour of other areas. Then come the players, they can't all be kept happy but the trade off has already been made and it just seems a little bit petty that the likes of Higgins is moaning about this on the eve of the event when this was already announced months ago.

Finally the fans are as usual the hardest to please. Hearn is trying to make snooker appeal to a different audience, to take the game to another level but as with anything like this it means change, sadly some never accept that or move with the times. I'm all for giving anything the benefit of the doubt and seeing what the outcome is first. Who knows, this could create a lot more exciting close matches rather than some one sided affairs as we've seen all too often with players romping to victory 9-2 for instance. I think its more of a level playing field and its just good to see a different format for a tournament that needs it IMO. The semi's are best of 17 and final best of 19 so this will be unique in its own right.

[beechy1212]

I would. In fact the past few years I've been buying tickets to the first three days of the UKs so I can watch matches over two sessions.

You're in the minority though. The future of Snooker has to come first.

[SnookerFan]

I grant you, I can see why he'd do it. I mean, when I watch Shaun Murphy vs Patrick Wallace in December 2010, I was one of only five people in the "crowd". But that's because Ronnie O'Sullivan was playing on the other table.

It'll be interesting to see what effect shortening the matches have though. Because the Welsh Open didn't sell out all matches the years I went. (The first time I went it the matches were best of nine and the second time matches were best of seven.) Does shortening matches = higher ticket sales in the early rounds autmotically mean the same thing?

Whenever they do those polls on the BBC, longer matches always seems to win by a country mile.

[DWOT]

Time will tell..........

[cebs]

I think the main reason for all these shorter matches and lack of ranking event in Oct needs to be directed at the BBC not Barry.

BBC are clearly not interested in sport any longer, see the new deal with f1 , lack of snooker since WC and others, if they had wanted to an entire red button stream could have been used for longer matches without interruption but again they have limited that to one stream on freeview and virgin.

Barry needs to do a deal with sky and get a part time channel for whenever the snooker is on just like this new f1 deal. Sack eurosports off as their scheduling is some of the worst I have ever had the mispleasure to try and watch, never starts when supposed to or you tune in and its been on for ages.

Until the delay in the premier snooker the other day Sky is the only channel you could depend on. BBC would/do show 1hr in the evening and then nothing till highlights after 11pm during the WC bar the red button and this has been only 1 table via freeview for years now and you cannot even choose. I remember one year during wimbledon they showed 6 mini screens at once and you could pick any to go fullscreen, why cannot that be done a 2 table event?

I like the changes to do with Walk on music and the Shoot out event, power snooker went too far with crowd noise but that's not official anyhow so keep it Barry just give us a snooker channel for a tenner a month maybe.

[SnookerFan]

It's not limited to one stream on Virgin, is it? I've always had Virgin and been able to watch either match.