63 centuries and counting... (sponsors triggering WSA to widen pockets?)

[hegeland]

This is getting ridiculous... it's obvious something has been done with the pockets. Someone must be able to find out a bit more about this?

[crucible77]

why cant they just be playing well, they are pros!

[Forman]

why cant they just be playing well, they are pros!

they are playing well, but from watching the matches you can see that balls that would never normally drop have been going in on the tables at the crucible this year.

Its not unreasonable to assume that this has had at least some effect on the high number of centurys made so far.

[hegeland]

Well they can't all be playing like 30% better than ever before, can they?

[Alex0paul]

I really am getting bored stiff with all these centurys. Everyone knows the exciting frames the ones played out on the colours.

[Wim]

Let' s narrow the pockets then.

[Le Ball Sack]

Make the balls bigger

[RGCirencester]

Personally i would rather see 63 exibition shots that went wong than 63 centuries. I know it goes on the stats but i miss Jimmys bannana shots

The pockets have been really strange this year, i've seen some really close shots not go in, as if the pockets are tight, yet ones an inch away from the pocket seem to be falling in at other times

[rivercard]

Yes, the pockets are a bit strange, but the cloth is very fast to say the least. Players can send the cue ball in and out of baulk without even hitting the white too hard when getting the wrong side of the blue, sometimes with very little angle to work with. I've never heard the commentators say the "look at the cue power there" line so often as in this WC.

[gettingbetter]

I sometimes find these comments a bit unfounded. Lets just bare in mind, that there are guidelines as to how big the tables are, how high they are and how big the pockets are. I recall reading on wikipedia that Ronnie was denied a 147 because the pockets didn't comply to the governing bodies standard. So we are talking about the World Championship here, the biggest snooker tournament of them all, observations are one thing, but I think we have to assume that the pockets to abide by the guidelines required.

Add to that, I know that a lot of people are getting bored of century breaks, but they are and always will be intersting to watch and thats what all us players strive towards.

Also, as on this World Championship board, there has been a common theme of the pockets being to easy, add to that, (and this has been a trend for the last couple of seasons) the cloths have been too fast - this has both advantages and disadvantages in break-building.

But you guys tell me one thing. How many sports have not had an increase in standard? Usain Bolt is faster than any man ever (Owens, Greene, Lewis et al); Michael Phelps is faster than Spitz, Thorpe; the standard of football is better than it has ever been and so on. I can't really pinpoint any sport where the standard of play has not increased. Add to that, a poster above simply said 'they are professionals' or something along those lines. Back in the 70s and 80s, snooker players weren't snooker players - they were cab drivers, miners and had other jobs. The top 16, 32 and 48 are plain out and out snooker players who have dedicated their lives to the game. There are rarely players now days who had to work in the mines like Mountjoy or had to drive people around like Reardon (or what is Griffiths?).

[brettski]

They are alot slacker than they seemed to be in previous years but it is good snooker, the pockets are not bucket sized and the lads are doing a good job out there.

[hegeland]

Yes the standard is very high, and is possibly getting even higher, but that doesn't explain one bit why we this year will beat the old record by such an exceptional margin. As I said previously, it's impossible the players are 25% better now than previous years.

That's why I'm getting so annoyed at the commentators this year, explaining the centuries by 'the standard is so high these days'. Though in the last few days, some of them have changed their mind a little, admitting that the pockets are indeed more generous than normally.

I really think WSA have something to explain here. There is no doubt in my mind they know exactly what is behind this and I suspect they have given in to sponsors.

[dazza]

63 and counting with 6 day's remaining and 5 short of the record what's everyone's guess at how many will be made i'm going for 82

[Templeton Peck]

One thing is for certain, Hendry's plant to go 49 up in his maximum wouldn't have gone in in previous years. It clearly hit the knuckle first but still slid in. They must be using a different template, I'm almost certain of it - perhaps they've made the knuckles less acute and more rounded like club knuckles so that balls not hit at pace slide in. Maybe I'm just cynical, but I wonder if this is part of the WSA's initiative to make the game faster and more exciting...

[alex_5525]

One thing is for certain, Hendry's plant to go 49 up in his maximum wouldn't have gone in in previous years. It clearly hit the knuckle first but still slid in. They must be using a different template, I'm almost certain of it - perhaps they've made the knuckles less acute and more rounded like club knuckles so that balls not hit at pace slide in. Maybe I'm just cynical, but I wonder if this is part of the WSA's initiative to make the game faster and more exciting...

i would have to agree, and the final black. i still think the players are doing their job well tho