How did you like this new short format?

[PatBlock]

So, now that the World Open is nearly over, what did you make of the new shorter format?

[PatBlock]

Argh! The question should've read:

"How much did you enjoy the new shorter format?"

Got a bit excited there, my first poll.

[montoya10]

Don't want to see another, after Stephen Maguire's mind boggling exit yesterday..

[The Boss]

If there are 9 events I would use it for 3 of them

Maybe more frames in a final though :snooker:

[leelee]

i really liked it and i think / hope it generated a lot more interest in the game its ok for 1 maybe 2 events but we need longer matches in other tournaments but overall very enjoyable

[missneworleans]

No more than this event its interesting but I like usual tourneys more

[Odrl]

I've voted for the "don't want to see another" option, although it doesn't completely sum up my feelings. I made a post before the start of the tournament, discussing why I am so opposed to this format, and a lot of it still stands after seeing it. I said I would treat this tournament the same as the Premier League, watching some of it, but not really getting excited about it.

Well, I can now say that I've actually watched pretty much all of it. I even stayed up to watch the Ebdon-Liu match until the end, even though it was quite awful stuff. I can say this tournament was better entertainment than I expected, and I would probably watch it again if it was on next year. But having said that, I would still trade five of these events for one proper one, like the China Open...

How many matches from this tournament will be remembered as classics, or even mentioned in one of those "best matches of the season" threads? Other than possibly the final, which remains to be seen, there aren't any. I think this event proved that best-of-5 snooker can't produce the same magic as the longer matches.

Then there is the other issue, the issue of ranking points. I remain convinced that major ranking points should not be awarded for anything shorter than best-of-9 matches. And on top of that, this event has a random draw as well. People can keep talking about the lack of shocks, and how it's turned out that it wasn't a lottery after all, but the fact is that only six players in the last16 were top16 players, something that is practically unheard of in other events. We can all agree that Peter Ebdon played nowhere near his best, but he only played "qualifiers" and reached the SF, and he was technically a qualifier himself this week. On the other hand, you had the two World finalists meeting in the last64. Some people call this "exciting", but I think it's ridiculous how it can distort the rankings.

As I said, I don't think the snooker itself was bad entertainment, so if it comes back as a non-ranking event next year, I wouldn't oppose it. And when I say non-ranking, I mean zero points, not 4000 or whatever. Having said that, we can't have a calendar as empty as this in the first part of the season again next year. There are only two traditional ranking events, which would be dreadful even in the Walker years. I didn't have a particular attachment to the Grand Prix, but the fact is that its cancellation has left a huge gap, which the World Open will never fill. The World Open can only be an addition to the three or four major events of the first part of the season. If that's the case next year, there will be nothing left to moan about.

On another note, I did find something to praise this week. I think the pockets have been the best for a long time. The tables have been very tight, with no silly balls going in. Hopefully this will set the standard for all of the events this season.

[gem]

Not for me at all. Too many players looked scared to take a chance and any match that could have been exiting was over too quick.

[gavpowell]

I can tolerate it for the odd event but it's over too quickly. And Ronnie's idea of shortening the world championship horrifies me...

[montoya10]

Not much thing to add to Odrl's post.
Crowd's reactions in the event was nowhere near Premier League level, though.

I would rather have Pot Black instead of World Open as an invitational tournament, with no ranking points to offer, if this will be the case.

[Hal]

well it is interesting but this one event is enough for me .... nice to see that many players on tv but usually you can enjoy their game in this short format

[BikiniKill]

Am somewhere inbetween the second and third option. I definitely enjoyed this tournament, it has been especially nice that they are so short that you can watch two matches one after another in one session. It sort of piques the interest, and the fact that there's not another match on on a second table means you're not always worried you're missing something!

Maybe one more tournament of similar length, but there would have to be something different about it to keep the format somewhat fresh.

[adrift]

This has been great as an event as the music ,lights and short format have made it very exciting. But these elements have to be kept away from most of the other tournaments. And it should go nowhere near the UK, Masters and World Championships as it would weaken these if they are tampered with in any way.

[Vanidar]

I definitely enjoyed this tournament...the best thing that could happend to snooker sport.. never boring,great ,interesting matches...many differnt players on TV..many of new snooker fans..great job,Barry

[Jools]

Loved it, keep it, sometimes 5 different matches a day. Please keep the old longer formats as well, keeps Snooker multi faceted