Match concession etiquette/rules

[PaulS]

Advice/opinion wanted please! My son was playing in a best of 7 match, which went to a deciding frame. Early in the frame (before a ball had been potted), his opponent's tip came off. He immediately conceded the frame and match, saying he couldn't continue, and shook hands.

After a moment of contemplation, he declared that he didn't think it was the right etiquette to have conceded and instead requested for the final frame to be replayed at a later date. The option to superglue his tip back on there and then, or play with a rack cue were suggested, but both options were declined. We then agreed to play the deciding frame in a few days time. In hindsight, we are not sure if we made the correct decision.

Should we have allowed him to backtrack on his concession? Once he shook hands, should that have been final? After all, for a minute or so, my son was under the impression that he had won the match.

Or, is it the 'sportsmanlike' thing to do, to make all reasonable efforts to finish the match at a later date?

[DeanH]

By the rules, as player whose has issues with their equipment, such s a tip, will be offer 15minutes to rectify the situation.
By the rules, a concession can not be retracted once accepted (shake of hands is this acceptance).

"he declared that he didn't think it was the right etiquette to have conceded ..." who is "he", the opponent or your son?

Just like Tony Drago, who conceded a match and shock hands, then realised there was enough balls ion the table to win; the concession stands.

(1) the opponent should not have conceded so quickly, his fault doing so. "hard-cheese"
(2) your son maybe should not have accepted the concession so quickly without considering other options. Just like Tony Drago's opponent, it was automatic to shake the offered hand.

I would have said the concession stands and your son won.
The opponent will learn to not give in so easily.


Of course, some may say all of the above "by the rules" is for professional and top level amateur matches, not club matches - but these are the rules of the game that we should all adhere to at all levels.

[Nifty50]

Was this in a formal league competition with a ref in attendance? Not that it makes any difference. A concession is a concession.

[PaulS]

Thanks for your reply DeanH

Yes, when I stated that "he declared that he didn't think it was the right etiquette to have conceded" I was referring to the opponent. I believe he was possibly using this as a reason to try and retract his concession once he realised he had maybe acted too hastily in conceding the match. You're spot-on, that it was my son's automatic reaction to shake hands when it was offered. He is 14 and had not been in this situation before.

Unfortunately for us, our ignorance of these rules means that I'm now left with the dilemma of whether to argue the case with the opponent and go back on our agreement to play the final frame another day 😣

[PaulS]

It was a formal knockout competition (handicapped), but there was no referee appointed to the match. It was the QF, with a ref only provided for SF and final

[akofb]

If there is a committee or someone overall in charge of the competition I would let them decide, you'll have to put up with their decision then though which of course might not go your way. If they are adhering to the rules though they should find in your favour.

[Nifty50]

If there is a committee or someone overall in charge of the competition I would let them decide, you'll have to put up with their decision then though which of course might not go your way. If they are adhering to the rules though they should find in your favour.

Good solution.

[PaulS]

If there is a committee or someone overall in charge of the competition I would let them decide, you'll have to put up with their decision then though which of course might not go your way. If they are adhering to the rules though they should find in your favour.

Yes, that sounds like a good approach, thanks.

In fairness to my lad, he says he would prefer to win on merit and would've been devastated if his tip had fallen off in the final frame and had lost the match as a result.

Rules are rules though!

[itsnoteasy]

Tough one, I know rules are rules and all that but I wouldn't like to win by default but then again I would have finished the match with another cue If I couldn't fit a new tip.
The thing that sways me is he conceded, that's it, game over. If you want to see this happen in the pro game and how hard it can be to take, look at this, poor old Tony.
https://youtu.be/5gN6Fk_RS54

[DeanH]

Yes, that sounds like a good approach, thanks.

In fairness to my lad, he says he would prefer to win on merit and would've been devastated if his tip had fallen off in the final frame and had lost the match as a result.

Rules are rules though!

Of course a merit win is best :0

I am sure now your son or you have a tip repair kit in case - remember a player should be given 15mins to do repairs before any decision to concede needs to be made.

If you are not confident in tipping cues, buy a cheap cue (loads on ebay
And buy a pack of cheap tips and a few tubes of Loctite Superglue Gel (I like the repositionable gel)
A few new stanley knife blades to trim.
and a sheet or two of high grade sandpaper to shape.
A flat file to remove old glue and tip from the cue .

And continually retip the cheap cue, over and over, etc...

Of course there are many videos online to show how people retip cues, not everyone is the same.


When you get confident with retipping, what some players have done is retip their playing cue, play with it for some practise frames to bed the tip in. The remove the tip carefully wit a sharp blade and put aside, then retip and repeats and get a few tips aside that are shaped and bedded in just in case for an emergency retip.

[DeanH]

Tough one, I know rules are rules and all that but I wouldn't like to win by default but then again I would have finished the match with another cue If I couldn't fit a new tip.
The thing that sways me is he conceded, that's it, game over. If you want to see this happen in the pro game and how hard it can be to take, look at this, poor old Tony.
https://youtu.be/5gN6Fk_RS54

yep that s the one I was describing :0
Thanks for finding it

[MrRottweiler]

That was a bad miss on the brown by Alan. Straight stun and match ball.

My advice for the match concession is to do as agreed and play the deciding frame at a later date. Your son would have been well within his rights to say the resignation stands but by giving his opponent the opportunity to sort his cue out and resume the deciding frame another time shows your son is a good sport. They might even go on to become practice partners.

[vmax]

Unfortunately for us, our ignorance of these rules means that I'm now left with the dilemma of whether to argue the case with the opponent and go back on our agreement to play the final frame another day 😣

You don't want to be seen as someone who's so desperate to win that you go back on an agreement. Myself I would have taken his concession as final, in your case I would play the whole match again not just the final frame which would seem to be a rather cold affair without the buzz of the previous frames stoking me up for a final decider, depending of course on who was behind or in front, who was wilting, who was getting stronger, it all has a bearing on a decider rather than turning up a week later for a one off frame starting from scratch.

[PaulS]

Update

I decided to put the decision in the hands of the tournament organiser.

His decision was to abide by the laws of the game that the concession should stand. He considered that playing the deciding frame (or rematch for that matter) another day was not an option under any circumstances. The opponent had the option of repairing his tip there and then, or using a replacement cue. Both options he declined, although he should have had considered these options before conceding in any event, which he didn't.

The opponent has not taken the decision well and has gone on a personal attack against both myself and the tournament organiser. I understand his frustrations and admit that I do feel uneasy about going back on an agreement. However, I did so at the time only to avoid confrontation and because I was not certain about the rule that a concession can't be retracted. I've come under fire because I've been seen to have a win at all costs mentality. But the truth is, I just wanted the correct decision to be made, which I think it has been. Hopefully when the opponent has had time to reflect, he will also admit that it has, and realise he made a mistake by acting too impulsively in conceding.

So my son is through to the next round. I've told him that he was at no fault and he should consider that he got there on merit. He did so well to battle back from 0-2 and 2-3 down to force the decider. Its not his fault his opponent conceded and the more I think about it, the more I think that playing on another date would not have been fair on him.

Anyway, thanks everyone for your advice. A learning moment for me!

[itsnoteasy]

How old are the kids? Is it just a local club comp?