If you met a top ranked player in the street

[Danger Steve]

60 million people play snooker in China, that's incredible.

Incredible! Percentage-wise they are probably under achieving then?? Or we’re on the verge of Chinese domination for years to come!

[itsnoteasy]

Incredible! Percentage-wise they are probably under achieving then?? Or we’re on the verge of Chinese domination for years to come!

Been waiting for the takeover for at least thirty years. When you look at the numbers you could easily make the point they are underachieving, if you think that's the whole population of England playing snooker and only 2 in the top 16 ( had to Google that) but I don't know how long large numbers have been playing for, is it a recent explosion? If it has been tens of millions for thirty or more years, I think it would be a valid point saying they are hugely underachieving.
Just my thoughts but I reckon most of that list will drop off the tour and not really do much in the pro game, probably replaced by the next bunch of manufactured players from the huge academies, eventually a world beater has to come through just from the sheer numbers, I think it will be great for the game, the more top players from around the world the better for the game.

[mikee]

Very interesting reading on the pro tables v club tables ,I think it would be nearly impossible to replicate tv pro conditions anywhere ,even in a private house or club unless you changed the cloth every week .Selby was late getting to a tournament earlier this year and he said in the interview he had no time for a practice when he got there ,and his own table at home was not nearly as fast as what he plays on in matches on tv .Snooker tables and clubs have died in Lincoln ,most of the tables now are in working mens or social clubs ,its a shame this has happened ,in the 80's there were decent tables everywhere and league nights where a great night out .Sometimes I go to a mates club where Stuart Carrington has his own table ,a riley Aristocrat with heaters and ultra fast cloth ,the pockets are tighter than WPBSA size ,balls at very fast pace down the rails will spit out or struggle in ,my mate watched him in practice a few months ago knock in 5 tons and a 147 ,so if your good your good .As for Star tables and this thing about them being super fast ,they are only fast because that is how they are set up ,any steel block modern table will play the same speed if set up the same ,its just slate ,wood and metal ,its the rubber the heaters and cloth that dictate the conditions .Not a fan of Star ,BCE AND RILEY tables are made of far superior materials .

[Danger Steve]

Star tables just look a bit cooler I guess? And the Chinese probably knock them up for half the price of a Tournament Champ?

Im actually surprised that in 2020 snooker tables have remained essentially the same for so long? It’s not about re-inventing the wheel! But it might be nice to change from a wood spoked wheel from a horse and cart to a 22” Lazer cut Alloy rim belonging to a super car!

Rasson seem to be the only company that have moved on with the design slightly..?? Not sure if many others are trying new ideas?

The one aspect of setting up a table that I‘ve always thought as ‘Medieval’, is using a jack to pack up the legs! I’ve been looking at this myself over the past few months of designing a table leg/frame that levels without the need for a jack! I think Thurstons even had a table back in the 1800’s that self levelled!? Could be wrong?

[itsnoteasy]

Star tables just look a bit cooler I guess? And the Chinese probably knock them up for half the price of a Tournament Champ?

Im actually surprised that in 2020 snooker tables have remained essentially the same for so long? It’s not about re-inventing the wheel! But it might be nice to change from a wood spoked wheel from a horse and cart to a 22” Lazer cut Alloy rim belonging to a super car!

Rasson seem to be the only company that have moved on with the design slightly..?? Not sure if many others are trying new ideas?

The one aspect of setting up a table that I‘ve always thought as ‘Medieval’, is using a jack to pack up the legs! I’ve been looking at this myself over the past few months of designing a table leg/frame that levels without the need for a jack! I think Thurstons even had a table back in the 1800’s that self levelled!? Could be wrong?

Back in maybe the nineties alternative style of tables were tried, most looked terrible and as far as I know none took off. The only reason Star tables are used is because they pay the most money, nothing to do with quality, pretty sure GL said they were made of pretty poor quality materials. I have no idea why folk seem to get all giddy about them.

[Danger Steve]

Back in maybe the nineties alternative style of tables were tried, most looked terrible and as far as I know none took off. The only reason Star tables are used is because they pay the most money, nothing to do with quality, pretty sure GL said they were made of pretty poor quality materials. I have no idea why folk seem to get all giddy about them.

It’s like most things the Chinese make, looks good but do they last!? On some of Barry’s videos (featuring a Star table) you can see on some close up shots the paint on the rails has actually worn off! Also the way they paint the rails with the plum 2-pack paint/lacquer to cover the poor quality wood, instead of a nice stain and varnish which would normally enhance the wood grain patten. Cheaper quality but high price tag.

I just feel snooker needs to move with the times a little more to enhance its image amongst our younger generation! You’d think Riley/BCE would be on the case in the design shed trying to come up with something.... Obviously nobody thinks it’s needed.

[MrRottweiler]

I bet Stuart Bingham is a nice chap to bump in to in the street and would have a conversation. He seems like someone you could have a pint with and put a few quid in the fruit machines. They probably get bored of obvious questions so I would ask something they might be more willing to spill the beans on such as interesting cash games they have been involved in. I've always wondered if there is a mysterious snooker world underbelly of high stakes cash games among the players with smoke filled rooms and minders holding briefcases of cash.

[trains]

Been waiting for the takeover for at least thirty years. When you look at the numbers you could easily make the point they are underachieving, if you think that's the whole population of England playing snooker and only 2 in the top 16 ( had to Google that) but I don't know how long large numbers have been playing for, is it a recent explosion? If it has been tens of millions for thirty or more years, I think it would be a valid point saying they are hugely underachieving.
Just my thoughts but I reckon most of that list will drop off the tour and not really do much in the pro game, probably replaced by the next bunch of manufactured players from the huge academies, eventually a world beater has to come through just from the sheer numbers, I think it will be great for the game, the more top players from around the world the better for the game.

By my reckoning in the last ten years the only british players to have got into the top 20 without it taking them ten years to achieve it were kyren and gary wilson , and not before both of these had to requalify after being relegated , and from an aesthetic or chasing after your goal standpoint i can hardly think of a player more manufactured than k wilson , its much harder to make a leap of 30+ ranking places now than it was in the early 90’s .

Anthony hamilton for example lept 36 places in his first year , thats virtually unheard of now , there isn’t any cannon fodder in the top 64 anymore , the only players i can recall who have done that in the last 15 years are mark allen yan bingtao and lyu haotian , theres already 6 chinese in the top 32 , with the numbers and interest i think that could perfectly conceivably double to 12 by the end of 2029/30 .

[itsnoteasy]

By my reckoning in the last ten years the only british players to have got into the top 20 without it taking them ten years to achieve it were kyren and gary wilson , and not before both of these had to requalify after being relegated , and from an aesthetic or chasing after your goal standpoint i can hardly think of a player more manufactured than k wilson , its much harder to make a leap of 30+ ranking places now than it was in the early 90’s .

Anthony hamilton for example lept 36 places in his first year , thats virtually unheard of now , there isn’t any cannon fodder in the top 64 anymore , the only players i can recall who have done that in the last 15 years are mark allen yan bingtao and lyu haotian , theres already 6 chinese in the top 32 , with the numbers and interest i think that could perfectly conceivably double to 12 by the end of 2029/30 .

What about McGill ? I don't think Gary Wilson made the top 20 inside ten years but I could be wrong( I usually am).He was on then off the tour for over five years iirc sure he turned pro in the early 2000s but that doesn't really matter, you have a valid point, as I said it's a numbers game not enough people play the game here, it's sad the amount of players coming through not just from the UK but everywhere in the world apart from China. This is a wild guess but I wouldn't be surprised if there were more people playing snooker in China than the rest of the world combined so we should expect those numbers to increase. How many truly world class elite players come through we will have to wait and see but I watch the top players playing in the first couple of rounds in the open 128 comps and they aren't at 50% to beat their lower ranked opponents. Generally the only time we see lower ranked and by that I mean outside the top 32 , players have a good tournament is when the top players can't be bothered, pull out or just don't try so they lose and can have a rest.
What's the answer to getting young players interested again ? I don't know , our club was busier than I have ever seen it in the seven or eight years I have been playing, so interest in snooker around here is increasing but I very rarely see kids in with dads and none that come in regularly, probably too busy on the play stations etc.
I have been told back in the day in the club they used to run a kids coaching class on a Saturday morning for two hours and there would be four kids to a table, so that was 60 youngsters every week ,changed days I'm afraid.

[trains]

What about McGill ? I meant the current top 20 .

re Gary Wilson I meant his second stint after being relegated but including the first stint is fine as that only confirms the difficulty .

but I watch the top players playing in the first couple of rounds in the open 128 comps and they aren't at 50% to beat their lower ranked opponents but eurosport's hendon and studd don't help when watching these matches as they're such arse lickers to the higher ranked players and wording things in favour of them as some sort of knowledge , it isn't .

What's the answer to getting young players interested again ? other than funding for academies from say the english institute for sport or other i don't know , maybe get the chinese to pay for academies here like the star academy in sheffield , i don't think the high street bish bash snooker does kids any favours at all unless they've got relatively rich parents , do the chinese pro's have many places to practice in england , maybe they could invest more here with an agreement that only british kids of under 20 are allowed to play and practice in them to keep the numbers down , but who knows maybe the bbc would still get healthy viewing figures if and when much more of the top 64 is chinese , i don't really know .

[itsnoteasy]

What about McGill ? I meant the current top 20 .

re Gary Wilson I meant his second stint after being relegated but including the first stint is fine as that only confirms the difficulty .

but I watch the top players playing in the first couple of rounds in the open 128 comps and they aren't at 50% to beat their lower ranked opponents but eurosport's hendon and studd don't help when watching these matches as they're such arse lickers to the higher ranked players and wording things in favour of them as some sort of knowledge , it isn't .

What's the answer to getting young players interested again ? other than funding for academies from say the english institute for sport or other i don't know , maybe get the chinese to pay for academies here like the star academy in sheffield , i don't think the high street bish bash snooker does kids any favours at all unless they've got relatively rich parents , do the chinese pro's have many places to practice in england , maybe they could invest more here with an agreement that only british kids of under 20 are allowed to play and practice in them to keep the numbers down , but who knows maybe the bbc would still get healthy viewing figures if and when much more of the top 64 is chinese , i don't really know .

I don't know how the academy's work in China, does the state pay for it or do the parents have to pay, if it's the latter does that not mean they have the same problems as over here , only the reasonably well off can afford it. I would love to see even 1% of sponsorship or prize money given to grass roots clubs, or help given to new clubs to start up with good tables.
Would it be possible to go down the golf route where a club has a resident pro who is paid a bit by world snooker but makes the rest by giving lessons or playing members or does stuff to attract people, especially youngsters into the club. It is a tough one but I agree it would be nice if something was seen to be done.

[trains]

I don't know how the academy's work in China, does the state pay for it or do the parents have to pay, if it's the latter does that not mean they have the same problems as over here , only the reasonably well off can afford it. I would love to see even 1% of sponsorship or prize money given to grass roots clubs, or help given to new clubs to start up with good tables.
Would it be possible to go down the golf route where a club has a resident pro who is paid a bit by world snooker but makes the rest by giving lessons or playing members or does stuff to attract people, especially youngsters into the club. It is a tough one but I agree it would be nice if something was seen to be done.

i've found the lack of knowledge or detail on all these supposed numbers in china a bit odd , ken doherty on the bbc in the early 2010's said there was about 100 snooker clubs in shanghai alone with i don't think any further info on it since from anywhere , also with their population and apparent popularity is it that unlikely a chinese could post some info on here ever since , maybe their academies are in these remote places similar to where they produce tiger bone wine and its all top secret i don't know

[itsnoteasy]

i've found the lack of knowledge or detail on all these supposed numbers in china a bit odd , ken doherty on the bbc in the early 2010's said there was about 100 snooker clubs in shanghai alone with i don't think any further info on it since from anywhere , also with their population and apparent popularity is it that unlikely a chinese could post some info on here ever since , maybe their academies are in these remote places similar to where they produce tiger bone wine and its all top secret i don't know

Just out of curiosity I googled snooker clubs in Shanghai and only got a list of 11 , even if there are lots missing, if there was really 100 clubs, I would expect more than 11 to show up on a list.

[trains]

Just out of curiosity I googled snooker clubs in Shanghai and only got a list of 11 , even if there are lots missing, if there was really 100 clubs, I would expect more than 11 to show up on a list.

on asking google how many snooker clubs are in shanghai i'm getting this

1,500 snooker clubs
There are, to date, an astonishing 1,500 snooker clubs in Shanghai and 1,200 snooker clubs in Beijing – which is incredible when compared to the participation levels in the rest of the world.28 Apr 2016

[Starsky]

Let’s hope snooker doesn’t end up as popular as table tennis in China. If it does and it becomes state funded then you’ve only got to look at the total domination China has in the world at that sport .