Ssb - ibsf launches six reds world championship

[MySockPuppet]

The International Billiards and Snooker Federation – the world governing body for amateur snooker – is to stage a World Championship for the six reds game in April.

Six reds snooker is particularly popular in Asia. The World Grand Prix, first held in 2008, returns to Bangkok, Thailand in July and is expected to attract a field full of big name players.

Ken Doherty was among the organising committee for the inaugural Six Reds World Championship in Killarney last December.

The IBSF tournament is imposing some rule changes.

The miss rule is abandoned completely. After any foul, players will be given three options:

1) Play themselves from where the balls come to rest
2) Get their opponent to play from where the balls come to rest
3) Play from the D

This is not hugely revolutionary as players already have the option to play themselves or put their opponent back in from a foul.

Putting the white in the D does not guarantee any sort of advantage as it obviously depends on where the ball on is positioned on the table.

The option to put the cue ball anywhere – as in 9 ball pool – would have seen frames speeded up but possibly too much. There are, after all, only six reds on the table to start with.

The other major change is that all fouls will be worth six points, apart from on the black which will still be worth seven.

I’m not sure why this rule has been introduced but it may be that as the miss rule has been scrapped, fewer fouls are expected so they should count for more.

My attitude to six reds snooker has not shifted: I don’t want it to replace the established 15 red version of the game but I have no problem with any events that give players more competitive opportunities and increase interest in the sport as a whole.

Barry Hearn, the new WPBSA chairman, has said six reds do not feature in his plans for new events but this does not mean he will discourage anyone else putting them on, although the IBSF is an entirely different organisation.


More...

[Terry Davidson]

I haven't checked the IBSF site yet, but do you happen to know where and when in April? It might be a couple of months away but travel arrangements might be cheaper earlier in the game

Thanks,
Terry

[wildJONESEYE]

I haven't checked the IBSF site yet, but do you happen to know where and when in April? It might be a couple of months away but travel arrangements might be cheaper earlier in the game

Thanks,
Terry

i wouldn't travel next door.

[Terry Davidson]

wild:

I guess I have to wonder what your opinions would have been regarding snooker if you had been born and played in the early 1900's when billiards was king and then around 1935 or so this new-fangled game with 21 balls called 'snooker' came along.

Do you think you would have relegated snooker to something to end the long billiards sessions if they completed early and just a game with no future? That is what all the billiard purists thought about snooker, just a mildly entertaining sideline to the main sport of billiards.

Just think of 6-reds as another form of snooker which will be a little more exciting for the crowds and punters (and maybe get the huge US market involved and take a little away from 9-ball) but not as a replacement for the classic 15-red sport.

And the classic 15-red matches might draw a large number of those fans over as they will be interested in seeing the top of the sport and its players and find out what a real match is all about.

Terry

[khizzy]

pune,india bid for the 6 red wc , donno if its finalised or not

[Terry Davidson]

Thanks khizzy. Damn, that's a little far for me to travel.

Terry

[Matt_2745]

Just think of 6-reds as another form of snooker which will be a little more exciting for the crowds and punters (and maybe get the huge US market involved and take a little away from 9-ball) but not as a replacement for the classic 15-red sport.

Not that I want to get into 6-Red bashing because if it draws more fans to the sport then happy days, but do you see 6-reds as in any way more exciting? I just don't see it myself, every time I see it on TV I find it quite boring because of how quick it all is.

[missneworleans]

2 world championships at one year...will be more serious this time probably?

[wildJONESEYE]

wild:

I guess I have to wonder what your opinions would have been regarding snooker if you had been born and played in the early 1900's when billiards was king and then around 1935 or so this new-fangled game with 21 balls called 'snooker' came along.

Do you think you would have relegated snooker to something to end the long billiards sessions if they completed early and just a game with no future? That is what all the billiard purists thought about snooker, just a mildly entertaining sideline to the main sport of billiards.

Just think of 6-reds as another form of snooker which will be a little more exciting for the crowds and punters (and maybe get the huge US market involved and take a little away from 9-ball) but not as a replacement for the classic 15-red sport.

And the classic 15-red matches might draw a large number of those fans over as they will be interested in seeing the top of the sport and its players and find out what a real match is all about.

Terry

snooker is a extension of billiards the way some people in charge of the game thinks these days they want the sport to be a extension of Pool.

totally different games that some wants to merge as one.

the most popular form of the game is whats happening at the crucible every april over 19 to 35 frames so if thats the most popular snooker format why do people want quick fix matches ?

[Terry Davidson]

In order to grow snooker needs to penetrate more international markets with the most important being the United States.

Two of the reasons Americans like 9-ball is because it's fast and they have world-class players who are capable of winning (Americans always love an American winner).

There have been some attempts in the past to introduce snooker to the American public but none have been successful bacause of the above 2 reasons.

You people have been educated on snooker through constant TV coverage and understand the game and its tactics, but trying to introduce snooker to a new market with all its complexity is a very difficult thing. I think the 6-red format might be an ideal way to encourage growth in more international markets and it seems it's already very popular in the far east already.

No one anywhere is suggesting that 6-reds will replace the classic game but I hope it will help bring more fans over to the classic game given some time.

Remember too, 9-ball is even less complicated than running the colours in snooker but it does keep the attention and interest of a lot of fans whereas snooker, although growing in some areas especially with TV coverage, is not doing as well internationally as 9-ball is right now.

So I think you have a choice. You can stick to insisting no one alters the game at all and watch it die due to competition form other sports or else you can try out new approaches, surely one of which will encourage growth and success in the game

Terry

[magicman]

I have to agree with Terry here, but I add unfortunately. What a pity we have to dumb down the game in order to try and get interest from the masses. It's the equivalent of allowing averagely talented singers on X-Factor out-sell singer songwriters/bands that not only perform better but also write their own material.

I've played 9 ball and watched the World 9 ball championship and it has a certain amount of interest but it's a cue sport for children imo. It doesn't require as much accuracy as snooker, as much tactical know-how as snooker and it's played on a table half the size. It's also a great leveller. I played a mate at 9 ball - he has had a ton at snooker so he's no mug and only won 9-7 yet when I gave him 50 start at snooker I beat him 5-0. IMO pool is the equivalent of a par 3 9 hole course at golf. The full course is much harder, longer, tougher and packed full of hazards. When golf was struggling a little they didn't make all the pro's play 9 hole par 3's. 6 ball is fine for generating interest and introducing the game to newcomers and fine for newbies to play themselves but professionals should seriously limit their exposure to it.

I think Terry is right in that we have to be open to these things, but not so open minded that our brains fall out!

[Odrl]

In order to grow snooker needs to penetrate more international markets with the most important being the United States.

Two of the reasons Americans like 9-ball is because it's fast and they have world-class players who are capable of winning (Americans always love an American winner).

There have been some attempts in the past to introduce snooker to the American public but none have been successful bacause of the above 2 reasons.

Hm, I don't think that should be the priority at all. A lot of people seem to have this fixation that snooker must become a global sport. But if you think about it, there are only two sports that are truly global - football and athletics. Everything else is pretty much limited to a couple of continents. In the case of snooker that's Europe and Asia.

How has a sport, that's only been played in the UK and the Commonwealth for such a long time, been able to break into those two markets? Probably because of all the stereotypes you mention... In the United States there is a demand for fast-paced entertainment, so a sport that is, let's be honest, extremely slow-paced, and has no tradition in the country, has little chance of suddenly becoming big. But that was not really the case in Europe or Asia, at least not to the same extent. There is a bigger market for slow-paced entertainment, because the culture and the temperament of people are different. That's why most sports don't really have a chance of becoming global, because they can't be everyone's cup of tea.

But the USA is a big place, so there is a market for almost anything. You just have to accept that it's going to be a minority and target them, rather than change the game to suit the majority, and risk losing the already established fan base.

You people have been educated on snooker through constant TV coverage and understand the game and its tactics, but trying to introduce snooker to a new market with all its complexity is a very difficult thing. I think the 6-red format might be an ideal way to encourage growth in more international markets and it seems it's already very popular in the far east already.

No one anywhere is suggesting that 6-reds will replace the classic game but I hope it will help bring more fans over to the classic game given some time.

So I think you have a choice. You can stick to insisting no one alters the game at all and watch it die due to competition form other sports or else you can try out new approaches, surely one of which will encourage growth and success in the game

It would be great if snooker somehow benefited from this, but I'm very skeptical about it. Why would you try to get more people into snooker by introducing them to a different game? Especially if the very point is having something fast and simple, when snooker is the exact opposite. You either like it or you don't.

The outrageous growth of snooker in Europe wasn't caused by people seeing a simplified version of the game first. Eurosport started covering the real thing, proper snooker played in the ranking events. There is a market for it, because a lot of people want something with a bit more substance than most sports provide, cue sports in particular. Snooker is so unique that it doesn't really have much competition at the moment. But if we make it into something similar to most other cue sports, or move it in that direction, that's the sort of thing that would create competition for it.

Snooker has a certain essence that lies in its complexity and measured pace as much as anything, and I think most fans love it because of that, not in spite of it. We may be a minority in each country, but still a decent number when you put us all together. And that's about all snooker can hope for in its current form. So when you talk about a choice between changing it or letting it die, it's not really a choice, is it? It's the same thing. With every change you make, something is lost and something is gained. The best we can do is try not to lose snooker...