Ssb - is the world championship too long?

[Odrl]

Personally I don't see what interest anyone can take in a very long match when it's clear one of the contestant has no chance to come back, and I'm sure we had a good few of those in the old days when the final was played over 50+ frames...

Yes, one-sided matches can get a bit boring. But it's not clear whether a player can come back, is it? That's the beauty of the longer format. Ali Carter was never going to come back in the 2008 World final, and it was by no means a classic match, but you could say the same for Allen against Higgins last year, when he was 3-13 down. Allen was never in that match for the first two sessions, but before you know it, it's the final session, with the score almost level.

Or how about the 2007 final... Mark Selby was 4-12 behind after the second session, with no realistic chance of winning. But I bet no one was bored when he got to 13-14. Now imagine if that final was over after the first day. It's a great example of the extra sessions actually giving the match a chance of becoming exciting, rather than taking that chance away. But if you want those classics, you are going to get an occasional anti-climax as well. It can't really be helped.

I think what we have today is about right. It should not be longer. However I think something should be done to increase the audience and possibly the quality of the finals. Too often the players, or one of them, have nothing left in the tank. This is snooker, not marathon. So a day of rest should be on order, or at least ensure the last Semi doesn't end at unholy hours...

Yes, I think there is a case for a rest day before the final. How many times has it happened that one of the finalists has an incredibly slow start, and basically wastes a good part of the match before waking up? If you think about it, that was arguably the case in the last four World finals. Two of those did become more interesting later on, but the other two were somewhat ruined. You can't prevent the occasion or the pressure getting to a player, and nor should it be prevented, it's one of the beauties of the tournament. But physical and mental exhaustion could be prevented by introducing a rest day, on the Saturday before the final for example. It could improve the quality of the final, and also add to the build up of tension and excitement.

And it wouldn't exactly be a huge logistical problem, would it? You'd only need to squeeze in an extra session or so, possibly on the day where there is currently no morning session, or you could just play the opening session on Friday evening.

and the Final should end on Sunday, with the final session starting at a decent hour.

And on a more subjective, personal note... It would be a tragedy if the final was moved to the Sunday. For me, the two highlights of the year, as sport is concerned, are the World snooker final and the Euroleague final in basketball. It's really bad luck that they have to clash every year, but it's one thing if it clashes with the 2nd session, and another if it clashes with the final one. I don't even want to think about it, or my head might explode.

[wildJONESEYE]

No-one is really saying to shorten the World Championship, its a great championship as it is, but maybe if it could become more appealing to new fans, maybe the odd session could be tweaked ever so slightly.

yes they are monique has pointed out the benefits in her opinion i say the contarary.

in the 80s we had

Best of 31 Final for the UK
Best of 25 and 23 for other Ranking Tournaments
we had Best of 17 semi finals for other tournaments

then the game went faster they had this brain storm of Reducing Frames meaning matches Finished far to Quickly and when a player went 4-0 up in a Semi he needed 2 more frames and time to switch off however if it was 4-0 in a best of 17 it was still live.

shortening matches so far has been unriveled snooker disaster and the one true tournament left people are actually talking of reducing it......its totally stupid without parallel so don't have a go at me Souwester for wanting to preserve the sport i love going down this suicide road.

[Souwester]

OK, to expand upon some figures I provided on another topic a couple of weeks back:

- - - - - WC - MOTD - EE - CS - All hours Non-terrestrial share

2009 - 3.04 - 1.91 - 9.32 - 10.75 - 25:45 - 41.6%
2008 - 3.59 - 2.18 - 8.92 - 10.73 - 23:10 - 38.8%
2007 - 3.44 - 1.74 - 9.18 - 10.55 - 26:21 - 36.9%
2006 - 3.65 - 3.88 * - 10.28 - 10.66 - 24:27 - 32.8% * BBC1
2005 - 4.79 - 1.48 - 9.63 - 11.48 - 25:18 - 29.3%
2004 - 3.79 - ----- 13.50 - 12.85 - 25:41 - 26.1%
2003 - 5.28 - 3.23 - 13.06 - 12.83 - 25:30 - 23.6%
2002 - 4.56 - 2.11 - 12.04 - 12.47 - 23:49 - 21.1%
2001 - 4.86 - ----- 15.14 - 13.22 - 22:54 - 19.3%
2000 - 5.76 - ----- 13.92 - 14.60 - 23:43 - 15.8%
1999 - 6.02 - ----- 15.71 - 15.56 - 24:13 - 15.0%

WC - Monday evening final session of World Championships
MOTD - Match of the Day ) Viewing figures in millions
EE - Eastenders )
CS - Coronation Street )
All - Average total weekly viewing hours per person
Non -terrestrial share - ie non BBC.ITV Ch4 Five share of total viewing

Points that come out of the stats:

1. Actual viewing time has gone *UP* over the last ten years
2. Eastenders and Corrie have lost roughly a third of their audience
3. Match of the Day has broadly stayed the same
4. Snooker final has halved
5. Non-terrestrial TV viewing has almost tripled

Viewers are choosing not to watch snooker.

To those who say there's nothing wrong with WC need to think again, and ask themselves why the Final has lost so much of its audience, in comparison with other programmes.

[wildJONESEYE]

snooker public has changed their viewing habits with a very high proportion now watching on line and commenting on forums at the same time while their other half's watching TV in the same room.

online figures not included.

[wildJONESEYE]

ohhh and just to expand do you think halving the WC would do anything for TV Viewers and encourage more to watch ?? well if you think that your in cloud cocoo land

[Souwester]

ohhh and just to expand do you think halving the WC would do anything for TV Viewers and encourage more to watch ?? well if you think that your in cloud cocoo land

I've never ever suggested that. All I'm saying is that the WC isn't necessarily perfect as it is. We need to be open minded as to how the tournament could be changed to make it more attractive to players, sponsors, the BBC, snooker fans and the casual tv audience.

[Monique]

@Wild: where did I advocate for shorter format? please quote me.
I said basically 3 things
- that I think it's right the way it is, regarding lenght but that it could be reorganised so that the very late finishes are seldom, the players have a day rest before the final and the final is on Sunday.
- that, to my own surprise, it seems indeed that a reverse of the situation after mid match is truely exceptional so that the players saying there is no need for such long format to find out who is the best do have a case
- that I don't see the rationale to make it longer: it is already difficult in those economical times to have the beep covering in for 17 days, it is desilusional to expect more. If the beep goes then really snooker will be in trouble. Not to mention that one sided affairs over 50+ frames would become boring. There would be no tension anymore.

and finally that I would be interested to hear Higgins explain his views as I don't think it's fair or correct to brand him an idiot without listening to his reasons.

@Odrl ... yes that's a subjective note. I don't know what you do for a living and I'm not asking. But for me and many the final being on Monday means missing the third session for sure and finishing a work day at the very small hours in the morning... after a fortnight that has been littered with long days and short nights. Not everyone has the option to arrange their hols around snooker especially when they have a family, or, if we are speaking of the future, if the go to school.

[wildJONESEYE]

sorry monique if i got what you said wrong im very angry about what John said and would happily give him a good kicking at the moment and possibly misinterpreting what some sais.

regarding finals id have no problem for matches to start earlier a 6pm British time 7pm in europe second session maybe that sort of thing but reducing a World championship match would be suicide for snooker.

[Odrl]

yes that's a subjective note. I don't know what you do for a living and I'm not asking. But for me and many the final being on Monday means missing the third session for sure and finishing a work day at the very small hours in the morning... after a fortnight that has been littered with long days and short nights. Not everyone has the option to arrange their hols around snooker especially when they have a family, or, if we are speaking of the future, if the go to school.

Yes of course, I just wanted to say that I'm in the group of people for whom it's convenient to have a Monday finish. We are probably a minority, so it's just bad luck. It's common sense that the scheduling should accommodate the largest group of potential viewers, first locally, and then internationally. Although snooker is not in a great position as it is, with one large group of potential viewers about seven hours ahead of the other one. But I suppose that applies to a lot of sports.

[Migtsf]

This blog reminds me of a little story.

"A burglar breaks in a house and threatens the owner.

Burglar: I'm going to murder you and your family!
Owner: NO!!!
Burglar: Relax. I'm just kidding! I'm only going to steal all your possessions.
Owner: Oh, alright then."