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I feel very sorry for John Higgins, but agree that the punishment fits the crime. When he first set up World Series with Mooney, I was a bit surprised that a family man such as he could commit to such a venture, but was (and still am) full of praise for him as someone who was attempting to take the game forward.
I think however, that the one big criticism of World Series (the inability of local wildcards to avoid humiliation) placed a commercial pressure on Higgins and Mooney, and I raised an eyebrow at one or 2 of Higgins' results in which "unknowns" enjoyed some success against him. In the 2009-10 season, he beat Irish amateur Andrew Gray 5-1 in an event in Killarney (although he wasn't the only pro to drop frames against an amateur that week), but more alarmingly, he "only" won 5-1 against Lukas Krenek, a Czech amateur in the Prague event. All other professionals involved in matches against amateurs won 5-0.
I have to ask, is it really such a crime to drop a frame "deliberately" in a non-ranking event, in a "new" snooker city, to one of the local players, in the interests of stimulating local fans' excitement or sponsors' attentions?
I think that could have been Higgins' way of thinking at the time.
As far as other interested parties go:
(i) Bookmakers....their greed knows no bounds; if they are willing to lay prices on single frames of what is no more than an exhibition tournament, then they deserve to get their fingers burnt. As an ex employee of the betting industry, I know that their ruthless pursuit of profitable betting opportunities is blinkered in the extreme, and it manifests itself in the way they throw their toys out of the pram as soon as someone wants to play for real money (Ebdon-Wenbo, Maguire-Burnett). Most bookmakers offer prices on "first colour to be potted" in snooker matches(!) Can they not see how open to manipulation a market like this can be??? The cricket stories lately have at least turned attentions elsewhere, but they are essentially the same bookmaker behavioural traits.
(ii) News of the World...seriously, find another way to sell your filthy rag. They sholud be investigated for their disgusting entrapment and subsequent over-sensationalising of "non-stories", which they then have the cheek to manipulate and edit to deceive their own readership.
I hope this sorry episode will not signal the start of a slump in John Higgins' form, and that he puts himself in position for a swift retention of his number one ranking. I also hope the British public and the crowds at the UK and subsequent tournaments go easy on him.
I think however, that the one big criticism of World Series (the inability of local wildcards to avoid humiliation) placed a commercial pressure on Higgins and Mooney, and I raised an eyebrow at one or 2 of Higgins' results in which "unknowns" enjoyed some success against him. In the 2009-10 season, he beat Irish amateur Andrew Gray 5-1 in an event in Killarney (although he wasn't the only pro to drop frames against an amateur that week), but more alarmingly, he "only" won 5-1 against Lukas Krenek, a Czech amateur in the Prague event. All other professionals involved in matches against amateurs won 5-0.
I have to ask, is it really such a crime to drop a frame "deliberately" in a non-ranking event, in a "new" snooker city, to one of the local players, in the interests of stimulating local fans' excitement or sponsors' attentions?
I think that could have been Higgins' way of thinking at the time.
As far as other interested parties go:
(i) Bookmakers....their greed knows no bounds; if they are willing to lay prices on single frames of what is no more than an exhibition tournament, then they deserve to get their fingers burnt. As an ex employee of the betting industry, I know that their ruthless pursuit of profitable betting opportunities is blinkered in the extreme, and it manifests itself in the way they throw their toys out of the pram as soon as someone wants to play for real money (Ebdon-Wenbo, Maguire-Burnett). Most bookmakers offer prices on "first colour to be potted" in snooker matches(!) Can they not see how open to manipulation a market like this can be??? The cricket stories lately have at least turned attentions elsewhere, but they are essentially the same bookmaker behavioural traits.
(ii) News of the World...seriously, find another way to sell your filthy rag. They sholud be investigated for their disgusting entrapment and subsequent over-sensationalising of "non-stories", which they then have the cheek to manipulate and edit to deceive their own readership.
I hope this sorry episode will not signal the start of a slump in John Higgins' form, and that he puts himself in position for a swift retention of his number one ranking. I also hope the British public and the crowds at the UK and subsequent tournaments go easy on him.
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