Ssb - hendry slams new ranking system

[MySockPuppet]

Stephen Hendry has criticised the new ranking system, which sees the list revised four times a year rather than at the end of the season.

The seedings for the UK Championship and Wembley Masters will be determined after the second European Players Tour Championship event in Bruges in October.

Hendry is currently 11th in the official rankings but is going through a poor run of form and is sweating on his place in the elite group.

He told 110sport.tv, the website of his management group: "A number of top 16 players are looking over their shoulders and it is worrying that a bad patch could have major consequences.

“I am not moaning because I am down there just now – I just don’t think its right that it isn’t based over a whole season and a lot of players have worked very hard to get into the top 16 in the first place.

"Over the season each of these players will hit a run of form but if they have a bad patch at the start of the season they could be in trouble.

“Another bad run and I could find myself missing out on the Masters at Wembley. It is a very punishing system.”

Indeed it is. It has already cost Liang Wenbo his top 16 place after just a few months - or rather he has, by not winning enough matches.

The idea of the new list is to reward success and no longer protect players who can't win a match.

Many players love it because it gives them the chance to scale the heights but others, like Hendry, are worried because it puts extra pressure on them at a time they are struggling for form.

There are arguments on both sides but I think it's better that a player who wins a tournament receives an immediate benefit from that success.

There have been top 16 players in the past who haven't won a match all season but have still been seeded through to the Crucible while ranking tournament winners have had to qualify.

Top 16 players have also kept their places by winning no more than a handful of matches all year.

Hendry, of course, is more entitled than most to express a view on this but it is surely a reflection on his own current plight.

When he was the undisputed king of snooker, I doubt he could have cared less what the ranking system was.

He would have been at the top regardless.


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[Jlaix]

The only reason he's doing this is due to his current position. I doubt he would be complaining if he was sitting higher up in the rankings.

[nrage]

The snooker system seems like a relatively simple system. I'd prefer something like the "Elo" system used in chess and other table top games.

In these systems players begin on a set number of points i.e. 1600 then they gain/lose points based on the rank of their opponent. eg.
- a loss to a higher ranked opponent sets you back only a few points, but..
- a loss to a lower ranked player sets you back quite a few.
Likewise..
- a win to a lower ranked opponent only gives you a few points, but
- a win to a higher ranked opponent gives you quite a few.

Rankings are typically updated after every tournament, but could be re-calculated as frequently as you'd like, per match, or even per frame (that might be a bit silly).

[Looki]

I doubt Hendry would be saying a word if it hadn't been so slow start for the season for him. His criticism seems even more unjustified as he skipped so many PTC tournaments. I'm and have been a big Hendry fan and I think he's the best-ever player but this is absurd. This is sour grapes because of his decline.

[Mignon]

Very well put, Looki. Key phrase in Dave's article> "The idea of the new list is to reward success and no longer protect players who can't win a match."

[kellie-text]

I doubt Hendry would be saying a word if it hadn't been so slow start for the season for him. His criticism seems even more unjustified as he skipped so many PTC tournaments. I'm and have been a big Hendry fan and I think he's the best-ever player but this is absurd. This is sour grapes because of his decline.

Couldnt agree more. Ive been a Hendry fan for many years and hate to say anything negative towards him but he surely shouldnt have missed all those PTC events if he was worried about his ranking. By entering those events, he may even have played his way back into form by the time Shanghai came along, had a better run there and not been worrying about his top 16 place now.

[debs]

Hendry has always come across as a staight talker to me. In other words he has always said exactly what he means. He has stated that players will be worried and i am sure there are other players that are worried. Sour grapes i dont agree he is just voicing his and others opinion.
Getting in the top 16 is a hard slog for anyone and some could argue that if you are in the top 16 you worked really hard to get there. Also if those outside the top 16 were good enough to be there they would be eg Murphy. This could go very badly.

[ltfc39]

Well if he'd got off his backside and played in the PTC tournaments, like Mark Selby, Jamie Burnett, Mark Davis and Ali Carter, who suprise suprise had good runs at the Shanghai Masters, maybe he wouldn't be in this position!

[Looki]

Getting in the top 16 is a hard slog for anyone and some could argue that if you are in the top 16 you worked really hard to get there.

It's still hard to get there, only that now it's harder to stay there. Especially, if you're not entering tournaments. Nothing wrong with that.

[spike]

Well if Hendry ever needed that (added incentive) to stay in the top 16, to find the consistency and his all-round game which has deserted him on many occasions over the last few years.

This could be just the kick up the backside that he needs..

[debs]

Looki & Itfc39 Fair comments

Just the sour grapes i disagree with really.

I am a taurus so allergic to change no really only time will tell if it turns into an exciting move forward or just a shamblous mess

I may have just invented that word (shamblous) but hope you know what i mean

[debs]

Well if Hendry ever needed that (added incentive) to stay in the top 16, to find the consistency and his all-round game which has deserted him on many occasions over the last few years.

This could be just the kick up the backside that he needs..

Could be Spike

[Looki]

Looki & Itfc39 Fair comments

Just the sour grapes i disagree with really.

I am a taurus so allergic to change no really only time will tell if it turns into an exciting move forward or just a shamblous mess

I may have just invented that word (shamblous) but hope you know what i mean

Well, I'm not the biggest fan of change, either. Especially when it comes to snooker. And along with kellie I hate to say negative about Hendry. But I guess professional snooker needed/needs to change a bit to regain attraction so I'm trying to stay positive about it and see how it goes.

[Nat5guns]

Hendry should of been out of the top 16 a while back, its only due to the fact he seems to put a good run together in one or two tournaments a year at most that is keeping him in. And that was enough under the old ranking system, now this system has been implemented he isnt protected anymore, getting to the quarters and semis of the WC now just isnt gooed enough to save him when hes hardly won a match all season.

I am a fan of Hendry, because of course he is the best player on paper ever to pick a cue up, but i feel as though he should consider retiring in the near future, i can only see him getting more bitter as time goes on if his form continues to decline. I hope i am proved wrong and he goes on to win a few more ranking titles, but doubt that he will.

[Vex 147]

He should just stop moaning and thinking of himself like a king of the snooker universe! It would be better for him to win a match or two! Exactly what he hasn't done properly for the last two years...