Tweet
Ssb - world cup set for thailand
Thailand looks set to stage the first proper snooker World Cup for 15 years.
The 1996 World Cup, won in Bangkok by the Scotland 'dream team' of Stephen Hendry, John Higgins and Alan McManus, was one of the most popular events ever staged.
But it never returned to the calendar. The Nations Cup, a vastly watered down version, emerged a few years later but the game has been waiting...and waiting...for a new international team event.
Now World Snooker Ltd chairman Barry Hearn is set to unveil a World Cup to be staged in Thailand next season.
It will feature two man teams, selected by the ranking list, and is likely to include singles and doubles matches.
Snooker is an individual sport but most players have experience of playing for teams, whether from their league days or the amateur ranks.
Competition for some countries would be fierce, England being an obvious example.
Ronnie O'Sullivan, the game's biggest draw, would not be a certainty. Hearn told the Daily Mirror: "Playing in a team of two would be something different for Ronnie. We all know how good he is but he also has a role and a responsibility. If he is in the top two from England, he will be in it."
There will be a formal announcement on the new World Cup in due course.
But, like the World Open, it already sounds like another positive step forwards: a different idea, a different format but, crucially, the same game.
More...
The 1996 World Cup, won in Bangkok by the Scotland 'dream team' of Stephen Hendry, John Higgins and Alan McManus, was one of the most popular events ever staged.
But it never returned to the calendar. The Nations Cup, a vastly watered down version, emerged a few years later but the game has been waiting...and waiting...for a new international team event.
Now World Snooker Ltd chairman Barry Hearn is set to unveil a World Cup to be staged in Thailand next season.
It will feature two man teams, selected by the ranking list, and is likely to include singles and doubles matches.
Snooker is an individual sport but most players have experience of playing for teams, whether from their league days or the amateur ranks.
Competition for some countries would be fierce, England being an obvious example.
Ronnie O'Sullivan, the game's biggest draw, would not be a certainty. Hearn told the Daily Mirror: "Playing in a team of two would be something different for Ronnie. We all know how good he is but he also has a role and a responsibility. If he is in the top two from England, he will be in it."
There will be a formal announcement on the new World Cup in due course.
But, like the World Open, it already sounds like another positive step forwards: a different idea, a different format but, crucially, the same game.
More...
:snooker:
Comment