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Ssb - the power of gould
So Power Snooker is over for another year and, once again, has divided opinion pretty sharply.
I can only give my honest verdict, which is this: I thought it was better than last year but still don't think it is pitched right.
There are two aspects to Power Snooker: the game itself and the environment in which it is played.
The game can be entertaining if the match is close, as the final was. However, if it is one-sided then it peters out and the crowd loses interest.
In this way there is an unlikely correlation with billiards, whose timed format very often produces one-sided matches. Close finishes, on the other hand, are exciting.
It is snooker with some tweaks. As I've said before, as long as this is isolated to one-off events such as this then I have no problem with it.
But the mob of boorish drunks in the crowd add nothing but irritation to proceedings. They were not as bad as last year but for someone to loudly shout out "miss" while Martin Gould was on the green (which he duly did) was a disgrace.
It is a fallacy that reverential silence equals no atmosphere. In fact, the opposite is true. A hush descending at the Crucible adds to the atmosphere, to the feeling that something important is at stake, and thus intensifies the pressure on the players.
There's nothing wrong with crowds interacting more and getting excited but the comments that are apparently hilarious when you're drunk and shouting out in the arena don't come across this way on TV.
Snooker has always had a strong female following, not all of whom will be impressed with the use of page 3 girls to 'sex up' the event. In fact, by marketing Power Snooker at beery lads a large section of potential viewers are isolated.
Why should snooker dumb down at all? Why not instead take the game upmarket?
There is evidence on the continent of Europe that it increasingly appeals to an affluent, sophisticated demographic, and these people are the ones with money to spend.
This isn't the future of snooker, as some have claimed, but it may have legs as a sideshow if viewing figures are strong enough.
If Power Snooker organisers have the money and the players want to play in it then good luck to all involved.
And this debate will not matter a jot to Gould. Neither should it. He should be justifiably proud of winning a TV title and particularly in standing up to the pressure as Ronnie O'Sullivan, who grew stronger all day, twice missed the Powerball when well placed to defend his title.
Newly installed in the top 16, Gould is improving all the time. With the UK Championship and Masters to look forward to, he was full of confidence before a ball - power or otherwise - had been struck in Manchester.
Gould arrived apparently not knowing the rules or caring much, just determined to have a good time.
He leaves with £25,000 and a title. Not bad for what was basically a weekend jolly.
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I can only give my honest verdict, which is this: I thought it was better than last year but still don't think it is pitched right.
There are two aspects to Power Snooker: the game itself and the environment in which it is played.
The game can be entertaining if the match is close, as the final was. However, if it is one-sided then it peters out and the crowd loses interest.
In this way there is an unlikely correlation with billiards, whose timed format very often produces one-sided matches. Close finishes, on the other hand, are exciting.
It is snooker with some tweaks. As I've said before, as long as this is isolated to one-off events such as this then I have no problem with it.
But the mob of boorish drunks in the crowd add nothing but irritation to proceedings. They were not as bad as last year but for someone to loudly shout out "miss" while Martin Gould was on the green (which he duly did) was a disgrace.
It is a fallacy that reverential silence equals no atmosphere. In fact, the opposite is true. A hush descending at the Crucible adds to the atmosphere, to the feeling that something important is at stake, and thus intensifies the pressure on the players.
There's nothing wrong with crowds interacting more and getting excited but the comments that are apparently hilarious when you're drunk and shouting out in the arena don't come across this way on TV.
Snooker has always had a strong female following, not all of whom will be impressed with the use of page 3 girls to 'sex up' the event. In fact, by marketing Power Snooker at beery lads a large section of potential viewers are isolated.
Why should snooker dumb down at all? Why not instead take the game upmarket?
There is evidence on the continent of Europe that it increasingly appeals to an affluent, sophisticated demographic, and these people are the ones with money to spend.
This isn't the future of snooker, as some have claimed, but it may have legs as a sideshow if viewing figures are strong enough.
If Power Snooker organisers have the money and the players want to play in it then good luck to all involved.
And this debate will not matter a jot to Gould. Neither should it. He should be justifiably proud of winning a TV title and particularly in standing up to the pressure as Ronnie O'Sullivan, who grew stronger all day, twice missed the Powerball when well placed to defend his title.
Newly installed in the top 16, Gould is improving all the time. With the UK Championship and Masters to look forward to, he was full of confidence before a ball - power or otherwise - had been struck in Manchester.
Gould arrived apparently not knowing the rules or caring much, just determined to have a good time.
He leaves with £25,000 and a title. Not bad for what was basically a weekend jolly.
More...
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