Ssb - slow news day

[ferret]

Judd Trump is an unlikely person to be at the centre of a Twitter storm.


A polite young man, he is not one for courting controversy.


He didn’t enter the Australian Goldfields Open but must have been watching on Eurosport earlier today when Peter Ebdon took nearly five hours to beat Ding Junhui 5-4.


“How Peter Ebdon is allowed to play that slow is a joke,” was Judd’s observation on Twitter.


Within seconds he was being roundly insulted for stating his opinion.


It seems odd that members of the public can spend all day, every day on Twitter or internet forums criticising and commenting on every aspect of a player – their playing style, their appearance, even their personal lives – but when a player himself ventures an opinion he is treated to vitriol.


Trump remained silent when other players used Twitter to openly state he was lucky and therefore not as good as people have said.


Last time I looked he was second in the world rankings and UK champion. Not bad for a 22 year-old.


It’s natural he will attract jealousy: he’s young, talented and popular. Not everyone likes the ‘playboy’ image he has cultivated but this is mainly ironic.


And, anyway, he can live his life however he chooses.


Of course, even moderately paced potters will seem slow to Trump because he plays the game so quickly.


Ebdon is archly methodical. His average shot time today was 38 seconds, compared with Ding’s 26.


There is no slow play rule in snooker. There is a rule which covers time wasting, in the discretion of the referee who can warn a player to hurry up.


I can understand how a player such as Trump would be frustrated watching a much slower player but I also feel Ebdon deserves immense credit for the effort he makes.


It’s not always pretty but his record speaks for itself: world and UK champion, nine ranking titles, more than 300 century breaks.


If everyone played the game the way he did then snooker would not be the commercial prospect it is but there is surely room for different playing styles, different approaches and, yes, different speeds.


There should also be room for different opinions, and Judd Trump is as entitled to his as anybody. As a player, he has an insight worth listening to.


As long as opinions are expressed without undue personal malice or in a defamatory way then players have as much right as anyone else to tell us what they think.



More...

[arbitrage]

judd is absolutely right. it is a joke. the guardian ran an article on how deliberate slow play was akin to cheating after WSC 2005 in which peter ebdon used these attritional tactics on ronnie o'sullivan and won the match after trailing 8-2. nearly a decade later, nothing has changed - and peter ebdon is not the only player employing these tactics. the biggest joke is why the snooker authorities have not and still do not regard this as a major problem that needs to be fixed.

[wildJONESEYE]

Judd is entitled to his opinion that doesn't make him Right.

Contrast of Styles and Personality which made snooker popular in the 80s.

You needed the likes of Griffiths and Thorburn to contrast the Flair and Brilliance Of Alex Higgins and Jimmy White and set them apart.

Do we really want 96 Judd or Ronnie Clones on Tour ? then those Players will only be in the Pack and not stand out as they should be.

[arbitrage]

it has little to do with contrast in styles and personality. it is more to do with using loopholes in antiquated rules (that were developed in the context of a gentleman's game and not professional sport) to gain an advantage over opponents unfairly.

other sports have well defined and strictly enforced rules against deliberate slow play - why not snooker?

you can have 96 players who DON'T deliberately waste time playing on the tour, with different styles and personalities - these are not mutually exclusive items. PLS is a case in point.

[cazmac1]

There is no evidence to support slow play wins you anything the fact some players win while playing slowly is more likely down to the fact that the frames get messy. The most successful players have all played with a nice tempo. Who is to say the Ebdon wouldn't have been a better player if he had speeded up. As for Ebdon he seems to be involved in far to many of these games, I feel really sorry for anyone having brought a ticket for the final and having to watch 5 hour of **** snooker.
A death of a thousand cut's springs to mind.

[arbitrage]

the point is not whether peter ebdon would improve if he sped up his play. the point is that he is affecting his opponent's tempo by slowing play down deliberately. there is a good reason why other professional sports have time limits e.g. 30 secs to serve in tennis etc. - these rules are designed so that players cannot deliberately slow play down to affect their opponent or gain other unfair advantages e.g. recuperation time etc.

[bricktip]

I'm sure it's not easy being a slow player, feeling the pressure to speed up your game to please other people, and not just in the pro game. I like Peter, he's been a great player for a long time.

[s.h442]

Ebdon wasn't always this slow in the past he was reasonably quick and played good attacking snooker. However i seem to remember from the 2005 match v o sullivan that was the start of his slowing down tactics.

[cazmac1]

It is not slow play that causes these games to drag on it is more shot selection messing the game up and missed pots.
I see it all the time down the club, an example would be a safety shot of the side of the pack most good players will choose a shot that will either release the black if it's tied up or if the black is in open play will make sure the red go's nowhere near the black. So that if his safety is good he will have a scoring chance on the next visit. A poor shot would be choosing a high red in the pack pushing all the reds towards the black and tying it up. There are a lot more shots that can mess the game up and prevent breaks, this combined with so play can drain you of your energy and bore you to tears.

[blinky88]

Judd Trump is 100% right. I happened to be watching the O'Sullivan game and believe sincerely that Ebdon should have been disqualified. Felt badly for Ding in the Australian open with Ebdon. In every other sport there are limits set on time. Tennis, Cricket (overs per day) in fact, I cannot think of one sport where time is of no concern. One minute is plenty of time for any pro.snooker player to play a shot.

[Souwester]

it has little to do with contrast in styles and personality. it is more to do with using loopholes in antiquated rules (that were developed in the context of a gentleman's game and not professional sport) to gain an advantage over opponents unfairly.

But the modern rules were completely redrafted in 1995, and were redrafted with minor adjustments just a couple of years ago. If the World governing body thought there was a problem they would have surely introduced specific provisions.

For now, the referee can warn a player and go on to award a frame, (a) In the event of:
(i) a Player taking an abnormal amount of time over a stroke or the selection of a stroke;

But, as so often, the referee has to make a subjective decision as to what is abnormal.

[cazmac1]

I did not see the game so I guess the shot time of 36 sec was the average. What was the maximum time he spent on one shot and does anyone have a link????

[cazmac1]

But the modern rules were completely redrafted in 1995, and were redrafted with minor adjustments just a couple of years ago. If the World governing body thought there was a problem they would have surely introduced specific provisions.

For now, the referee can warn a player and go on to award a frame, (a) In the event of:
(i) a Player taking an abnormal amount of time over a stroke or the selection of a stroke;

But, as so often, the referee has to make a subjective decision as to what is abnormal.

The ref should warn both players in their dressing room before the match starts so a player is aware what is expected from him and the consequences.

[damienlch]

The ref should warn both players in their dressing room before the match starts so a player is aware what is expected from him and the consequences.

I agree that that should be done. But I think it would take a brave referee to award a frame due to slow play. I just can't see it happening.

[Souwester]

I'm not sure whether frames have been awarded, but certainly pro players have been warned in the past. For example, I can remember my friend Brian Rowswell, who had something of a reputation for being a slow match player, being warned during the Blackpool qualifiers once.