Topic locked

So, the PTCs are over...

Postby SnookerFan

What are people's closing opinions of them?

I know, as it's just finished, we're going to get a lot of comments about the tennis running late, but that aside, how do we rate the PTCs as a tournament?

Personally, I think they're obviously a good idea for the players. They get to play every week, and they get to earn money. So even the people lower down the rankings are getting more money. This can only be a good thing for the players. But, I was always under the opinion that they offer more for the players then for the fans. The ones based in England, as oppose to Europe, don't even let fans in to watch them. Let alone televise them.

Personally, I think we need to televise more of them, with a view to televising all of them. It's a disgrace that in today's day and age, we can't even watch the early ones over television. And obviously, the best of seven matches are, though enjoyable, not going to bring us any classic matches. Unlike the China Life Classic, where they had best of five for two days, then reverted to best of nine, you wonder how many best of sevens you can stomach in a season.

Point is, it has advantages. But, for me, the advantages are mainly for the people taking part in them. What are other people's opinions? Am I being too harsh? Originally, some people were saying this was a Barry Hearn masterstroke. Was it?

Re: So, the PTCs are over...

Postby GJ

CURRENT world champion not in in the finals

CURRENT masters champion not in the finals

CURRENT uk champion not in the finals

CURRENT worlds runner up not in the finals

so overall

:zzz: :zzz: :zzz: :zzz:

Re: So, the PTCs are over...

Postby SnookerFan

GJ wrote:CURRENT world champion not in in the finals

CURRENT masters champion not in the finals

CURRENT uk champion not in the finals

CURRENT worlds runner up not in the finals

so overall

:zzz: :zzz: :zzz: :zzz:


Actually, I'd put that up with a strength. The Current Masters champion isn't in it, because he didn't turn up to half the PTCs. And the UK Champion was banned for most of them. If you don't take them seriously, you don't qualify. Everybody was in the same boat.

I have no complaint about seeing more of Gould. He's a top player. And we saw a lot more of Matthew Stevens. We got to see Dominic Dale. We got to laugh at the comedy stylings of Judd Trump attempting to play snooker. It's good to see the less big names sometimes.

Re: So, the PTCs are over...

Postby KrazeeEyezKilla

Higgins wasn't there because he was suspended and Ding wasn't there on a technicality. Maguire qualified but had to pull out. Had they been there it would have been a stronger field. If somebody claimed a tournament wasn't valid because O'Sullivan didn't show up they'd be called a fanboy so I'm not sure other players are let away with it. Six of the Top seven players were in the Top 24.

Re: So, the PTCs are over...

Postby Wildey

KrazeeEyezKilla wrote:Higgins wasn't there because he was suspended and Ding wasn't there on a technicality. Maguire qualified but had to pull out. Had they been there it would have been a stronger field. If somebody claimed a tournament wasn't valid because O'Sullivan didn't show up they'd be called a fanboy so I'm not sure other players are let away with it. Six of the Top seven players were in the Top 24.

infact it has transpired Ding wasent in them because he was on holiday.

i have no problam with the top players not in it but id like the matches to be longer in the PTC Finals than they are in the normal PTC to give it a better feel of a Major...

ill be honest it was on a par with the World Open in every Respect Matches over to Quick was a real downside of the Event...

Take the Final if you coughed you missed 75% of it.

Majors has to have the feel of a Major just because its Televised does not make it a Major.

Re: So, the PTCs are over...

Postby Smart

The PTC finished just as it started with no coverage (in the main). Can't blame Eurosport cos they do more for the sport than anyone else by covering the majority of the tour. PTCs are a good development for the sport and the players that have embraced them are the ones who have got most out of them. I'm talking about the likes of Gouldy or Marcus Campbell - these type of players who have little limelight on TV. They took up the challenge of playing regularly - getting some form and with it earning some cash/rankings points.

Players in the main want to play more. BH has provided an avenue for such players to play when the major tournies are NOT on.

As a side note I really enjoyed the PTC in Gloucester. Great to be able to see some snooker LIVE and not have to drive for 3+ hours.

Fans can moan all they want about streaming or Eurosport missing chunks of the final but at the end of the day having a PTC as part of the calendar is a positive. I'd add that if fans are that desperate to watch a match they will, by hook or by crook watch it. <ok>

Definitely on a par with the World Open - which actually had a tacky feel to it with matches too short and hideous music in between frames.

It was funny how that guy puked up in the seating and the match got stopped, absolutely classic. :D <laugh> :D <laugh>

Re: So, the PTCs are over...

Postby SnookerFan

Smart wrote:The PTC finished just as it started with no coverage (in the main). Can't blame Eurosport cos they do more for the sport than anyone else by covering the majority of the tour. PTCs are a good development for the sport and the players that have embraced them are the ones who have got most out of them. I'm talking about the likes of Gouldy or Marcus Campbell - these type of players who have little limelight on TV. They took up the challenge of playing regularly - getting some form and with it earning some cash/rankings points.

Players in the main want to play more. BH has provided an avenue for such players to play when the major tournies are NOT on.

As a side note I really enjoyed the PTC in Gloucester. Great to be able to see some snooker LIVE and not have to drive for 3+ hours.

Fans can moan all they want about streaming or Eurosport missing chunks of the final but at the end of the day having a PTC as part of the calendar is a positive. I'd add that if fans are that desperate to watch a match they will, by hook or by crook watch it. <ok>

Definitely on a par with the World Open - which actually had a tacky feel to it with matches too short and hideous music in between frames.

It was funny how that guy puked up in the seating and the match got stopped, absolutely classic.
:D <laugh> :D <laugh>


Was that what happened? I was talking to my mate, and suddenly realised match had stopped and a bloke had been carried out. We were like; "What the buck is going on?" <laugh>

Poor guy.

Nobody is debating the positives of the PTCs for the players. It'd just be nice to be given the opportunity to watch them. You may get sick of a best of seven tournament being televised every weekend, but it'd be nice to pick a chose a bit, as there is so much snooker on. A bit like the players can have the odd weekend off, and still play plenty of snooker played. It'd be nice to be able to see this. A bit like the Championship League, it's a dip in and dip out sort of a tournament.

Failing that, maybe a Match of the Day Highlights type show on Saturday Night and Sunday Night. That'd be good.
Last edited by SnookerFan on 21 Mar 2011, edited 1 time in total.

Re: So, the PTCs are over...

Postby Smart

I could not give a shiny rubbish about Championship League snooker. But the moaning about not being able to see PTCs will either get addressed by some streaming or it wont, either way I wont be moaning like some of the old whine bags on here. There is no divine right to have streaming of "lesser" events.

Some PTCs are available for public to view, solution: go view. <ok> :wave:

Re: So, the PTCs are over...

Postby SnookerFan

Smart wrote:I could not give a shiny rubbish about Championship League snooker. But the moaning about not being able to see PTCs will either get addressed by some streaming or it wont, either way I wont be moaning like some of the old whine bags on here. There is no divine right to have streaming of "lesser" events.

Some PTCs are available for public to view, solution: go view. <ok> :wave:


It's more about increasing brand image, then it is about whether we watch every second of the PTCs or not. This morning, the draw for the most important tourament of the year happened. And where was it televised? On some station you can only get in betting shops. So, to watch the draw, you had to walk into a Betfred at half-past ten in the morning to do so. <doh>

Same here. These events may be minor ranking events, but they are still ranking events. If a person, who lives 30 seconds walk from the tournament can't pay to watch the tournament because they're not allowed it makes the sport look Mickey Mouse. Let alone what us mugs who follow the sport, and might want to watch some of it on television. Barry Hearn might as well just walk round in a T-Shirt with "Snooker is rubbish" written on it.

I appreciate you have to walk before you can run, and snooker is a sport with minimal public interest. It's not going to go from where it is now, to surpassing footballs popularity overnight. But to say that these events shouldn't be televised, or made a bigger deal of, just because you don't want to watch them is short-sighted. I might not watch every second of every week. But at least it's getting snooker's name out there, without having to encourage people to get drunk at events, or encourage beauty contests to wander around uneccessarily.

Re: So, the PTCs are over...

Postby randam05

SnookerFan wrote:
GJ wrote:CURRENT world champion not in in the finals

CURRENT masters champion not in the finals

CURRENT uk champion not in the finals

CURRENT worlds runner up not in the finals

so overall

:zzz: :zzz: :zzz: :zzz:


Actually, I'd put that up with a strength. The Current Masters champion isn't in it, because he didn't turn up to half the PTCs. And the UK Champion was banned for most of them. If you don't take them seriously, you don't qualify. Everybody was in the same boat.

I have no complaint about seeing more of Gould. He's a top player. And we saw a lot more of Matthew Stevens. We got to see Dominic Dale. We got to laugh at the comedy stylings of Judd Trump attempting to play snooker. It's good to see the less big names sometimes.


A strength? Certainly <ok>

Enjoyed seeing some of the lesser likes and such, infact really enjoyed following the whole series! :) But then again Im a true snooker freak, so any glimse of snooker is like heaven :love:

Re: So, the PTCs are over...

Postby Smart

SnookerFan wrote:
Smart wrote:I could not give a shiny rubbish about Championship League snooker. But the moaning about not being able to see PTCs will either get addressed by some streaming or it wont, either way I wont be moaning like some of the old whine bags on here. There is no divine right to have streaming of "lesser" events.

Some PTCs are available for public to view, solution: go view. <ok> :wave:


It's more about increasing brand image, then it is about whether we watch every second of the PTCs or not. This morning, the draw for the most important tourament of the year happened. And where was it televised? On some station you can only get in betting shops. So, to watch the draw, you had to walk into a Betfred at half-past ten in the morning to do so. <doh>

Same here. These events may be minor ranking events, but they are still ranking events. If a person, who lives 30 seconds walk from the tournament can't pay to watch the tournament because they're not allowed it makes the sport look Mickey Mouse. Let alone what us mugs who follow the sport, and might want to watch some of it on television. Barry Hearn might as well just walk round in a T-Shirt with "Snooker is rubbish" written on it.

I appreciate you have to walk before you can run, and snooker is a sport with minimal public interest. It's not going to go from where it is now, to surpassing footballs popularity overnight. But to say that these events shouldn't be televised, or made a bigger deal of, just because you don't want to watch them is short-sighted. I might not watch every second of every week. But at least it's getting snooker's name out there, without having to encourage people to get drunk at events, or encourage beauty contests to wander around uneccessarily.


who do you think is sponsoring the World Champs....?

do you think they might have a clause in the sponsorship that the draw is performed in THEIR shops.....?

do you think this is good for business.....it makes business sense to maximise their brand.....?

Smell the coffee. :wave:

Re: So, the PTCs are over...

Postby Bourne

Why not stream them on the betfred.com website, surely that makes more business sense since it promotes their product to a wider-range of customers ? :huh2:

Re: So, the PTCs are over...

Postby Smart

Bourne wrote:Why not stream them on the betfred.com website, surely that makes more business sense since it promotes their product to a wider-range of customers ? :huh2:


It forces the issue, it makes those THAT 100% interested to either go to a shop or find another route .......I think if I was stumping up big dollars to sponsor an event I'd insert such clauses. You as sponsor want maximum value for your dollars. Not much to ask in this day and age. :wave:

Re: So, the PTCs are over...

Postby SnookerFan

Smart wrote:
Bourne wrote:Why not stream them on the betfred.com website, surely that makes more business sense since it promotes their product to a wider-range of customers ? :huh2:


It forces the issue, it makes those THAT 100% interested to either go to a shop or find another route .......I think if I was stumping up big dollars to sponsor an event I'd insert such clauses. You as sponsor want maximum value for your dollars. Not much to ask in this day and age. :wave:


Okay. Fair enough. But, my point is, that's exactly what Hearn should be doing. The World draw is less important then the PTCs. If his hands are tied on that one, fine. But it doesn't mean snooker shouldn't get maximum exposure for it's product. We should follow that lead, not be happy with whatever we can get.

Re: So, the PTCs are over...

Postby Smart

If you are paying the big bucks to sponsor and be "title sponsor" - you call the tune not Barry Hearn. The draw date was 21st March and it makes no difference if I see that draw at 9am or 9pm, cos I know it will happen that day. Too many old women here moaning about access to everything from streaming, to draws, STOP MOANING. :ahh:

Re: So, the PTCs are over...

Postby SnookerFan

Smart wrote:If you are paying the big bucks to sponsor and be "title sponsor" - you call the tune not Barry Hearn. The draw date was 21st March and it makes no difference if I see that draw at 9am or 9pm, cos I know it will happen that day. Too many old women here moaning about access to everything from streaming, to draws, STOP MOANING. :ahh:


Look forget the draw, then. That was more a side-note when I said it. We're getting too bogged down with what happened with the draw, you can look that up on the internet, most people aren't going to care whether they watch two people drawing two balls out of a hat or not.

The point is, the PTCs should have some form of television coverage. Even if some of us don't want to watch every second of it. I just think it makes the tournament look a bit Mickey Mouse if it's never on television, apart from the last weekend. And even then Eurosport keeps cutting it to show tennis.

I appreciate snooker isn't a popular sport, with thousands of fans flocking into to see it. But Barry Hearn laid down a mission statement saying that's exactly what he wants snooker to become. There all of his new tournaments have to be marketed well. And part of that means people have to be able to see it. A tournament that is impossible to see on TV or at the venue is next to useless for the fans, and is useless when it comes to raising snooker's profile.

And yes, we do need to walk before we can run. But at least get more television coverage next year. Even if it's just the final of each individual PTC being televised next season. And the Grand Finals not being on at a weekend where there is tennis on. That'd help. <laugh>

Re: So, the PTCs are over...

Postby Smart

From my point of view I think all PTCs should have access to the public. This does not mean they all have to be streamed. Streaming costs money and fans are in the main a bunch of tight fussed moaners.

Play PTCs in venues that allow public viewing for a small entrance fee.

Where there is possibility to stream, then stream. BUT the whole point of the PTCs was to give the players more playing opportunities, NOT to give the fans more viewing opportunities. That was BHs aim and he has delivered. If we now get some streaming on top then that is a bonus, but above all play the PTCs in venues where Joe Public can pop along IF HE SO DESIRES.

:D

Re: So, the PTCs are over...

Postby gallantrabbit

The PTCs have been an enormous success, probably more so than anything Hearn has implemented. He got them up and running so soon after taking over so there would always be teethings, but I think apart from ROS and Hendry all the players have been grateful for this match practice. Not to mention that quite a few have made some nice money from them and we've got to the stage where we might be able to say that snooker has a tour again.
One of Hearn's big promises was that he was going to make players work harder. Just with the PTcs he has fulfiled that promise.
100% success story and they'll get better.

Re: So, the PTCs are over...

Postby jojo

i like the ptcs for various reasons good match practice adding match sharpness therefore general quality throughout the season is better also ranking points to be gained if you turn up so its a good thing players given the free choice if they wish to turn up or not there s a trade off and they have to weigh up the pros and the cons using their own judgements

a definite success more of a buzz now on the snooker circuit just a short while ago we were starved of snooker think at one stage they had something like only six ranking events in a whole season this is much better

in tennis and golf you have these events where the players choose to participate in gaining ranking points if they win and good to have this in snooker too but the proper ranking events are the real thing as all top players qualify