SnookerFan wrote:Bourne wrote:I thought it was a terrific success but then maybe i'm biased, it produced so many talking points throughout the whole week and that's what you want. Is someone going to tell me that Shanghai this year was more exciting ? Please ...
What talking points did it produce exactly, other then Ronnie not attempting a black? That had nothing to do with the format, Ronnie could've done that at any tournament, it just happened at this one.
The only other thing the whole week worth talking about was Neil Robertson's performance in the final, and that was longer then the other matches. The rest of the week was dominated by talking about one shot Ronnie O'Sullivan almost didn't make.
I mean, it has it's place, I guess. It wasn't terrible. But I can barely believe my eyes when I see people saying it's the best tournament they've seen in years. Or more exciting then other real ranking events.
The new shorter format
The music between frames
Amateurs being able to take part, one even made the tournament proper and lived with a top 3 player
The first ever Brazilian in a TV tournament
Jimmy White back on TV, and of his own right this time
Great matches like Hawkins vs Selby, Williams vs Hawkins, Robbo vs Higginson etc, all those before the last-eight ...
Ronnie's showmanship against King
OBP (almost) becoming a star at long last
Getting the chance to see 'low' rankers and a bit more of their personality, like Michie or Morris etc
The final frame in the McBain Walden match, almost the great escape
Ebdon's yellow to beat OBP
Ebdon's black against Gould
The buzz of the Hendry vs O'Sullivan match
Williams defying expectation to win from 0-2 down at long last
Ronnie's performance from 0-1 50 odd down against Maguire
Robbo fighting back from 0-2 to inflict 'revenge' on Williams
Robbo demolishing O'Sullivan in the final
Robbo winning me loads of money
Wall to wall coverage of every match
Walk-on music (good success IMO, where was that in Shanghai ?)
The cream rising to the top, four world-champs in the last four
Huge success