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Re: Barry Hearn open to shortening the Worlds

Postby Witz78

Sonny wrote:In all seriousness though, snooker won't stay at the Crucible forever, even if it's 200 years time, there will be a last staging of the World Championships at the Crucible. Of course it won't be 200 years time, it's more like 3 or 4 years time and for me, that is the time to tinker with the format, not before.


surely tinker with the format in order for it to stay at the Crucible should be the solution <ok>

With a bit of luck the reason the Worlds moves will be cos the sports that big thats its laughable holding it in a theatre that holds under 1,000 people.

Re: Barry Hearn open to shortening the Worlds

Postby gallantrabbit

We are getting carried away if we think Hearn will shorten the Worlds. I don't think he will cos it will lose prestige and even if Hearn weren't around and Walker were still in the Worlds would have been shown by the BBC.
Monique you can't make everyone happy. The PTCs are undoubtedly glorified pro-ams, but players used to go abroad for just pro-ams, if not to make money then to gain match experience. Hearn has to use Sheffield to a certain extent, should use Paul Mount's wonderful facility and has to go to Europe to test the market. Yes, the players have to help him on this but beggarsd cannot be choosers and 2 years ago all but the top 20 were beggars. The sport was allowed to fall to its knees and the players have to help Hearn raise it from the near dead again. Yes he could reduce the PTCs to 8, maybe, but on the other hand 12 different players won 10k a piece last year and most of them were very grateful for it, guys like Marcus Campbell who'd barely won a bean, for years. Yes there's a downside, but the fat will be cut. But it's still a way better system than sending 600 'players' up to Blackpool for two months, which must have cost many 5k and led to 550 of them hanging up their cues till the PTCs turned up. Strange that.
Snooker doesn't have much money and Hearn's doing the best he can.
And you are impatient because you want solutions instantly to the PTC problems.

Re: Barry Hearn open to shortening the Worlds

Postby Roland

No because the Crucible is too small and if you think big you'll think of a massive venue with plenty of tables and seating and a draw starting at the last 128 with everyone involved.

There are so many ways you can do it, but I'd be happy as long as the draw of the last 128 was properly seeded with the top 64 playing the next 64 at random and then as you go through you'd have the top 16 facing 17-32 at the last 32 stage. I could handle the last 128 being best of 11 and gradually increasing to last 16 being best 19 then everything after that being at least best of 25 with the final over 4 sessions. If the final is to be played over at least 3 sessions then it'll take 2 days so it should remain first to 18.

Re: Barry Hearn open to shortening the Worlds

Postby Roland

gallantrabbit wrote: But it's still a way better system than sending 600 'players' up to Blackpool for two months, which must have cost many 5k and led to 550 of them hanging up their cues till the PTCs turned up. Strange that.


Well said mate

Re: Barry Hearn open to shortening the Worlds

Postby Roland

Logistically I realise my post above can't work but the main thing I'm trying to get across is that I'm open to change, but the glory of the long formats should never be forgotten. If everyone starts at the venue and 128 players take part, it'd not be workable to hold long formats because it would take too long and if crammed into 2 weeks players would be playing every day. So it's open to debate about how best to change but it's vital to the integrity of snooker that the best players be tested over a long distance so the true winner of each match be determined.

Re: Barry Hearn open to shortening the Worlds

Postby Witz78

Sonny wrote:No because the Crucible is too small and if you think big you'll think of a massive venue with plenty of tables and seating and a draw starting at the last 128 with everyone involved.

There are so many ways you can do it, but I'd be happy as long as the draw of the last 128 was properly seeded with the top 64 playing the next 64 at random and then as you go through you'd have the top 16 facing 17-32 at the last 32 stage. I could handle the last 128 being best of 11 and gradually increasing to last 16 being best 19 then everything after that being at least best of 25 with the final over 4 sessions. If the final is to be played over at least 3 sessions then it'll take 2 days so it should remain first to 18.


yeh its straight forward to do, tennis manages it fine

you just know WS would somehow cockerel it up though and have only one of Ronnie, Trump, Williams and Selby making the last 32 though <doh>

Re: Barry Hearn open to shortening the Worlds

Postby Wildey

Sonny wrote:In all seriousness though, snooker won't stay at the Crucible forever, even if it's 200 years time, there will be a last staging of the World Championships at the Crucible. Of course it won't be 200 years time, it's more like 3 or 4 years time and for me, that is the time to tinker with the format, not before.

in all honesty i hope when they do move it and i guess it is inevitable at some point they get the right venue and not just because its a bigger place.

i reckon the Tempodrom, Berlin should be ear marked because the atmasphere there was electrick.

Re: Barry Hearn open to shortening the Worlds

Postby Witz78

Wild wrote:
Sonny wrote:In all seriousness though, snooker won't stay at the Crucible forever, even if it's 200 years time, there will be a last staging of the World Championships at the Crucible. Of course it won't be 200 years time, it's more like 3 or 4 years time and for me, that is the time to tinker with the format, not before.

in all honesty i hope when they do move it and i guess it is inevitable at some point they get the right venue and not just because its a bigger place.

i reckon the Tempodrom, Berlin should be ear marked because the atmasphere there was electrick.


:chuckle:

Re: Barry Hearn open to shortening the Worlds

Postby SnookerFan

Sonny wrote:In all seriousness though, snooker won't stay at the Crucible forever, even if it's 200 years time, there will be a last staging of the World Championships at the Crucible. Of course it won't be 200 years time, it's more like 3 or 4 years time and for me, that is the time to tinker with the format, not before.


I agree, though it'll be a sad day when it leaves The Crucible. One of the best venues I have ever been to for any sport.

Re: Barry Hearn open to shortening the Worlds

Postby Witz78

Only the atmosphere at the World Open at the SECC tops it for me but that was all down to the :limp: MC guy whipping the crowd into a frenzy with his LETS BIG IT UP GLASGOW FOR....... catchphrase. He was the heir apparant to Alan Hughes IMO, sod idiot Walker.

Re: Barry Hearn open to shortening the Worlds

Postby SnookerFan

Just went onto the BBC website, on the live sportsfeed this quote just came up. I thought it related to both conversations being had on this thread;

0834 SNOOKER: World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn on 5 live Breakfast: "I've done an amazing job.... I've doubled the prize money. The game is entertaining, we're making it more exciting. I've added more than 23 events to the calendar. I've got the lazy whatnots getting out of bed and going to work - because working-class people are supposed to go to work. Some of them don't like it, they want a comfortable life - and trust me when I tell you they are not going to get it."

Re: Barry Hearn open to shortening the Worlds

Postby Wildey

saw that on twitter this morning not one to accept bullocks from no runt no matter who the buck they are

wildey_1 eddie
@
@BBCSport "At York we sold double the number of tickets that we did last year."..that had sod bucking all to do with format you stupid hammer.

Re: Barry Hearn open to shortening the Worlds

Postby Wildey

i have a feeling shortening the UK at the time he Moved Back to York was a Long Term Goal of shortening the Worlds.

He now can use Better Crowds at York to tell us "shorter matches is what people want"

Re: Barry Hearn open to shortening the Worlds

Postby SnookerFan

Wild wrote:saw that on twitter this morning not one to accept bullocks from no runt no matter who the buck they are

wildey_1 eddie
@
@BBCSport "At York we sold double the number of tickets that we did last year."..that had sod bucking all to do with format you stupid hammer.


Telford. :D