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Stephen Hendry dissing PTCs on Twitter....

Postby SnookerFan » 12 Oct 2015 Read

I just noticed the following Twitter Exchange between Hendry and Barry Hearn.

stephen hendry ‏@SHendry775 Highest rank player in semi 41, best of 7's???????????????

Barry Hearn ‏@BarryHearn A once great player that walked away from snooker to play Chinese pool. Come back if you feel you can cut it.

stephen hendry ‏@SHendry775 not the point tell me who will be reporting this tomorrow press only interested in BBC events

Barry Hearn ‏@BarryHearn Of course UK press but we have to build the game again. In your time the game nearly died. Closed its eyes to equal opportunity

stephen hendry ‏@SHendry775 the plain fact is no one gives a rubbish about these events

Mark Williams MBE ‏@markwil147 spot on SIR STEPHEN

Re: Stephen Hendry dissing PTCs on Twitter....

Postby SnookerFan » 12 Oct 2015 Read

In my opinion, Hendry is talking out of his bottom on this one.

Nobody is pretending the PTCs are major tournaments. But they serve their purpose of getting players extra playing opportunities, and help expand the pro game internationally.

Ideally, every event would be a full ranker, but a few years ago we had bugger all tournaments, and players were complaining about being part time professionals. No point in bellyaching that there are too many tournaments now.

And I don't understand his point about the ranking of the players in the semis. They are there because they won the matches. Higher ranked players didn't, so they went out. That's how knockout tournaments work. Why should a players rank matter, if he's the one winning the matches? Should everybody who isn't in the top 16 just not bother trying to win games? He's been spending too much time working for the BBC.

I agree that best of sevens aren't the best, but they work in context of the PTCs, where there are that many matches. I don't think they should exist in ranking events though.

I get that he's coming from a place where he wants snooker to be more popular, but his thoughts there just seem off-base. I guess though, this is a Twitter conversation and not some formal deceleration of intent from Hendry, so maybe I am over-thinking.

Odd comments though.
Last edited by SnookerFan on 31 Oct 2015, edited 1 time in total.

Re: Stephen Hendry dissing PTCs on Twitter....

Postby Holden Chinaski » 12 Oct 2015 Read

I think it's the best of 7's format that bothers people the most. The best snooker players shine in longer matches and the best snooker is played in long format matches in my opinion..

Re: Stephen Hendry dissing PTCs on Twitter....

Postby SnookerFan » 12 Oct 2015 Read

Holden Chinaski wrote:I can't stand Barry Hearn. His reaction to Hendry here is so childish.


The comment about Hendry coming back was a bit silly. But I agree with him that the game needs to build in places other than the UK.

Re: Stephen Hendry dissing PTCs on Twitter....

Postby SnookerFan » 12 Oct 2015 Read

More wisdom from Hendry.

stephen hendry ‏@SHendry775 Snooker is coming down to 3 events that matter,the U.K.,Masters and the World,the rest are just practice

This comments were all made yesterday. I think he was drunk, or something. <doh>

Re: Stephen Hendry dissing PTCs on Twitter....

Postby Andy Spark » 12 Oct 2015 Read

Holden Chinaski wrote:I think it's the best of 7's format that bothers people the most. The best snooker players shine in longer matches and the best snooker is played in long format matches in my opinion..

Yes quite right, the main problem with lengthening matches is the time available. There is actually another quite simple way to lessen the problem Hendry talks about; tighten the pockets!


If you tighten the pockets then the average break size comes down to more of a 1970/1980's level and frames are not so heavily influenced by a single mistake or piece of bad luck. In short, the amount of luck involved in the outcome is less. I'm a traditionalist, I like to see snooker frames the way they used to be, the way frames were originally designed to pan out.

Re: Stephen Hendry dissing PTCs on Twitter....

Postby Holden Chinaski » 12 Oct 2015 Read

SnookerFan wrote:
Holden Chinaski wrote:I can't stand Barry Hearn. His reaction to Hendry here is so childish.


The comment about Hendry coming back was a bit silly. But I agree with him that the game needs to build in places other than the UK.

I agree with that as well. But I would rather see just a couple of events abroad that have a long format. Insteat of a whole lotta short format events. I don't think Rory McCleod would win a long format event, no offence to Rory.

Re: Stephen Hendry dissing PTCs on Twitter....

Postby SnookerFan » 12 Oct 2015 Read

Holden Chinaski wrote:I agree with that as well. But I would rather see just a couple of events abroad that have a long format. Insteat of a whole lotta short format events. I don't think Rory McCleod would win a long format event, no offence to Rory.


I don't disagree, more longer format tournaments would be good. And that best of sevens shouldn't exist in a full ranker.

Doesn't mean that PTCs are pointless though. Which is what Hendry seems to be suggesting.

Re: Stephen Hendry dissing PTCs on Twitter....

Postby Smart » 12 Oct 2015 Read

SnookerFan wrote:More wisdom from Hendry.

stephen hendry ‏@SHendry775 Snooker is coming down to 3 events that matter,the U.K.,Masters and the World,the rest are just practice

This comments were all made yesterday. I think he was drunk, or something. <doh>


I thought he was tee-total since the incident with the golf buggy. :gag:

Re: Stephen Hendry dissing PTCs on Twitter....

Postby Andre147 » 12 Oct 2015 Read

Dan-cat wrote:The PTCs and Eurosport are helping to spread the game into new territories. You couldn't have full rankers in most of these places. Better to have them than not.

Hendry's comments are a bit off.



Fully agree, Hearn too shouldnt have said what he did, but fact is Best of 7s work for PTCs, just a shame the same format is used for other events like Welsh Open.

Re: Stephen Hendry dissing PTCs on Twitter....

Postby KrazeeEyezKilla » 12 Oct 2015 Read

He's half right.

stephen hendry ‏@SHendry775 Highest rank player in semi 41, best of 7's???????????????

What happened yesterday isn't normal for these PTC events. While the likes of Barry Pinches and Rod Lawler won PTC's a few years ago they were in Sheffield and had no TV coverage. Of the ones in Mainland Europe and shown on Eurosport it's pretty much been all top 16 players winning the titles.

stephen hendry ‏@SHendry775 Snooker is coming down to 3 events that matter,the U.K.,Masters and the World,the rest are just practice

That's a good point. I think Hearn has been too focussed on quantity over quality. I find myself dipping in and out during the season. There were too few events in the Walker years but doubling the number of events would have done, Hearn went far past that. Having so many tournaments in Europe probably makes it harder for events like the German Masters to get sponsorship. Plus the tour is still overwhelmingly British. That would hae to start changing before you could be able to have so many tournaments around the world.

Re: Stephen Hendry dissing PTCs on Twitter....

Postby SnookerFan » 13 Oct 2015 Read

I don't understand the complaint that there is too many tournaments. You become a player to play snooker, not sit around and do nothing.

If you don't want to watch them all, nobody is making you. Doesn't mean they shouldn't exist, just because you personally don't watch them all.

Re: Stephen Hendry dissing PTCs on Twitter....

Postby TheSaviour » 13 Oct 2015 Read

People needs to understand that in a western democracy some people are talking what they are supposed to talk. If some other people are continiously pretending something what isn´t quite truth, then they are bound to get their bottom´s kicked every now and then. Because some other people talk what they are supposed to talk. In order to shoot lines straight. Otherwise loads of people would lose their sense of a reality and a personal dignity and pride. Some people are out-spoken and they feel their responsibility is to protect a mass of people. That´s how a western democracy works.

Re: Stephen Hendry dissing PTCs on Twitter....

Postby Holden Chinaski » 13 Oct 2015 Read

TheSaviour wrote:People needs to understand that in a western democracy some people are talking what they are supposed to talk. If some other people are continiously pretending something what isn´t quite truth, then they are bound to get their bottom´s kicked every now and then. Because some other people talk what they are supposed to talk. In order to shoot lines straight. Otherwise loads of people would lose their sense of a reality and a personal dignity and pride. Some people are out-spoken and they feel their responsibility is to protect a mass of people. That´s how a western democracy works.

:chin:

Re: Stephen Hendry dissing PTCs on Twitter....

Postby SnookerFan » 13 Oct 2015 Read

TheSaviour wrote:People needs to understand that in a western democracy some people are talking what they are supposed to talk. If some other people are continiously pretending something what isn´t quite truth, then they are bound to get their bottom´s kicked every now and then. Because some other people talk what they are supposed to talk. In order to shoot lines straight. Otherwise loads of people would lose their sense of a reality and a personal dignity and pride. Some people are out-spoken and they feel their responsibility is to protect a mass of people. That´s how a western democracy works.


Wow. I never thought of it that way.

I'm all turned round on the subject.

Re: Stephen Hendry dissing PTCs on Twitter....

Postby Pink Ball » 13 Oct 2015 Read

TheSaviour wrote:People needs to understand that in a western democracy some people are talking what they are supposed to talk. If some other people are continiously pretending something what isn´t quite truth, then they are bound to get their bottom´s kicked every now and then. Because some other people talk what they are supposed to talk. In order to shoot lines straight. Otherwise loads of people would lose their sense of a reality and a personal dignity and pride. Some people are out-spoken and they feel their responsibility is to protect a mass of people. That´s how a western democracy works.

Re: Stephen Hendry dissing PTCs on Twitter....

Postby Sickpotter » 13 Oct 2015 Read

Perhaps the main tour should be dropped to 64 players and then take 65-128 and have them play PTCs to qualify for the main tour.

Maybe something like top 10 finishers make main tour, bottom 10 on main tour regulated to PTCs....

I have to admit I have a hard time seeing a best of 7 match as a professional level event.

Re: Stephen Hendry dissing PTCs on Twitter....

Postby snooky147 » 13 Oct 2015 Read

Whether you like Hearn or not, the one thing he doesn't have is class. A CEO talking the way he does is beyond comprehension. When Jamie Jones pointed out on Twitter that careers were on the line potentially if you lose a couple of first round matches his answer was well don't and then followed by gloriously brutal, love it. So he loves the thought of players being financially pratted???. If he does and that's his right but it's not the way a CEO should talk. There are many many more instances of his classlessness but suffice to say that good for the sport or not I for one cannot stand the sight of him.

Re: Stephen Hendry dissing PTCs on Twitter....

Postby SteveJJ » 13 Oct 2015 Read

snooky147 wrote:Whether you like Hearn or not, the one thing he doesn't have is class. A CEO talking the way he does is beyond comprehension. When Jamie Jones pointed out on Twitter that careers were on the line potentially if you lose a couple of first round matches his answer was well don't and then followed by gloriously brutal, love it. So he loves the thought of players being financially pratted???. If he does and that's his right but it's not the way a CEO should talk. There are many many more instances of his classlessness but suffice to say that good for the sport or not I for one cannot stand the sight of him.


I don't think Hearn was revelling in the thought of people being in financial hardship but sport is competitive, not everyone can win, not everyone can make a living from the game. Why should any sport prop up mediocrity? Audiences want to see the best players playing the highest standard, those that can't meet that standard given the opportunity to do so, should face the consequences of that.

Whilst there are issues around transport costs etc, no one can say that Hearn isn't giving players the chance to succeed. It's up to the players to take their chance.

Having said that, Hearn could phrase things better sometimes. And Hendry is plain wrong.

Re: Stephen Hendry dissing PTCs on Twitter....

Postby mantorok » 13 Oct 2015 Read

I think if you asked the majority of players about their feelings on the PTC events you would probably find them extremely positive, and despite peoples perception they are great for the players and will not do the sport any harm at all.

Winners like this at the PTC events just further re-iterates the dire state of the game pre-Hearn, players weren't getting opportunities to gain real match experience so by the time they reached a big event they were easily trounced by a top player.

What we are seeing is a demonstration of how good these players are when given the chance, what Hendry is saying is completely short-sighted and not what you would expect from an ambassador of the sport.

Re: Stephen Hendry dissing PTCs on Twitter....

Postby Andre147 » 13 Oct 2015 Read

mantorok wrote:I think if you asked the majority of players about their feelings on the PTC events you would probably find them extremely positive, and despite peoples perception they are great for the players and will not do the sport any harm at all.

Winners like this at the PTC events just further re-iterates the dire state of the game pre-Hearn, players weren't getting opportunities to gain real match experience so by the time they reached a big event they were easily trounced by a top player.

What we are seeing is a demonstration of how good these players are when given the chance, what Hendry is saying is completely short-sighted and not what you would expect from an ambassador of the sport.


Fully agree with your assessment. <ok>

The PTCs like you say are indeed great tournaments to bring Snooker where it isn't that popular or in places that,despite being popular, haven't had a chance to host a professional tournament.

I look no further than my home country, Portugal, which as you know had a PTC last year and was a huge sucess. Financial problems with our Federation have prevented this PTC from being hosted here again, so it has moved to Gibraltar.

But yeah they are great tournaments that perhaps in the future can be transformed into full ranking events. The tour is fine as it is now with these 6 PTC events, though next season there will only be 3 I think.

Re: Stephen Hendry dissing PTCs on Twitter....

Postby SnookerFan » 14 Oct 2015 Read

SteveJJ wrote:
I don't think Hearn was revelling in the thought of people being in financial hardship but sport is competitive, not everyone can win, not everyone can make a living from the game. Why should any sport prop up mediocrity? Audiences want to see the best players playing the highest standard, those that can't meet that standard given the opportunity to do so, should face the consequences of that.

Whilst there are issues around transport costs etc, no one can say that Hearn isn't giving players the chance to succeed. It's up to the players to take their chance.

Having said that, Hearn could phrase things better sometimes. And Hendry is plain wrong.


I agree with Snooky though. Hearn has done a lot for the game of snooker compared to where it was a few years ago, that's hard to deny.

But it does seem unprofessional for the CEO of World Snooker to be having Twitter spats with players / ex-players.

Re: Stephen Hendry dissing PTCs on Twitter....

Postby SnookerFan » 14 Oct 2015 Read

mantorok wrote:I think if you asked the majority of players about their feelings on the PTC events you would probably find them extremely positive, and despite peoples perception they are great for the players and will not do the sport any harm at all.

Winners like this at the PTC events just further re-iterates the dire state of the game pre-Hearn, players weren't getting opportunities to gain real match experience so by the time they reached a big event they were easily trounced by a top player.

What we are seeing is a demonstration of how good these players are when given the chance, what Hendry is saying is completely short-sighted and not what you would expect from an ambassador of the sport.


Agreed.

A lot of the lower ranked players aren't scared of playing the big name on TV any more, due to the fact that they are getting more experience playing the big names on TV.

Hendry's comments are baffling, especially from the player who won the most ranking events of any player in history. Saying the Worlds, UK and Masters are the only tournaments that matter means that a lot of his tournament win achievements are irrelevant.

I'd be very surprised if he believed this when he was in his pomp. He seemed to hate losing so very much.

Re: Stephen Hendry dissing PTCs on Twitter....

Postby Sickpotter » 14 Oct 2015 Read

mantorok wrote:I think if you asked the majority of players about their feelings on the PTC events you would probably find them extremely positive, and despite peoples perception they are great for the players and will not do the sport any harm at all.

Winners like this at the PTC events just further re-iterates the dire state of the game pre-Hearn, players weren't getting opportunities to gain real match experience so by the time they reached a big event they were easily trounced by a top player.

What we are seeing is a demonstration of how good these players are when given the chance, what Hendry is saying is completely short-sighted and not what you would expect from an ambassador of the sport.


I don't think it's as much a demonstration of how good the players are as it is a demonstration of how a short format opens the door for weaker players to win events.
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