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Re: Should the International be a triple/quadruple crown eve

Postby Skullman

It has the format but still needs a bit of time to develop some history and maybe get some better crowds. Hard to take it seriously as a major if it comes across as playing in front of one man and his dog as it does sometimes.

Re: Should the International be a triple/quadruple crown eve

Postby NNear

Basically what Skullman said. The problem is there are several competing tournaments right now that could start to feel like Major titles in the future. The trend right now along with the flat 128 draws is the reintroduction of high profile elite invitational events.

CoC is clearly not a Major but the crowds and the snooker is excellent and in 5 or so years time it could be seen as a crucial title to win. We have the inaugural World Grand Prix this year as well and it will be interesting to see how that develops. Forum activity here for the CoC has only been beaten so far by the UK which is a Major.

Personally, it makes sense that should the 3 become 4, that it would be a ranking event and therefore the International Championship is clearly the best contender. As Skullman says, it needs time to develop and it can't become a Major overnight.

Currently then, it isn't a Major.

Re: Should the International be a triple/quadruple crown eve

Postby Snooker Overdrive

Well the triple crown are the 3 most important tournaments on the calendar. I can't see any event overtaking the UK in the near future, the Masters and Worlds are obviously unreachable. I think it's important to understand why the triple crown is mentioned so often. Because the term makes it possible to compare players in different eras. Tournaments come and go but these 3 are rocks in every snooker calendar. For 37 years now. These events are the ultimate test for every generation.

So there's no use adding another event to the triple crown because as its name suggests there can be only be 3. And there will be no such thing as a quadruple crown. The question is rather what is the 4th most important event? The IC has the price money and a similar format to the UK but otherwise it isn't that great, especially the atmosphere is terrible. I regard the China Open as the most prestigious overseas event. It has history, a good atmosphere and is played in a major city but it's a bit too close to the World Championship to make it really great. The CoC is also worthy being considered one of the best tournaments, great atmosphere and superb coverage by ITV.

Re: Should the International be a triple/quadruple crown eve

Postby Wildey

Snooker Overdrive wrote:I think it's important to understand why the triple crown is mentioned so often. Because the term makes it possible to compare players in different eras. Tournaments come and go but these 3 are rocks in every snooker calendar. For 37 years now. These events are the ultimate test for every generation.


i think that's a very good point those 3 events spans generations from Davis, Hendry, Ronnie and now Trump and Brecel's Generations.

OK there are Generations thats not really covered like Reardon, Spencer and Alex Higgins was a pro for 3 years before the masters was created.

But look at the list of Triple Crown Winners

1 Stephen Hendry 18
2 Steve Davis 15
2 Ronnie O'Sullivan 15
4 John Higgins 9
5 Ray Reardon 7
6 Mark Williams 6
7 Alex Higgins 5
7 Mark Selby 5
9 John Spencer 4
9 Cliff Thorburn 4
11 Neil Robertson 3
11 Terry Griffiths 3
11 Ding Junhui 3
11 Doug Mountjoy 3
11 Paul Hunter 3

Reardon, Spencer and Higgins are all in the Top 10.