The Tour is regressing since Barry Hearn retired
It's really quite worrying to watch how snooker is going at the moment. Not only with the ongoing fixing scandal that's seen ten of the Tour's professionals suspended - including some of the most talented young players in the game - but also with the huge regression in playing opportunities for lower-ranked players who are trying to scrape together a living through snooker.
Only 50 players have so far earned the UK's so-called "National Living Wage" (£20,800 as of April 2023), and the costs of holding down a career as a snooker player are huge. Among the players who've not yet earned that kind of money are John Higgins, Stephen Maguire, Mark King, Elliot Slessor, Martin Gould and Marco Fu. Normally at this point in the season there would still be plenty of time to rectify that, but for so many players there's now only one tournament left this season: the World Championship.
The very top players are still being looked after though: as Mark Williams mentioned, they got paid £20,000 just to show up in Hong Kong for the non-ranking event.
Let's have a quick look at how the ranking calendar has been this season:
And the whole thing is so awfully parochial. It doesn't matter what tournament it is you're trying to win, your road to victory begins in a leisure centre in Wigan. The entire "Players Series" is now held in England. The entire Triple Crown is held in England with the top 16 players guaranteed their places. To be blunt, is it any wonder that young foreign players are turning to fixing to supplement their income? The entire structure of the Tour tells them that they're not wanted anyway.
I'll probably post about the sort of changes I'd want to make in the next couple of days, but I do also look forward to everyone else's views too.
Only 50 players have so far earned the UK's so-called "National Living Wage" (£20,800 as of April 2023), and the costs of holding down a career as a snooker player are huge. Among the players who've not yet earned that kind of money are John Higgins, Stephen Maguire, Mark King, Elliot Slessor, Martin Gould and Marco Fu. Normally at this point in the season there would still be plenty of time to rectify that, but for so many players there's now only one tournament left this season: the World Championship.
The very top players are still being looked after though: as Mark Williams mentioned, they got paid £20,000 just to show up in Hong Kong for the non-ranking event.
Let's have a quick look at how the ranking calendar has been this season:
- Championship League (England) - 128 player draw, best of 4 all tournament long, best of 5 final
- European Masters (Belgium; qualifiers in England) - 64 player draw, best of 9 up to a best of 17 final
- British Open (England) - 64 player draw, best of 7 up to a best of 19 final
- Northern Ireland Open (Northern Ireland; qualifiers in England) - 64 player draw, best of 7 up to a best of 17 final
- UK Championship (England) - 32-player draw, best of 11 up to a best of 19 final
- Scottish Open (Scotland; qualifiers in England) - 64 player draw, best of 7 up to a best of 17 final
- English Open (England) - 64 player draw, best of 7 up to a best of 17 final
- World Grand Prix (England) - 32-player draw (no qualifying), best of 7 up to a best of 19 final
- German Masters (Germany; qualifiers in England) - 32 player draw, best of 9 up to a best of 19 final
- Welsh Open (Wales; qualifiers in England) - 64 player draw, best of 7 up to a best of 17 final
- Players Championship (England) - 16-player draw, best of 11 up to a best of 19 final
- Tour Championship (England) - 8-player draw (no qualifying), best of 19 throughout
- World Championship (England) - 32-player draw, best of 19 up to a best of 35 final
And the whole thing is so awfully parochial. It doesn't matter what tournament it is you're trying to win, your road to victory begins in a leisure centre in Wigan. The entire "Players Series" is now held in England. The entire Triple Crown is held in England with the top 16 players guaranteed their places. To be blunt, is it any wonder that young foreign players are turning to fixing to supplement their income? The entire structure of the Tour tells them that they're not wanted anyway.
I'll probably post about the sort of changes I'd want to make in the next couple of days, but I do also look forward to everyone else's views too.
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Aislabie - Posts: 9
- Joined: 26 January 2023
- Location: UK
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