Poll: Longer or Shorter Matches

Hearn has come out and said he thinks snooker should have shorter formats and tournaments go on too long. What do you think?

not that i don't mind best of 9 or 13 games.. the swing and turns of a longer match just makes the longer format more appealing to me (:

I think they should have both shorter, and longer frame matches. The Worlds is presitigious because it is longer, and different to other tournaments, and these matches tend to be more tense, thus more exciting. On the flip side, it can be annoying to watch an opening session, and the concluding session is when you are at work the next day. It's good to be able to get home in the evening and watch a whole match.

On saying that, I think Barry Hearn is getting a bit ridiculous with his 'shorter frames = better snooker' theory.... Best of nines are the shortest it should be. Best of 5 have no place in ranking tournaments. And the final of a ranking event should be far longer then best of 9. He'll have a Pot Black ranking event next.

Long and short, both appeal to me but differently. I like the combination of short matches and round-robin. I think the round-robin format compensates for the "luck" factor you have in very short matches and the quick succession of action and different playing styles has its appeal. Long matches indeed favour the best players. Having said that in the vast majority of cases at the World the guy who is ahead after 2 sessions wins it (I had a close look at the WC finals stats and over the last 21 years there were only 3 exceptions, two of them involving Matthew Stevens); not always though and very close matches are of course gripping. But on the other hand an onslaugh over four sessions is tedious and painfull to watch. Maybe the best of 19 is the ideal one.

I also think it should depend on tournaments. The Majors: longer matches; the rest: shorter ones.

Morning All,

I always preferred the longer formats but me thinks its time to start to accept changes in our game. As said by the majority, if the Worlds, UK stay the same for example, I've an open mind to see what else is put in front of us.

Longer the better.

short matches are boring if im honest i understand you cant have all tournaments long and you have to vary it but short matches on the whole doesent do it for me compared to long matches.

the WC has drama because going 4-0 up doesn't mean nothing then 6-0 or 7-0 in a best of 25 and players coming back thats drama short matches just cant compete with that at all.

We have our one day snooker (best of 5's to best of 9's), and we also have our equivalent of Twenty20 on the way. The test game, ie. World & UK Championship matches are the peak of the game, and to mess with them would not be good. There my two favourite tournaments for a reason.