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If I were Barry Hearn: the final draft

Postby Tubberlad

After numerous drafts, I think this is about as good a tour as I could come up with:

Major Tournaments
World Championship, UK Championship, The Masters, World Matchplay, Grand Prix

Ranking points
The World Championship 3 times as much as much as a Grade Two event
The UK Championship 2 times as much as a Grade Two event
The Masters will carry no ranking points
World Matchplay & Grand Prix 1.5 times as much as Grade Two event

Formats
World Championship: R1(19), R2(25), QF(25), SF(33), F(35)
UK Championship: R1(17), R2(17), QF(17), SF(19), F(31)
Masters: R1(11), R2(11), QF(11), SF(17), F(19)
World Matchplay (win by two, unless max number played): R1(9, max13), R2(9, max13), QF(9, max 13), SF(11, max 15), F(17, max 21)
Grand Prix: R1(9), R2(9), R3(9), QF(11), SF(17), F(19)

Venues
World Championship: The Crucible
UK Championship: Guild Hall
Masters: Wembley
World Matchplay: Beijing
Grand Prix: Hexagon

Quirks:
World Championship: Same as it ever was
UK Championship: Extended semi-final to best of 19 frames, Final extended to best of 31)
Masters: Extended semi-final to best of 17 frames. Reduced to 16 players, top 14 in the provisional rankings, a wild-card and a qualifier.
World Matchplay: Matches are win by two frames, unless the maximum number of frames has been played.
Grand Prix: 64 players, open draw all the way through.


Grade Two Events
Irish Masters, International Open (Manchester), Scottish Open, British Open (Wales), Shanghai Masters, European Open (Berlin)

Formats: All will hold the standard format for a ranking tournament nowadays, besides the British Open.

Quirks:
The British Open will feature a sets format. Each set is best of three frames.
R1 (best of 3 sets), R2 (best of 3 sets), QF, (best of 3 sets), SF (best of 5 sets), F (best of 7 sets)


Grade Three Events
Premier Championship (shot clock), 14xPlayers Championship Tournaments, Players Championship Finals

Ranking points:
Premier Championship will feature half the points awarded for a Grade Two event. The Players Championship will have quarter.

Formats:
Premier Championship: R1(11), R2(13), QF(13), SF(15), F(17)
Players Championship: Group Stages (5), QF (7), SF (9), F(11)
Players Championship finals: QF(9), SF(11), F(15)

Quirks:
Premier Championship: Will have a 25 second shot clock
Players Championship: 14 events. Two will commence at the same time. The top 16 are split evenly and randomly prior to each pair of Player events, as well as the 16 qualifiers. 4 Wild Cards from the host nation will also take part. 4 groups of 5, with the top two advancing. The top 8 points earners from Players Championship events will advance to the finals in Macau.

Players Championship venues:
Canada, USA, Brazil, Northern Ireland, Holland, Belgium, Czech Republic, Poland, Germany, Russia, Malta, Dubai, Macau, Australia, Portugal

Grade Four Events (non-ranking, outside of the Masters)
Six Reds World Championship, Sprint Snooker, Premier League, Challenge Cup, World Doubles

Six Reds: Will feature 96 players between professional and amateur, and a sets format.
Sprint Snooker: Shot clock, six reds
Premier League: Shot clock, 8 players, matches on Wednesdays as well as Thursdays, each match best of 8 frames (matches end when someone has won 5 or 8 frames have been played). 3 points for a win, 1 for a draw. Semi-finals best-of-11, Final best-of-17
Challenge Cup: The FA Cup of snooker. Spread out over a few months, with matches played at free weekends. Open to amateurs and professionals, random draw.
World Doubles: 16 pairings. Players to decide their partner between themselves.

Re: If I were Barry Hearn: the final draft

Postby GJ

excellent layout would work well

<cool>

ps

the shot clock is :bs:

Re: If I were Barry Hearn: the final draft

Postby Smart

thetubberlad wrote:After numerous drafts, I think this is about as good a tour as I could come up with:

Major Tournaments
World Championship, UK Championship, The Masters, World Matchplay, Grand Prix

Ranking points
The World Championship 3 times as much as much as a Grade Two event
The UK Championship 2 times as much as a Grade Two event
The Masters will carry no ranking points
World Matchplay & Grand Prix 1.5 times as much as Grade Two event

Formats
World Championship: R1(19), R2(25), QF(25), SF(33), F(35)
UK Championship: R1(17), R2(17), QF(17), SF(19), F(31)
Masters: R1(11), R2(11), QF(11), SF(17), F(19)
World Matchplay (win by two, unless max number played): R1(9, max13), R2(9, max13), QF(9, max 13), SF(11, max 15), F(17, max 21)
Grand Prix: R1(9), R2(9), R3(9), QF(11), SF(17), F(19)

Venues
World Championship: The Crucible
UK Championship: Guild Hall
Masters: Wembley
World Matchplay: Beijing
Grand Prix: Hexagon

Quirks:
World Championship: Same as it ever was
UK Championship: Extended semi-final to best of 19 frames, Final extended to best of 31)
Masters: Extended semi-final to best of 17 frames. Reduced to 16 players, top 14 in the provisional rankings, a wild-card and a qualifier.
World Matchplay: Matches are win by two frames, unless the maximum number of frames has been played.
Grand Prix: 64 players, open draw all the way through.


Grade Two Events
Irish Masters, International Open (Manchester), Scottish Open, British Open (Wales), Shanghai Masters, European Open (Berlin)

Formats: All will hold the standard format for a ranking tournament nowadays, besides the British Open.

Quirks:
The British Open will feature a sets format. Each set is best of three frames.
R1 (best of 3 sets), R2 (best of 3 sets), QF, (best of 3 sets), SF (best of 5 sets), F (best of 7 sets)


Grade Three Events
Premier Championship (shot clock), 14xPlayers Championship Tournaments, Players Championship Finals

Ranking points:
Premier Championship will feature half the points awarded for a Grade Two event. The Players Championship will have quarter.

Formats:
Premier Championship: R1(11), R2(13), QF(13), SF(15), F(17)
Players Championship: Group Stages (5), QF (7), SF (9), F(11)
Players Championship finals: QF(9), SF(11), F(15)

Quirks:
Premier Championship: Will have a 25 second shot clock
Players Championship: 14 events. Two will commence at the same time. The top 16 are split evenly and randomly prior to each pair of Player events, as well as the 16 qualifiers. 4 Wild Cards from the host nation will also take part. 4 groups of 5, with the top two advancing. The top 8 points earners from Players Championship events will advance to the finals in Macau.

Players Championship venues:
Canada, USA, Brazil, Northern Ireland, Holland, Belgium, Czech Republic, Poland, Germany, Russia, Malta, Dubai, Macau, Australia, Portugal

Grade Four Events (non-ranking, outside of the Masters)
Six Reds World Championship, Sprint Snooker, Premier League, Challenge Cup, World Doubles

Six Reds: Will feature 96 players between professional and amateur, and a sets format.
Sprint Snooker: Shot clock, six reds
Premier League: Shot clock, 8 players, matches on Wednesdays as well as Thursdays, each match best of 8 frames (matches end when someone has won 5 or 8 frames have been played). 3 points for a win, 1 for a draw. Semi-finals best-of-11, Final best-of-17
Challenge Cup: The FA Cup of snooker. Spread out over a few months, with matches played at free weekends. Open to amateurs and professionals, random draw.
World Doubles: 16 pairings. Players to decide their partner between themselves.


can't leave on this note <ok>

In no particular order:

Doubles - yes, but need a sponsor

Hexagon - yes, but is the venue still viable

Matchplay - yes, but can China fund a proper BIG tourney (WSA part fund a lot of the China "investment")

UK (Guild Hall) - yes, its spiritual home - stop this merry go round and Telford is a shit-hole (by all accounts)

Masters - over-rated IMHO, cool but over-rated.

Re: If I were Barry Hearn: the final draft

Postby Tubberlad

Yes, there's a few questions that will need answering. But thanks for the summary Smart. And I agree the Masters is a tad overated. I love it, but I could never figure out how some people put it ahead of the UK in importance. Still a cracking tourney though.

Re: If I were Barry Hearn: the final draft

Postby Alex0paul

Here is my calendar of I would love to see (Although I can't see it myself)

June

MR
Players Championship Event 1, Beijing
Players Championship Event 2, Melbourne
Players Championship Event 3, Sydney (6 red)

NR
Jiangsu Classic, Wuxi Stadium

July

MR
Players Championship Event 4, Hong Kong
Players Championship Event 5, Rio Di Janerio (6 red)
Players Championship Event 6, Cape Town (6 red)

NR
Beijing International Challenge, Beijing
General Cup, Hong Kong
English Open, Northern Snooker Centre Leeds

August

R
Shanghai Masters Qualifers, Pontins Prestatyn
Grand Prix Qualifiers, Pontins Prestatyn
German Open Qualifiers, Pontins Prestatyn

MR
Players Championship Event 7, London
Players Championship Event 8, Essex (6 red)
Players Championship Event 9, Warsaw

NR
World Cup
Paul Hunter Classic, Furth
World Series Event 1, Poland

September

R
Shanghai Masters, Grand Stage Shanghai

MR
Players Championship Event 10, Shanghai (6 Red)
Players Championship Event 11, Cardiff

NR
World Series Event 2, Belgium
Masters Qualifying, EISS
Premier League Snooker

October

R
Grand Prix, Kelvin Hall Glasgow
German Open, Berlin

MR
Players Championship Event 12, Glasgow (Shot Clock)
Players Championship Event 13, Munich

NR
World Series Event 3, Germany
Premier League Snooker

November

R
UK Championships Qualifying, EISS
Welsh Open Qualifiers, Pontins Prestatyn
China Open Qualifiers, Pontins Prestatyn

MR
Players Championship Event 14, Brussels (Shot Clock)
Players Championship Event 15, Prague

NR
European Masters, Belgium
Premier League Snooker

December

R
UK Championships, Telford International Centre

MR
Players Championship Event 16, Leicester
Players Championship Event 17, Dublin

NR
Pot Black Cup
Premier League Snooker

January

R
Thailand Masters Qualifiers, Pontins Prestatyn

MR
Players Championship Event 18, Birmingham (6 red)
Players Championship Event 19, Edinburgh (6 red)
Players Championship Event 20, Algave

NR
The Masters, Wembley Arena
Grand Slam Snooker Qualifiers, Regional Clubs around the Country
Championship League

Febraury

R
Welsh Open, Newport Centre
World Championships Qualifying, EISS

MR
Players Championship Event 21, Moscow
Players Championship Event 22, Belfast
Players Championship Event 23, Amsterdam

NR
World Series Event 4, Russia (6 red)
World Series Event 5, Czech Republic
Championship League

March

R
China Open, Beijing University
Thailand Masters, Thailand (Shot clock)
World Championship Qualifers, EISS

MR
Players Championship Event 24, Thailand
Players Championship Event 25, Sheffield

NR
Grand Slam Snooker, Plymouth Pavillions (6 red upto semis)

April

R
Players Championship, London
World Championship, Crucible Theatre Sheffield

May

R

Wildcard Playoff, Pontins Prestatyn

NR
World Series Event 6, Portugal (6 red)
World Series Grand Final, Holland
Championship League


Format
Shanghai Masters Best of 9 upto quarters then best of 11, best of 19 for semis and final
Grand Prix Best of 9 upto quarters then best of 11, best of 17 for semis and final
German Open Best of 7 upto the last 16, then best of 9, 11 and 15 for remainder
UK Championships Best of 17 upto the final. Final best of 21
Welsh Open Best of 7 upto the last 16, then best of 9, 11 and 15 for remainder
China Open Best of 9 upto quarters then best of 11, best of 17 for semis and final
Thailand Masters Best of 7 upto the last 16, then best of 9, 11 and 15 for remainder
Players Championship Best of 3 Sets for last 16, Best of 5 Sets for Quarters and Semis, Best of 17 for final
World Championship Best of 19, 25, 25, 33, 35 as usual

Ranking Points
World Championships x2
UK Championships x1.5
Shanghai Masters, Grand Prix, China Open x1
German Open, Welsh Open, Thailand Masters x0.75

Players Championships
Players must play in minimum of 10 events
Top 16 qualify for the finals
Ranking points given in brackets of 17-32, 33-48, 49-64, 65-80, 81-the rest
Open to all players
Highest Amateur recieves main tour card
Last 16 onwards based on UK Championship points
Ranking Points for each Event based on x0.25

And breathe....

Re: If I were Barry Hearn: the final draft

Postby JohnFromLondonTown

I was just replying to this & posted my reply & I get logged out? Fix Snooker solider.

In a nutshell, tubberlad, your right. Looks perfect. Alex0paul, love your geographical places to play. Make it a holiday my friend.

What stands out from the positives is, who is going to pick up the bill, cover the costs I mean, if revenue at the moment is not matching it? I know Barry Hearn, who has always started off small in any of his business ventures, had a look, & grown what he could has the money to 'pony up' as they say. Steve Davis? One of our games greats, being a perfect example. What's Steve's input? Loads I'd say. Steve's Money? I hope so, genuine. Ranking points is covered, but costs need to be considered for lower ranked players, looking at your tour & that lower ranked players will have to consistently have to play to accumulate them.

I can't see it being that Global at the moment, but I can see it happening.

Your ideas & outlook are great. I hope your proved right. Consider revenue would be my advice.

Re: If I were Barry Hearn: the final draft

Postby Smart

Do people see growing the game only happening by dint of gimmickry (6-red)......?

What interest is their in Rio, Cape Town etc for cue sports - let alone snooker (in a bastardised format).

I'm not rubbishing your formats cos you have both gone into great detail but is their appetite for a truly global audience. <ok>

Re: If I were Barry Hearn: the final draft

Postby Wildey

ive not read it all yet but i like your idea with the masters and so simple to do ..

and it would give extra importance for players to have a good start of the season to try and get a spot at the masters instead of knowing they are there.

it is time for a shake up but that does not mean shot clocks,6 reds or best of crappy 5s. theres things that can be made to jazz it up without changing the sport.

Re: If I were Barry Hearn: the final draft

Postby Casey

Tubber, I like the formats playing best of 11 Q/F's and best of 17 semi finals, I bet the players would prefer that also. Well you know I am not a fan of shot clock ranking events, I don't mind non-ranking like it is at the minute. That format has its place and its there right now.

Ranking events in places like Ireland and Germany are a must, snooker needs to be broadened to other countries and Germany has been touted as a hot bed in recent years.

Alexopaul, you are a fan of the World series <ok> its excellent to promote snooker worldwide, although to make it work more top players would need to commit to the events regularly

Re: If I were Barry Hearn: the final draft

Postby Wildey

Rolling Rankings is the way forward however the more tournaments we have the harder it is to do that and on your calenders its a bit compact.

because Snooker is not played at custom made snooker venues getting access to venues is a problem.

ideally there should be a venue with 16 Tables so they play a Round in the morning starting at 10 am and another Round in the Evening at 7pm so they get 2 qualifying Round played in a day in best of 9s or 1 qualifying round done and dusted in a day in the UK or WC and only a few days before the tournament proper starts so that way you could get a Rolling Ranking system up and running plus increase the tournaments on the circuit.

Re: If I were Barry Hearn: the final draft

Postby Smart

case_master wc wrote:Ranking events in places like Ireland and Germany are a must, snooker needs to be broadened to other countries and Germany has been touted as a hot bed in recent years.



could not agree more - these 2 locations are where Hearn should focus development. <ok>

Re: If I were Barry Hearn: the final draft

Postby KrazeeEyezKilla

This is mine. It's not very exciting but I'm only coming up with it as I type it. I based it on the PDC Tour that Hearn runs.

Majors:

World Championship
The Masters
UK Championship

The only changes are that the UK Championship will return to Preston and the Masters Semi-Finals will be best-of 17.

Ranking Events:

Grand Prix - Held in the Midlands or South of England. Best of 11 with best of 17 semi's and best of 19 Final.
China Open - Same as Grand Prix.
Shanghai Masters - Best of 9 with best of 11 semi's and best of 17 Final.
Jiangsu Classic - Same as Shanghai Masters.
Players Championship - Held in Cardiff. Top 32 Ranked players from the Players Championship.

Invitational Events:

European Masters - Held in Berlin. Top 10 Ranked Players plus two qualifiers. One qualifier comes from a European only qualifier. Best of 11 with best of 17 Final.
Asian Classic - Held in Thailand. Top 8 plus top two Asians outside the top 8. Two wildcards/qualifiers.
Nations Cup - Held in Macao.

If the Euopean event is a success than a Ranking event in Germany will be added. The invitational event will then move around Europe.

Players Championship:

Matches will be best of 7 with a best of 9 Semi-Finals and Best of 11 Final. They will be held in

Ireland
Scotland
Belgium
Germany
Czech Republic
Malta
China x2
Hong Kong
England x3

The Players Championship will have it's own Rankings which will determine Qualifiers for every event other than the World Championships. For example the UK Championship will have the Top 16 plus the 16 highest ranked in the players championship who aren't in the main Top 16. For Chinese events the Top 2-4 Ranked Asians will also qualify. The Main Ranking are based on results in the last year and the points will be similar to the Prize Money given.

Re: If I were Barry Hearn: the final draft

Postby Tubberlad

First of all, I thank all of you for your input to this article. It's great to see that the feedback has been very positive.

John: Yes, you are 100% right to bring up finances, and it's perhaps something I forgot to mention. I don't expect a tour like this right away, and as you say, Hearn and Davis have got to put together a solid foundation for this to work. This is a tour I'm hoping for in the next few years <ok>