SnookerFan wrote:What do commentators mean when they say a player played a shot too well? They only say it when a player makes a mistake.
Maybe I should ask Eurosport.
Usually it’s a shot that would ordinarily need almost as much spin as possible, or power as possible (or a combination of both) to reach the target ball positionally. Because these shots require an extreme application of spin/power, often a player will overcompensate in spin/power, going beyond or on a more extreme line to the already extreme intended line.
Because of this, they’ve in effect done everything right (as much juice on the white as possible to actually make the shot) which is worthy in itself, so rather than saying it’s not good enough, commentators tend to say it’s ‘too good’, or words to that effect.
It’s a fair way of calling it. It’s an acknowledgement that they have the capability to get (more than) the required work on the white in the first place, rather than a player failing to apply the spin/power and falling out of position due to lack of the skill required to do so.