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SELBY EXCITED BY FUTURE UNDER HEARN

Postby Monique

http://www.sportinglife.com/snooker/new ... Selby.html
Showman Mark Selby believes Barry Hearn's Midas touch could multiply the wealth of snooker's elite players.
But Selby suspects Hearn's involvement will make it vitally important to be ranked inside the world's top 16, because he anticipates the new snooker supremo will attempt to build up the sport around its top talent pool.
Selby has been blown away by the impact Hearn has made since replacing Sir Rodney Walker as chairman of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association in December.
Hearn has already brought in big new sponsorship deals for a sport which had been struggling to attract substantial corporate backing.
And the plan for a massive expansion next season, with Hearn boldly talking about putting more than 20 tournaments on the calendar, has excited many.
Hearn is expected to put his defined proposals to the players tomorrow, and will expect a positive response, although some low-ranked players might raise concerns.
The Essex-based promoter has rejuvenated darts as a spectator sport since taking a majority stake in the Professional Darts Corporation nine years ago.
Asked whether he could make a fortune on the back of Hearn's snooker involvement, reigning Masters champion Selby told Press Association Sport: "Fingers crossed, yes.
"With the Masters, he'd only been in charge for two or three weeks and he got a sponsor for that, and then with the Welsh Open he found a sponsor for that too, so things like that show what he's all about.
"He just seems to be able to pick the phone up, click his fingers, and everything seems to come to him.
"I'd like to be involved in his plans for the future years. I think you need to maintain your position in the elite top 16 because most of the tournaments he does, if he does invitational tournaments, he'll only take the odd few, the top 16 players probably, so if you're not in that you'll miss out on a few things."
Hearn has decades of experience in sports promotion and was behind the launch of snooker's Matchroom League in 1987, which continues to this day under its current Premier League banner.
The 61-year-old has vowed, quite seriously, to run a dictatorship at the WPBSA, and is expected to walk away from the governing body if his blueprint for the future is rejected.
Selby trusts the chairman to put the right strategy in place.
"He's with the times," world number seven Selby said.
"With the darts he seems to jazz it up and make it a bit more exciting, which is what it's all about nowadays.
"Times have moved on and things have changed.
"Snooker is obviously a gentlemen's sport, and as far as playing goes I don't think you need to go too far with changes, but what he does before the start of matches and after frames is neither here nor there really."
Selby, 26, who reached the World Championship final in 2007 and has won two of the last three Masters titles at Wembley, is awaiting the finalised Hearn manifesto as keenly as anyone.
The Leicester cueman explained: "As far as the snooker players are concerned, we're excited to learn what he's going to come out with."

Re: SELBY EXCITED BY FUTURE UNDER HEARN

Postby Roland

It's tomorrow we get to hear what the blueprint is isn't it?

Selby is right of course. And what Hearn did with darts was to keep the same game but change the things around the game but not the game itself and naturally there's nothing wrong with that approach. Changes to the actual game is what the fans object to most.

Re: SELBY EXCITED BY FUTURE UNDER HEARN

Postby Rocket_ron

hearn will look after the players best interests and im sure they will earn double if not treble what they earn now, what concerns me is that them outside the top 16 wont be helped as much. and its them rank 17-48 that need the most help imho.

Re: SELBY EXCITED BY FUTURE UNDER HEARN

Postby The Cueist

All players will be better off under Hearn as he is a driven man and has commercial nouse.Has the right contacts as well. ;)

48 pro players is enough people for whsat is available right now. :ahh:
Has done more in a few months than nearly five years of Rodney Walker. <laugh> Says it all really. <cool>

Re: SELBY EXCITED BY FUTURE UNDER HEARN

Postby Casey

The Cueist wrote:All players will be better off under Hearn as he is a driven man and has commercial nouse.Has the right contacts as well. ;)

48 pro players is enough people for whsat is available right now. :ahh:
Has done more in a few months than nearly five years of Rodney Walker. <laugh> Says it all really. <cool>


Well Walker did negotiate snookers biggest ever broadcasting deal and as a result the game is seen in millions of homes that had no previous access ;)

Re: SELBY EXCITED BY FUTURE UNDER HEARN

Postby Wildey

The Cueist wrote:All players will be better off under Hearn as he is a driven man and has commercial nouse.Has the right contacts as well. ;)

48 pro players is enough people for whsat is available right now. :ahh:
Has done more in a few months than nearly five years of Rodney Walker. <laugh> Says it all really. <cool>


they will be better off under hearn however i tend to have a long term plan in mind and giving todays players a x amount of money without the goal of bringing on younger players will not be enough. im interested to see what his blue print is and ill comment on it then hopefully he will deliver what i don't expect from him.

the feeling i get from todays players is me me me if the likes of Rex Williams and players of the past thought like that there would never have been a tour to play on today.

Re: SELBY EXCITED BY FUTURE UNDER HEARN

Postby Rocket_ron

The Cueist wrote:All players will be better off under Hearn as he is a driven man and has commercial nouse.Has the right contacts as well. ;)

48 pro players is enough people for whsat is available right now. :ahh:
Has done more in a few months than nearly five years of Rodney Walker. <laugh> Says it all really. <cool>

couldn't agree more there buddy, 48 tour players is fine, with the money saved from getting rid of 40 -50 players they can put it back into snooker

Re: SELBY EXCITED BY FUTURE UNDER HEARN

Postby Wildey

rocket_ron wrote:
The Cueist wrote:All players will be better off under Hearn as he is a driven man and has commercial nouse.Has the right contacts as well. ;)

48 pro players is enough people for whsat is available right now. :ahh:
Has done more in a few months than nearly five years of Rodney Walker. <laugh> Says it all really. <cool>

couldn't agree more there buddy, 48 tour players is fine, with the money saved from getting rid of 40 -50 players they can put it back into snooker


wrong

how do you suggest young players can get on tour then ??

because those 40 or 50 journeymen will be blocking them by grinding their way on a second tour,

Re: SELBY EXCITED BY FUTURE UNDER HEARN

Postby Rocket_ron

wildJONESEYE wrote:
rocket_ron wrote:
The Cueist wrote:All players will be better off under Hearn as he is a driven man and has commercial nouse.Has the right contacts as well. ;)

48 pro players is enough people for whsat is available right now. :ahh:
Has done more in a few months than nearly five years of Rodney Walker. <laugh> Says it all really. <cool>

couldn't agree more there buddy, 48 tour players is fine, with the money saved from getting rid of 40 -50 players they can put it back into snooker


wrong

how do you suggest young players can get on tour then ??

because those 40 or 50 journeymen will be blocking them by grinding their way on a second tour,

wild cards? :huh2:
young players prove themselves and earn a wild card onto the tour

Re: SELBY EXCITED BY FUTURE UNDER HEARN

Postby Wildey

Jimmy White and Tony Drago will be having the wild cards leaving young players nowhere to go.

Re: SELBY EXCITED BY FUTURE UNDER HEARN

Postby The Cueist

wildJONESEYE wrote:Jimmy White and Tony Drago will be having the wild cards leaving young players nowhere to go.


Is it because these two is crowd pullers ;)

Yet again,Hearn using every marketing tool available.

He knows keeping Jimmy Whites name is good investment with the snooker public,A shrewd man.

New players will come and grass roots set ups will follow,Need to get the untended pitch sorted out before the grass roots grow thick and fast,Then there will bw more opportunities and capacity for greater things in the future.

Under Barry Hearns clever stewardship,This will happen. :ahh:

Re: SELBY EXCITED BY FUTURE UNDER HEARN

Postby Roland

The future is certainly not wildcards. You can't run a professional sport and expect those trying their hardest to gain a place on tour to accept someone else or a committee hand picking who they want. Imagine the bitterness of those not picked especially if they have a good record against those picked. It'll never work and it'll never happen.


   

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