by fridge46 » 06 Mar 2015 Read
I like the idea of a World Cup. In fact, I think it was the old Nations Cup that actually got me interested in Snooker. I still remember watching some of the 2000 edition in the waiting room of Specsavers!! (yes, I had an appointment, I didnt just wonder in to watch it lol)
The format would have to change however.
I saw every little of the last World Cup in 2011 - only like 30 minutes in the morning before I had to leave. And I wasnt not overly impressed. From what I saw, players were not playing to win the frame - rather playing not to lose; very defensive snooker. That is the issue with 1 frame match ups. Additionally the double matches took way too long. Both players had discussions before every shot to decided where one player wanted the other play to position the ball for his shot.
I can understand why Hearn wants teams of 3 - brings in more players. But outside of 7 nations (England, Scotland, Ireland, N Ireland, Wales, China, Thailand), the rest would not have strong enough teams to challenge. 2 per team works for the likes of Malta, Australia, Hong Kong, Belgium as it is possible to win a tie with just 1 good player.
How I format each match:
- Teams of 2.
- Each match up involves 5 games - 2 singles, doubles, 2 reverse singles.
- Each game is best-of-3 frames.
(alright there might be some late finishes for evening sessions, but playing a maximum of 15 frames is no different to World Grand Prix evening sessions where a potential 14 frames will be played. Just cut down on time wastage between match ups and you could even eliminate the mid-session interval!!)
- Doubles is alternate visits, not alternate shots. Should make the frames progress quicker
As for total number of teams 20 like 2011 might work (4 groups of 5 followed by QF, SF & F):
- Australia, China, England, India, Ireland, Malta, N Ireland, Scotland, Thailand, Wales (10 - all have at least 2 "Pro" players)
- Belgium, Brazil, Germany, Hong Kong, Iran (5 - have 1 Pro player)
As for the final 5... have qualifiers? Europe and Asia have "amateur" team events, so we could have something like: 2 Europe, 2 Asia, 1 Africa/Americas/Oceania.
[/dream]