Post a reply

Buying Snooker tickets

Postby SnookerFan

Am I the only one who is getting a bit peeved about the fact that there always seems to be some issue when it comes to buying tickets for snooker nowadays? The rolling ranking system meant that we have to wait to find who was playing what matches at the UK and The Masters. For me personally, I usually attend the first rounds, so at the UK it doesn't matter too much. You get a choice of where you sit, and choose between four matches. But it might have made a difference to those buying tickets for the later stages who was on what side of the draw. The Masters wasn't too bad, as the matches were announced in October, months in advance. But The Crucible will be a pain, if the matches aren't announced until after the Welsh Open. That's going to annoy a lot of people, surely. And discourage people from buying. Now they sell tickets for The Masters and don't know whether there are Wild Card rounds or not. Advertising matches you don't know when they start is sloppy.

I know the sport is changing, and things will be done differently, but I do believe at the heart of every decision made by Barry Hearn and by World Snooker is the fact we're changing because the sport needs new fans. If the changes that we make increase the amount of sponsors, new tournaments made or prize money, but the fans stop watching, then the changes have been a failure. And having a lot of things going that might encourage people not to buy, or to wait before they do, surely isn't a step in the right direction.

Or am I alone in feeling this way? Maybe I see this too much as somebody who buys tickets regularly.

Re: Buying Snooker tickets

Postby Wildey

so what do you want go back to boring old rankings for the season because it helps in getting tickets ???? in other sports Rankings are changed after every tournaments.

Wimbledon Seeding and Draw isnt announce until a week before it starts. this is 2010 we got to move with the times you wait longer before baying tickets or you take pot luck.

when Wimbledon Centre Court Tickets are bought nobody knows who playing there until day before you go there.

Re: Buying Snooker tickets

Postby SnookerFan

wildJONESEYE wrote:so what do you want go back to boring old rankings for the season because it helps in getting tickets ???? in other sports Rankings are changed after every tournaments.

Wimbledon Seeding and Draw isnt announce until a week before it starts. this is 2010 we got to move with the times you wait longer before baying tickets or you take pot luck.

when Wimbledon Centre Court Tickets are bought nobody knows who playing there until day before you go there.


Snooker isn't tennis. Tennis has worldwide appeal, though buck knows why. It's such a mind numbingly dull sport. To try and pretend that snooker has the fanbase of tennis, we are going to fail. Hearn says he wants snooker to be the same, we all do. But we have to start from where we are, not pretend we are comparable as a sport.

But, I get off the point. We are talking about rolling ranking. If anything, they weren't something I campaigned for beforehand. If anything I had no opinion on it. Except for the farcical suggestions that we have a ranking event every month and change it after event. That would be a nighmare to administrate.

I appreciate though that this is a big issue, and an issue that a lot of people that are hardcore fans do want. So in essence the changes are going to be made. But to announce the matches/draw for The Crucible scant weeks before seems folly to me. It's the one event that probably needs zero change. I don't see how at the end of Feburary having very few seats sold for it is an improvement. Especially for those of us who don't book travel/accomodation until our tickets are booked. What I'm more advocating is, if there has to be an update in the rankings over the season, does there have to be one so close to The World Championships. Can't we have one after the UK and that be it for the season? Maybe make The Masters a few weeks later to accomodate this? And certainly bring about changes in the rankings whereby what a player did a couple of years ago has any bearing on their rankings today.

And it's not just about rolling rankings. Selling tickets for The Masters several months before you've decided what times the matches start, surely can't be beneficial and can't be spun to be a benefit?

Re: Buying Snooker tickets

Postby Wildey

sorry but fans will have to accept it, it makes snooker Better it makes Snooker more Exciting that you dont know whats Happening until last minute.....I Really Dont get your Problem on it...yes it makes buying Tickets tad harder but Really if you get Tickets to the Semi Finals or Final you got no clue who will be playing anyway So fans will have to get in to that mindset from First Day.

Re: Buying Snooker tickets

Postby Wildey

snookerfan

i do understand where your coming from.

I Live in wales 3 hours in a car from sheffield id like to know who will be playing however being there far outweighs whos playing for me ive tried last 2 years to get tickets and cant on days i wanted to go and could go. im not going this year due to other financial concerns ive had recently Having had to change my car Last week etc.

but the Sport had to change that Ranking System it made the sport Old Fashioned and not Current enough we as fans has to Work Round that for the best of the Sport.

Re: Buying Snooker tickets

Postby Bourne

wildJONESEYE wrote:so what do you want go back to boring old rankings for the season because it helps in getting tickets ???? in other sports Rankings are changed after every tournaments.

Wimbledon Seeding and Draw isnt announce until a week before it starts. this is 2010 we got to move with the times you wait longer before baying tickets or you take pot luck.

when Wimbledon Centre Court Tickets are bought nobody knows who playing there until day before you go there.

Spot on, snooker can learn a lot from tennis on a lot of levels.

Re: Buying Snooker tickets

Postby Casey

Bourne wrote:
wildJONESEYE wrote:so what do you want go back to boring old rankings for the season because it helps in getting tickets ???? in other sports Rankings are changed after every tournaments.

Wimbledon Seeding and Draw isnt announce until a week before it starts. this is 2010 we got to move with the times you wait longer before baying tickets or you take pot luck.

when Wimbledon Centre Court Tickets are bought nobody knows who playing there until day before you go there.

Spot on, snooker can learn a lot from tennis on a lot of levels.


Maybe tennis will lend us the coolest man in sport for a few week, good PR. :)

Re: Buying Snooker tickets

Postby SnookerFan

wildJONESEYE wrote:I Really Dont get your Problem on it...



wildJONESEYE wrote:snookerfan
i do understand where your coming from.


I am glad we have you to bring clarity. <laugh>

Point is, saying us fans have to work round it to make the sport better is one thing. But the problem of small attendances to matches still exists. Even if we are prepared to make sacrifices when it comes to things, can we expect new fans or the fans that we are trying to aim the product at be so tolerant.

I'm not against rolling ranking systems. I just feel we should remember what the main problem is. And I believe making ticket buying "a tad difficult" won't easy these problems.

Re: Buying Snooker tickets

Postby Wildey

how will it add to small atendance for matches ?

if Ding Plays Fergal and Ronnie plays Harold people will get second Round Tickets thinking Ronnie will play Ding so they could be lumbered with Fergal v Harold tie.

the problem you highlight is for first rounders but theres 2 months from end of Welsh to World either you wait to get tickets and hope there will be and if there wont be any then that means the Arena is sold out so either way the sport wins.

Re: Buying Snooker tickets

Postby SnookerFan

wildJONESEYE wrote:how will it add to small atendance for matches ?

if Ding Plays Fergal and Ronnie plays Harold people will get second Round Tickets thinking Ronnie will play Ding so they could be lumbered with Fergal v Harold tie.

the problem you highlight is for first rounders but theres 2 months from end of Welsh to World either you wait to get tickets and hope there will be and if there wont be any then that means the Arena is sold out so either way the sport wins.


2 months assuming World Snooker gets it's bottom in gear and doesn't announce the matches 3 and a half weeks after it says it does.... rofl

Hopefully you're right, and I am just whinging because I like to plan my Crucible journey months in advance, due to travel and accomodation. I just don't like the way it's panned out for Crucible tickets, and seen other snooker fans have the same attitude. I do feel a bit aggrieved however that those of us that have been buying tickets for years are being inconvenienced, but if it works out for the best for the sport, of course I'll be happy.

What really gets me, I guess, is that all snooker fans aren't chomping at the bit to buy as many tickets as possible. rofl But that's another issue.

Re: Buying Snooker tickets

Postby Wildey

yes you are a serial ticket buyer and you like your routines of getting them id probably be the same regarding other tournaments if i was going however with the World Championship i dont care who i see...1st round at the crucible is probably my favorite round of the season theres a party atmosphere until the serious business of best of 25 start.

Re: Buying Snooker tickets

Postby SnookerFan

wildJONESEYE wrote:yes you are a serial ticket buyer and you like your routines of getting them id probably be the same regarding other tournaments if i was going however with the World Championship i dont care who i see...1st round at the crucible is probably my favorite round of the season theres a party atmosphere until the serious business of best of 25 start.


To an extent I agree. One year I picked a Peter Ebdon match at The Crucible and was watching Steve Davis vs John Parrot when Ronnie O'Sullivan vs Ding Junhui was on the other table. <laugh> At The Crucible it only makes a small difference, if at all. Though one year I brought tickets to see John Higgins, and he ended up drawing Matthew Stevens as the qualifier. I was :ba: Then one year I asked for Stephen Hendry tickets, and the first session I got Graeme Dott tickets instead. I was more like this. :wild2: Then I found out Hendry was to play Williams and Dott was to play Barry Hawkins and I was more like :wild2: :wild2: :wild2: :wild2: I ended up getting tickets off of some dodgy Second Hand Tickets website to see the first session of the Hendry match at three times the price. <laugh>

My one issue is I don't really want to see Ronnie live. Unless he is particularly playing a John Higgins or a Mark Selby type. Somebody that might win. I have seen Ronnie live but that's usually with friends who wanted to see him, in finals because he made the final or in Premier League events which are convenient for me to watch. If I brought tickets blind at the match ended up being Ronnie vs Qualifier, I'd be pretty snake hissed off.

Re: Buying Snooker tickets

Postby Wildey

well yes i think with Rolling Rankings things like draws and formats and administration of the selling part of the WSA has to be sharp and on the money .

i question are they up to it.

The revised Closing date for EPTC4 at SWA was friday Tickets are on sale and yet no draw these things has to be slick and sharp now and they not.

Re: Buying Snooker tickets

Postby NedB-H

SnookerFan wrote:
wildJONESEYE wrote:yes you are a serial ticket buyer and you like your routines of getting them id probably be the same regarding other tournaments if i was going however with the World Championship i dont care who i see...1st round at the crucible is probably my favorite round of the season theres a party atmosphere until the serious business of best of 25 start.


To an extent I agree. One year I picked a Peter Ebdon match at The Crucible and was watching Steve Davis vs John Parrot when Ronnie O'Sullivan vs Ding Junhui was on the other table. <laugh> At The Crucible it only makes a small difference, if at all. Though one year I brought tickets to see John Higgins, and he ended up drawing Matthew Stevens as the qualifier. I was :ba: Then one year I asked for Stephen Hendry tickets, and the first session I got Graeme Dott tickets instead. I was more like this. :wild2: Then I found out Hendry was to play Williams and Dott was to play Barry Hawkins and I was more like :wild2: :wild2: :wild2: :wild2: I ended up getting tickets off of some dodgy Second Hand Tickets website to see the first session of the Hendry match at three times the price. <laugh>

My one issue is I don't really want to see Ronnie live. Unless he is particularly playing a John Higgins or a Mark Selby type. Somebody that might win. I have seen Ronnie live but that's usually with friends who wanted to see him, in finals because he made the final or in Premier League events which are convenient for me to watch. If I brought tickets blind at the match ended up being Ronnie vs Qualifier, I'd be pretty snake hissed off.

The Ronnie-Fu first round match from 99 or whenever it was would've been worth seeing :redneck:


I see your point though, with the example wild gives, if Ronnie and Ding both lost and you got Fergal-Harold, you'd just think it wasn't your week. But if you buy the tickets blind and it turns out your second round match will be the winner of King-Burnett v the winner of Carter-Dunn, it'll be :zzz: whatever

Re: Buying Snooker tickets

Postby SnookerFan

NedB-H wrote:The Ronnie-Fu first round match from 99 or whenever it was would've been worth seeing :redneck:


I see your point though, with the example wild gives, if Ronnie and Ding both lost and you got Fergal-Harold, you'd just think it wasn't your week. But if you buy the tickets blind and it turns out your second round match will be the winner of King-Burnett v the winner of Carter-Dunn, it'll be :zzz: whatever


Just not a Ronnie fan I'd rather watch King-Burnett live, if I'm honest, then see Ronnie. But the subject of whether we like Ronnie or not seems to come up in almost every thread, so lets turn it back onto the subject.

Personally, I make a habit of going to first round matches. I've been to the odd semi-final at The Masters because I live in London and it's on a Saturday, and went to The Crucible Final once just to say I'd done it. But generally I end up going to first round matches. It's always baffled me as to why people don't. I can understand people going to finals, don't get me wrong, but I don't see why the first rounds sell so poorly. They are the cheapest tickets, and you get to choose who you see play. Which is why I'm so :mood: about this now not being true.