Holden Chinaski wrote:I'm definitely not saying those are all that matter. I'm saying just because the term 'Triple Crown' is relatively new, it doesn't mean they weren't top priority for most players long before the term was invented. Hendry seems to think these tournaments were top priority when he was playing. Also, if you look at the Twitter accounts of most top players, the Triple Crown titles seem to be the only ones they think are worth mentioning in their bio's. Also Ronnie recently said he uses Triple Crown titles to judge if a player is 'great'.
Yeah my comment was more a response to LC’s idea that the TCs are the benchmark for greatness. They might have been the priority in the past but it seems they weren’t elevated as highly above other tournaments as they are these days. I’m sure if tournaments like the Classic were still going they would closely follow, if not necessarily in quite the same league. (Apart from the Worlds, of course). But they’re not still going. The TCs are.
This is why despite what some people say, the history of a tournament matters. The Tour Championship for example is a tremendous tournament but it can’t be considered a true major until it has a wealth of history behind it, and if it disappears from the calendar in a few years’ time it will merely be a footnote. Hell, the Welsh Open should by rights be up there among the most significant tournaments on tour. It has almost a quarter of a century of history but sadly hasn’t had the format, prize money or player recognition that lends itself to that. I also think it’s been somewhat ‘watered down’ by being amalgamated into the Home Nations after being its own tournament for so long.
That’s why when I talk about the Champion of Champions being considered a factor in player greatness in years to come I always temper that with “if it stays on the calendar”. It needs that history behind it to get close to TC levels of importance.
I’d love to see what would happen if Eurosport or another broadcaster took sole coverage of say the Masters away from the BBC.