Blog
There was an interesting radio debate about the State of Snooker on BBC 5 Live this week. I was due to take part but, unfortunately, I was left hanging on the telephone as they ran out of time because of the tennis headlines (Andy Murray’s first-round win at Wimbledon).
There were lots of valid points made and, to the most extent, I agreed with Steve Davis. But also fair play to Lee Doyle for representing the WPBSA.
I really cannot understand how, or why, we do not have more tournaments during the season, or why there are so few sponsors for the events we do have. There is certainly still enough interest in snooker as a sport – that is confirmed by the fact that the viewing figures for this year’s World Championships were far greater than the amount of people who tuned in to watch Murray become the first Brit to win at Queens in 70-odd years. And tennis is supposed to be a sport with greater appeal than snooker!
I take part in quite a few exhibitions in Europe, and the audiences we get absolutely love their snooker. The last couple I’ve done have been in Germany and, when you consider that it’s usually just four or five of us pros taking part, the amount of people who come to watch is fantastic. Imagine what it would be like if we had a full ranking tournament, or even a minor one, over there – the demand is certainly there. And not just in Germany either, countries like Poland and the Czech Republic are snooker mad!
I’m sure it would take off across Europe, much the same way as it has in China. In my opinion, it would certainly make more sense to tap into Europe than have another tournament somewhere like Bahrain, where there is clearly little interest in the sport. Even though I could not take part in last season’s event, I know that audiences were less than spectacular. It proved to be a non-winner.
I know the global recession is bound to have an impact on the lack of sponsors for tournaments, but why do the WPBSA find it so difficult? I remember Sir Rodney Walker talking to me a while back, he had all these ideas and plans for the future and was really positive, but none of them have come to fruition. Until I see them in black and white, only then will I accept things are being done to improve the situation. But, as far as I’m aware, none of next season’s tournaments have a sponsor, apart from the World Championships.
This talk of there not being any more characters doesn’t wash with me either. There are plenty of characters today, it’s just that we don’t see it as much out on the table because there is so much more at stake than, say, 20 years ago.
The likes of Ray Reardon, Alex Higgins, Jimmy White, Willie Thorne and Dennis Taylor were all known as characters and used to enjoy a laugh when they were at the table.
But in their heyday, there were only a handful of players capable of winning the big tournaments, so they could go out there and relax and enjoy it more. These days, we are playing for our careers and we have to try so hard, because the standard is so much higher and because there are so many more players capable of winning.
Mark King is one of the funniest guys I know, but you don’t see that when he’s on the table because he is trying so hard to win. It’s not easy to be funny when there’s so much at stake.
*It’s the world eight-ball pool championships in Blackpool next week, a tournament I was delighted to win in 2006.
As a previous champion, I was invited to take part this year. But as I only get a few weeks off, I decided it was better for me to put down my cue completely and have a proper break.
I will be keeping my eye out for Gareth Potts. He’s won it the last two years and we occasionally practise together. If he gets to the latter stages, I might go up and support him.
So many people play pool it surprises me that it doesn’t get more coverage. I think it is another sport which has issues over the people who are running it.
Even when Sky televise the world championships they don’t air it until several months after the event. That is a great shame and I think they’re really missing a trick.
