World Snooker Championships

digipeep

digipeep

digipeep

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I looked at the first round draw this week and from 32 people taking part 28 are British, 2 are Chinese, one is from Hong Kong the other Australian. Hardly a World Championship.

I play snooker best break I've had is 72, I actually prefer pool which will probably answer my question.

Why don't other countries play snooker? Is it because it is actually a much harder game than pool? Or maybe it just takes longer to play than pool, and people from other countries can't bothered with snooker?
 
My best break is 37 :/

It's not exactly our fault if players from other countries aren't good enough to qualify. If you look at the sport's official rankings you'll find players from other far eastern countries, France, India, and I believe there are some from Scandinavia (well, last time I looked there was, that was a few months ago).

Snooker is a LOT harder to play. If you look at the world 9-ball championships, 128 enter and a LOT of those are asians and americans.
 
Dazza is right, it's hardly the Brits' fault if the other countries don't have as many snooker players.

What do you suggest, the "UK, Asia, and Australian Snooker Championships"? :p
 
The Asians seem to be getting into snooker more and do enjoy watching it, they just haven't caught up skill-wise yet. But yeah it's always been very British dominated but that's not our fault, it's called the world championships because it's open to anyone who wants to try win. I've only got a highest break of 51, would love a 72 lol
 
The Chinese have more people playing snooker on an evening than the rest of the world put together. Can't remember the exact number but it's in the millions. Once they get a few big names playing and winning trophies they'll dominate the sport. Doubt it will happen for a few years but it will happen eventually.
 
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I think they have an audience of 100 million people - just under 10% of the population - who watched the China Open. There is talk of this Crucible contest moving to China after 2010.
 
My highest break is 139 and i can tell you this game is extremely hard to play to begin with, and when you get good you then find it hard to find the games coz no one wants to play you! Even once you have built up the experience and tactical nous, unlike pool, if you are not playing 4 times + a week you lose your potting edge.

I played through school and made some money when studying business studies. I didn't need a job until i was 18. When i started my career, i couldn't play so much. Again, unlike pool, if i cant play regularly enough to keep up my standard i would rather not play at all. That said, watching the world champs does give me the urge to stop down my local club.

Owning noobs at pool with ****ty cues wasted at the bottom of cabot for pints on a Saturday night is about it for me now. My Maple E.J Riley diamond and John Parris Ultimate Cue have been aging away in the closet of my parents house for quite a while now.
 
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139sroberts said:
My highest break is 139 and i can tell you this game is extremely hard to play to begin with, and when you get good you then find it hard to find the games coz no one wants to play you! Even once you have built up the experience and tactical nous, unlike pool, if you are not playing 4 times + a week you lose your potting edge.
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I'm thinking of getting a new cue soon and playing several times a week, I really want to get better at it. 139 is seriously good, well done!
 
el_dazza said:
I'm thinking of getting a new cue soon and playing several times a week, I really want to get better at it. 139 is seriously good, well done!
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139 is a fantastic break.

If you're thinking of getting a new cue, for the love of god don't go to a generic sports shop and get a 'Jimmy white endorsed' type of cue for £20. Find your local specialist and if they are like the one near me they'll have a table set up where you can spend hours there testing various cues and find the one you like, if you find one cue is the right weight but the tip is too large they will knock it down for you.
You don't have to break the bank, £40-50 can get you a reasonable one with a case and maybe a mini-extension. After all you may use it for years and years if you find the right cue and the more comfortable you are the more likely you will improve.
 
I play snooker quite a bit and for people that are interested in giving snooker some serious thought, and want to have a good go at the game, get yourself a decent bit of wood. I would highly recommend Tony Wilshaw cues if you live near Stoke-on-Trent. Mine has helped me to make over 200 tons and a 147 over the past 12 months that i have had it. You need talent to a certain extent but if the equipment is not right then it will be even harder to improve as i have learnt over the years playing with a bad cue before this. Pity i am **** in competition:mad:
 
Screwback said:
I play snooker quite a bit and for people that are interested in giving snooker some serious thought, and want to have a good go at the game, get yourself a decent bit of wood. I would highly recommend Tony Wilshaw cues if you live near Stoke-on-Trent. Mine has helped me to make over 200 tons and a 147 over the past 12 months that i have had it. You need talent to a certain extent but if the equipment is not right then it will be even harder to improve as i have learnt over the years playing with a bad cue before this. Pity i am **** in competition:mad:
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Very nice. I'll definately look into a decent cue. I agree, you need talent to an extent, but I'm no mug with a cue, I know what I'm doing :D
 
Well after the way he has been performing my bet on Stephen Hendry to win is starting to look pretty decent :p

Got him about a month prior to the tournament at 66/1 and put him EW @ £2.50 :) He played some terrific stuff against Ding and hopefully he can carry on this form until the end of the tournament.

Though huge shock when Ronnie went out :eek: Well done to Mark Allen though he is looking to be a very promising youngster.
 
el_dazza said:
66/1?! Good god, that's a superb price. Bookies seem to think he's going down the route of Davis/White/Parrott etc - getting worse with age. He's no slouch!

He's 9/10/11-1 now ;)
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Indeed :D when I seen it I had £2.50 in my account and thought, why the hell not! Murphy was in great form though despite all his off the table troubles so it will be interesting to see how he performs against Hendry. Hendry will need to play like he did versus Ding tbh and I hope he can.
 
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