29.10.10

ALL SET FOR POWER SNOOKER

Good luck to all those involved in Power Snooker tomorrow.

The action starts at 1pm UK time at the O2 in London. It promises to be a glitzy, showbiz affair and, above all, a piece of entertainment rather than hard sport, although with a £35,000 first prize it’s fair to imagine that it will still be competitive.

The rules can be read here.

The players will apparently be miked up so that they can ‘interact’ with the crowd.

I’m not sure what this will entail exactly. It’s hard to imagine Ding Junhui issuing pithy bon mots but it does provide a chance to see the players in a different setting.

It’s hard to see who can reasonably be made favourite because Power Snooker is essentially a potting contest and there are some very good potters in action, namely Ding, Ronnie O’Sullivan, Shaun Murphy, Mark Selby, Neil Robertson and Ali Carter.

Jimmy White, too, is well capable of knocking them in while 15 year-old Luca Brecel will be the unknown quantity.

Whatever you think of Power Snooker – and I’m aware a lot of people have taken against it before a ball has been struck – it represents a great showcase for young Brecel, a prodigious talent from Belgium who gets to mix it with the big boys live on TV.

ITV4 will screen the action for UK viewers. Eurosport broadcast Power Snooker in Europe.

The long term plan for Power Snooker is to start a circuit of five or six events. Much will depend on how it goes this weekend.

Tickets have sold well off the back of a strong marketing campaign but the TV audience will also be a major factor.

It’s good to have ITV showing snooker, of a sorts, again after a decade away. Hopefully this will be the start of a new relationship with the broadcaster.

Matt Smith presents the coverage with reports from Ned Boulting. Commentary will come from Clive Everton and Peter Drury.

For those who'd rather watch the traditional game, there's live streaming of EPTC4 from Gloucester, details of which can be found through this link.

42 comments:

Betty Logan said...

Blimey, Matt Smith is a bit of a coup isn't it?

I think the winner will be someone clever enough to understand — someone like Mark King would really struggle I think, because there is quite a lot to mentally process. I think I'll pin my colours to the mast and go with Murphy, he's due a title.

Dave H said...

I should point out the Matt Smith in question isn't Doctor Who but the ITV Sport presenter

Anonymous said...

Look no further than the rocket

Anonymous said...

Unless I am missing something then the player who can play the game at the greatest speed should be at an advantage. On that basis, I would have to take Ronnie.

Betty Logan said...

I don't think the shotclock hands Ronnie much of an advantage these days. It isn't proving the case in the Premier League at the moment, and both Murphy and Selby have a good track record in the League in the last couple of seasons.

Anonymous said...

Betsy I love how you put MK down and he isnt even in it, yet you fail to mention "Mr Ronnie Intelligence" in your put down. Hmm

Anonymous said...

...and 1055 you have missed a lot more than just something.

engage brain and say to self

playing too fast can make you miss easy balls....

Greg P said...

Haha, someone actually thought he meant Matt Smith from Dr Who

...


cue jokes about snooker needing a time machine to go back to the 80s or something.

In any other event I'd say Robertson is the favourite because he's king of the world right now but he will struggle with the 20 second shot clock just like he does in the Premier League.

Ronnie will probably take the title. Not too sure about the mics though. Ronnie has a, er, history with mics.

Not sure about Ding either, it's bad enough watching him sulk, I don't think we need to hear him actually sob as well...

Speaking of mics, Dave I hope Im being really obvious here but you do know whats special about Monday, right? And you were gonna do a post about it? Just checking because obviously there's been 20x more stuff to write about this season compared to last, you never know you might have been too busy to notice.

jamie brannon said...

Smith, presented the 2001 World Championship for the BBC, alonside Dougie Donnelly.

Drury is a shocking selection, it was one of the issues I had last time with the snooker coverage. Plus, it is not the right balance as both he and Clive are what I would term lead commentators.

Anonymous said...

Big Break goes on tour

Dave H said...

Greg - yes and yes

Anonymous said...

Eileen Drury would have been a better choice for commentary and could have been recommended by Glenn Hoddle no less.

Janie Watkins said...

Next Live Streaming match on www.southwestsnookeracademy.com will be Igor Figueiredo from Brazil against Shaun Murphy FREE to watch

Ali said...

Can't wait.
I doubt too much should be read into ratings, though.
It's going head to head with X factor and Strictly.

Anonymous said...

Apologies for being off topic. Dave - can you confirm that they have changed the format of the World Championship and that next year there will be three sessions on the middle Sunday and only two on the Monday. Makes sense I suppose with three sessions on a non-working day.

John A

Anonymous said...

Great initiative by the authorities.

The sport needs an injection of new ideas, and as soon as we can get on a par with darts the better.

That sport is milking the sponsorship money.

Anonymous said...

I'm looking forward to this, hopefully it'll live up to the hype; in response to Jamie, last time snooker was on ITV, Drury was acutally the main commentator, so I'm not surprised he's been chosen again, but it'll be great to hear Clive Everton, aswell as his sky's commentary, he is greatly missed after the harsh treatment he received by the beeb. Hopefully this will lead to ITV getting more snooker, maybe next year's WO (if bbc has dropped it) & the PTC finals; As the sport does need a balance of broadcasters to keep viewers happy

Dave H said...

John- I know it was being discussed. That middle Sunday is always a bit of a washout.

Anonymous said...

After watching the 1st frame with Ronnie, this new game has exceeded all my expectations... the game is so fast and flowing with emphasis and scoring fast rather than being bogged down by safety.

Anonymous said...

i havent heard clive?

Anonymous said...

wish they had put youful and non boring people in commentry

everything else sexed up, but weve got 200 year old clive mumbling along

Anonymous said...

I am finding it all quite boring to be honest. Clive's commentary isn't helping I am afraid to say - he just hasn't grasped the point scoring and has made countless mistakes already:(

Still, it's the first time for everyone so hopefully it will get going a bit more later.

ali said...

i think carter has the best idea so far.
like twenty 20 cricket, you have more time than you realise. you dont have to start playing unconventionally to be succesful.

Anonymous said...

426

i dont think ali is the only one with that idea

just because it was him that said it, doesnt mean he thought it up, or is the only one realising that

ali said...

at 5.10. never realised ali has said it. that was my own observation.
anyway, its immaterial now. hes out. lol. ronnie played superb
the night time audience is more rawkus, as expected.

Anonymous said...

One day a man may take giant steps across the surface of the moon.

Anonymous said...

"little parambulation round the table"

jeez

we have sexed up and noisy fun snooker and this old fuddy duddy cant even say he went for a walk without getting marbles in his mouth.

get mark king commentating!

Betty Logan said...

I don't know how much more I can take of this chav din!

Anonymous said...

Betsy, for once I agree with you. Yet another tournament set up for Ronnie and a load of rubbish to boot!

Maza said...

SUPERB. well done everyone involved with power snooker.
thorougly enjoyable.
ronnie played superb but ding will rue that powerball miss. cost him dear.

Anonymous said...

One weord to describe Power Snooker - boring.

Anonymous said...

Betty if i were you i would shut up for a wee while, just go back and look at your past comments on this topic, embarrassing!!!!!!!!

"Blimey, Matt Smith is a bit of a coup isn't it?"

"I think I'll pin my colours to the mast and go with Murphy, he's due a title"

"I don't think the shotclock hands Ronnie much of an advantage these days"

Anonymous said...

far too gimicky.

ok for once a year, maybe at Christmas.

Its not good for snooker and i dont see it increasing regular snookers fanbase by 5%...

Good for Ronnie fans though as it is geared up for him. That may swing the biased balance on whether or not it was perceived as good.

chavvy crowd!!

kimball said...

Seems people in sweden lost interest
when the socceryobs took over.

All in all,unfocused and no edge.

Steve K said...

My videos from Power Snooker and EPTC4, enjoy! :D

http://www.youtube.com/user/MaximumSnooker

Betty Logan said...

If your idea of a successful event is bad snooker played fast with a bunch of drunken chavs creating an unholy din, then I guess Power Snooker exceeded all expectations. For me this event was the antithesis of snooker, in terms of the intricate skill involved, the respect given to the players, and the overall class of the sport. And yet another example of why a shot-clock turns snooker into a mickey mouse event: with the exception of Ronnie all the other players struggled. The rules were just plain silly, and Ronnie seemed to be in awe of being able to score 500 points but since most of those actually came from scoring something like 175 points across three frames (and the rest coming as bonus points) it doesn't really count for that much in terms of precision and skill! All in all, Power Snooker is snooker's equivalent of finding a street corner and hiking your skirt up!

ITV seemed determined to brainwash us into think it was a success with the presenter going on about how great it was at every given opportunity (with casual sexism towards the power girls thrown in for good measure), and the players going on about how great the audience was despite one of the drunks in the balcony having seemingly puked all over Ali Carter. The sport was debased yesterday, the whole thing was low and seedy. I hope its ratings were crap and Power Snooker never sees the light of day again.

It's hard to find positives amid such a train wreck, but I'll give it a go: the more informal dress code suited the players, and I know they experimented with relaxing it a few years ago but maybe time to revisit the idea; the power girls added a bit of glamour, and although the presenter leering at them at every given opportunity made me queasy, that's something else that could be incorporated into the regular game; the balcony with bar access seems like a good idea in theory, but not if it attracts all the pissheads who have been banned from England games...

Anonymous said...

Welcome to chavva land 2010. Flushing our culture down the toilet one day at a time.

Mat Wilson

Anonymous said...

Clive did a great job in my opinion. I thought Power Snooker was novel...but I am not a fan of hearing vociferous drunken chavs in the audience....

Anonymous said...

The Ronnster only needs to win Sky Shootout now to achieve brannons bastardised double.
Snooker back on ITV very welcome.

Anonymous said...

Live streaming of eptc is all very well, but not when you have to go to another site to find out the score. Ridiculous. How can you show a match with no scores?

Anonymous said...

Matt Smith clearly came back from the Tardis.
For the Ding/Murphy match he introduced Murphy as the 2010 UK Champion.

Anonymous said...

1020

if you think that making loads of mistakes, stuttering a lot, looking 100 year old, taking like a posh git...........all among what was meant to be glitzed up sexy fast and interactive snooker is succesful, then yeah, clive did well

*rolleyes*

you dont need to compliment him cos he is daves mate. daves tolerant if we are critical without being nasty.