I won’t claim to be a big fan of snooker, but do like watching some on the telly.
The good points [imho] are that unlike many [ male dominated ] sports, it is a relatively calm and peaceful spectator event, with virtually no gob-shouty commentating, and very little rowdy crowd cheering.There is something relaxing, and pleasing about seeing those balls getting potted.
And more importantly, i do respect the skill and calm reserve [ bottle ] of the guys who compete.
Today i’m watching the Masters Snooker, and presently: Mark Williams [ vs Neil Robertson ] who is a Welsh boyo so i like to see him win, plus he has the most marvelous good natured humorous temperament.
Yes, good to watch but I play too and that isn’t quite so good for the nerves…but still fun - and not quite as male dominated as you might think. I’ve seen some good female snooker players at the clubs I’ve used. I agree about the talent, it may not be as physical as many sports but the same ingredients needed at the top level in many ways.
All of which means there aren’t many players I can’t admire - but I’d like to see Kyren Wilson do well.
I used to play a lot but a serious accident years ago put a stop to that so I’m only an armchair fan now.
I was a Higgins fan (Alex not John) then White and now it’s only Ronnie that floats my boat, and I think he’s in the best form of his career and he will win the Masters no problem.
Hanumike, sorry to hear you can’t play anymore. Were you any good?
A very long time ago, i worked for a large corporation that had a communal ‘games room’ for colleagues to enjoy. It had a very good full size snooker table. Sometimes i’d get asked to play a friendly game [probably because i was easy to beat] and it would be an enjoyable time knocking those balls around, i was a bit rubbish but never got the chance to practice enough. I didn’t own my own cue, had to use the slightly warped one in the rack, but at least i didn’t rip the green cloth like Inspector Clouseau did in the Pink Panther film
A picture of my snooker room with full size table. My uncle taught me to play snooker in a Northern working man’s club. I was never very good (max break 55 - many years ago), but enjoyed knocking the balls around for relaxation or a game with friends. You can see the Linn Keilidhs at the back (either side of the football table) at the other end of the room. My (then) Naim kit was behind the door.
A max break of 55 sounds pretty good in my book. I never had my own table (I’m very envious of your snooker room - always been an ambition of mine but never managed it) , but when I used to play some 35 years or so ago the best I could muster was the mid to high 40s. I used to be pretty decent at potting, but hopeless when it came to cue ball control and position. Nowadays, I suspect I’d be struggling to put together a 20+ break, but still enjoy a very occasional game of American pool.
The highlight of my snooker life was probably when Steve Davis turned up at my club (The ‘Steve Davis’ club in Edinburgh) in his limo with a number plate of “THE147S” to practice for a match with Steven Hendry. At the time, he was just about at his peak with Hendry an up and coming rival. Davis just practised on his own, but turned out to be a really nice and unassuming guy.
A little distracting for my mates and myself when we were trying to concentrate on our own game at a nearby table.
I’m sure if Steve Davis put his mind to it, he would still be stiff competition for the young and middling pros out there.
Recently Steve has put his mind to DJing and has built quite a reputation as an awesome mixer with spot on cueing - no pun intended.
I used to play and was pretty good at one time (a few centuries), but retired now.
It is hard to ever see past Ronnie to win, if his head is right, which it seems to be much more often now.
Almost everything has improved, particularly the playing conditions, heated slates - no more damp cloth etc.
The playing standard is very high, good referees…
The quality of the picture on modern 4K TV is superb
The only thing which spoils viewing for me, and quite a few of my snooker pals, is the commentators.
It seems they are paid by the word, continually talking, even when the player is playing a shot. One or two of them do not appear to know which end of the table is which i.e. top or bottom.
Perhaps it is to do with the ‘ear pieces’ people in the audience have, and presumably pay for, but to me (us) it spoils the viewing.
I now watch with the sound off, and play some music whilst it is on !
Hi Debs
Just an average club player although I did manage to amass a break of 52 one night when everything was going in.
I do miss it but I’ve had to give up a lot of things since my accident although my music and my current Naim set up still give me immense pleasure.
Really enjoy watching it on the box. Agree The Rocket is probably the best of the current crop,
I like to play and have since I first learned all those years ago but always been rubbish. Used to play billiards too a long time ago but it seems to have disappeared as a sport these days. Pool is ok but much inferior to ‘the real thing’ I reckon.
Well, not his day I agree…I’m still hopeful it will come together for him in one of the big tournaments at some point, after all it took Ding a long time to translate great skill into winning ways. On his day though JT takes some beating.
All of which (i.e. young players v old establishment) provoked another thought - has Barry Hearn/World Snooker improved things? Part of me is in the Ronnie (best player I’ve ever seen) camp, snooker wouldn’t be where it is now without the mainstream players and they shouldn’t have to travel so far so often just to get qualifying points.
Then again will any sport be able to ignore China and the far east, and isn’t breaking up things so younger players came come through better for the game?
On balance I’d go for Barry Hearn’s approach, as long as we don’t get lots of speed snooker! As the results show the big players are still doing pretty well.
When I was a young lad I was flicking through the telly channels and landed on a snooker game. A snooker player approached the table and focused intently on the balls on the table. He looked at on side then another, while he was doing this he got out his chalk and chalked his cue, he carried on looking at all sides then he decided on a course of action. He reminded me of a highly skilled surgeon viewing a complicated and sensitive situation, then taking the appropriate course. He potted the ball and the crowd reacted with vigour. I was transfixed by this magnetic personality and the rest was history. Alex Higgins got me into snooker.
I don’t have a favourite Snooker player (who is alive) but I always look forward to seeing Ronnie O’Sullivan play because he is an exciting talented and authorative player. He has matured as a player who can now tolerate all kinds of games (in the old times he would get impatient and agitated if the game played was not to his liking which was a bit of an achilles heel).
I also liked watching Mark Williams, in his glory days years ago his top snooker was sublime to watch, reminded me of a Rolls Royce or Bentley car which in performance just glides along in a sumptous style.
Favourite venue I think the Crucible (all on telly viewing).
I play snooker,a game which taxes you mentally and physically. I usually have planA, plan B and PlanC to my game. Plan A is normal game (most frequently used). Plan B is adopted when I am getting thrashed and my potting is off. This means play safe, don’t give silly chances away and start to regain confidence when getting chance to pot reasonable balls (on some occasions I have won games but more importantly it helps me to build up confidence for the rest of the match.) Then finally Plan C very rarely used. That is when my game and potting is right on the mark, I am foolishly feeling very confident and take on pots what professionals on telly would automatically ignore.
I’ve been a fan of snooker since my prep school days (Oakley Hall, Cirencester if you are wondering). I was never much good but I like the physics of the game, the skill and mental aptitude.
The crucible is hard to beat as a venue and I was a fan of Ray Reardon; nowadays Ronnie keeps amazing me.
