Snooker (and other cue sports)

Touring Mars
Play at tonight's session has been halted by Just Stop Oil protestors who have wrecked one table at the Crucible and attempted to wreck the second table.

🤬 🤬 s
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I can see how an environmental group - even one putting the "mental" in "environmental" - protesting an F1 race has some sort of connection. Likewise animal rights protests at the Grand National. But... snooker? What are they against, slate mining?

(I know it's only for attention and doesn't have to make sense)

Still, at least they aren't gluing themselves to motorways for the moment.
 
Kyren Wilson has scored a 147 break in his 1st Round match... very impressive stuff :bowdown:

I've not caught much of the tournament thus far, but of the four times I've tuned in, the first was during a 146 break, the second was interrupted a few minutes in by ****s, the third was normal and the fourth was the frame before a 147...
 
Roo
I can see how an environmental group - even one putting the "mental" in "environmental" - protesting an F1 race has some sort of connection. Likewise animal rights protests at the Grand National. But... snooker? What are they against, slate mining?

(I know it's only for attention and doesn't have to make sense)

Still, at least they aren't gluing themselves to motorways for the moment.
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The snooker WCs is an easy target. Compared with other more relevant sports.

Being a World Championship and being shown live on a well watched terrestrial channel means a potentially big impact for the price of a £40 ticket. Good value for money i guess.
 
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Incredible stuff at the semi-final between Brecel and Si.

Si was 14-5 up, but now Brecel has won 9 frames in a row to level the score at 14-14. Unreal.

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Brilliant stuff from both players... Brecel went 16-14 ahead, and only needed one more frame, but Si pulled out a great break to bring it back to 16-15. Brecel then led 44-0 in the 32nd frame but missed an easy pot to let Si back in - but Brecel clinched it and won the match 17-15, after being 14-5 down... the biggest comeback in Crucible history.

Should be an epic final...
 
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@Sureboss Moving this to this thread :)

I couldn't wait to try out my new billiard balls so I signed up at my local snooker hall (don't know why I haven't done so before now, but never mind...) and hired a table to myself to practice for 2 hours...

I forgot how tiring it is to play snooker - I am exhausted :lol:

I played a frame of snooker to myself, and then had a shot at billiards. I reverted to playing practice shots from the black spot, and I do feel like I've made an improvement. I then played a bit more snooker, but ended up playing practice shots there too, before using the rest of the time to play a match of billiard against myself (I won :D).

Highlights: I managed a 5-ball break of 15 at snooker (1-5-1-7-1) and just missed a black for 22. Billiards: I managed a 15 break there too, and a few pots right near the end were my best shots of the day. I played a couple of great in-off shots from the D with the red on the spot too.

Lowlight: I had a straight shot on a red right over the pocket at snooker and followed it in with the cue ball despite trying to play some stun. Ironically, I had a near identical shot at billiards (where I wanted the white to follow it in this time...) only for the white to stay out, despite playing some top spin :rolleyes:

Still, my legendary skill at potting the white at snooker and pool is going to come in very handy at billiards. I'm going to play there every week if I can, and hopefully I can rope at least one of my mates in to playing billiards too.

Edit: I was really happy that my first shot with my new billiard ball was a pot, and then my first 'proper' shot (i e. not a break off) with the cue ball was also a score (a cannon)...
 
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@Touring Mars

Re: lowlight. It's quite a common technical issue for a player to strike the cueball in a different place to where they aimed. Play around with how close your bridge hand is to the cueball, most players have it too far away which hurts accuracy.
 
I played my mate at snooker at lunchtime again this week, and although it was fun, I'm genuinely quite disappointed at myself for how badly I played. I lost our first game 41-11, having only scored 7 points myself in the whole frame. My potting was absolutely abysmal, but my mate was playing quite well and thoroughly deserved the win.

Our second game, however, was a bit better for me - my mate started to miss some easy shots, though I wasn't doing much better, at least I was getting a decent number of reds, and potted a nice black. I was leading as we headed into the colours, but he found his form and potted green to pink to win the game. So that's two weeks in a row with no wins :(

One small consolation - we played a game of billiards and he enjoyed it, and at least I won my first game with my new billiard balls. We only played to 30 but we both got some nice combo shots in - I even managed to score 7 points in a single shot, 5 of them on purpose...

Next time, I suggested that we take 10-15 mins of potting practice before we start a game, as going straight into a game is quite difficult for beginners, but I was rather hoping that my practice on Monday might have helped a bit - however it clearly didn't. Ho hum.

Unfortunately the snooker hall closes on Friday next week, and that will be that for the summer - but I think my mate will be up for coming to the snooker club with me, albeit at much higher prices.
 
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Respect to all Snooker and English Billiards players. Coming from a US spec 4.5x9 I’ve never played on a 6x12 snooker table, but imagine the table and pocket sizes are brutal. 😬
 
I had an hour of practice to myself in my lunch hour today and, once again, I was potting much better than I can manage in an actual game.

The stop-start, one shot at a time nature of a frame of snooker is not great for a beginner, because it never gives you the chance to practice and adjust your shots - practicing alone is so much more valuable.

That said, I was missing a lot of shots off the black spot - success rate is probably still lower than 50%, but I was managing two or three consecutive pots by the end, and I was certainly better than when I started.

Golden rule for me: there's no such thing as a gimme in snooker; no matter how easy it looks, it's still missable.
 
My mate told me that he is playing snooker with some friends tonight, ahead of our crucial decider games tomorrow, so I decided to go back to the snooker hall at lunch time today and get a little more practice in. Again, I was blowing hot and cold, but I do think I am improving...

First exercise - set up a red midway between pink and black, then play consecutive shots on the red and black... I managed to pot 9 out of my 10 first shots, so I was really happy with that!!

Second exercise - red between black and pink again, this time place the white slightly further away and try potting the red at a slight angle into the corner pockets from both sides of the table. I missed loads of these :( This is what I call a 'bread and butter' shot - it looks like the easiest pot there is, but it's really quite hard and depends on the distance between the white and the red.

Final exercise - colours. I repeatedly missed the yellow yesterday, but today I got it on my second try, same with green, Then I managed to pot the remaining colours first time (not as a continuous break, however), but I was pretty happy with that given they were all fairly mid-difficulty.

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I think my major issue is with aiming - I've tried adjusting my aim by aiming for a point on the back of the pocket, instead of aiming for the hole - sounds silly, but it seems to work. I'm also trying not to switch my focus between the cue ball, object ball and the hole - a few of my better shots I was just looking at the white while playing the shot; feels a bit weird, but I reckon that I need to pick my aim, set up the line, and then just focus on a clean shot and trust that I have the angle/aim correct; it seems to be delivering more pots than when I'm looking all over the place....

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Snooker is a lot more tiring that I remember it being - after just one hour, I felt like I'd been at the gym :lol:
 
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@Touring Mars

Aiming is a big thing. You should be looking at the point on the object ball you're aiming at when you strike the cue ball.

Generally my sequence is.
  • Before down on the shot, decide what I'm playing and where I want to hit on the object ball.
  • Get down to the table and "address" the cue ball (ie, look at the cue ball) and then look at where I'm potting it to.
  • Now look at the object ball, do a couple of feathers.
  • Before my final feather I look back at the cue ball to check I'm still striking it where I want to.
  • Strike the cue ball.

There's lots of different ways of doing this, fundamentally:

1) Don't move your head when looking at different things
2) Keep the chin on your cue to help you strike the cueball where you were aiming

Head movement is the biggest issue with aiming.

Most importantly, it's a very tough game, so keep at it and find what works for you.
 
Sureboss
@Touring Mars

Aiming is a big thing. You should be looking at the point on the object ball you're aiming at when you strike the cue ball.

Generally my sequence is.
  • Before down on the shot, decide what I'm playing and where I want to hit on the object ball.
  • Get down to the table and "address" the cue ball (ie, look at the cue ball) and then look at where I'm potting it to.
  • Now look at the object ball, do a couple of feathers.
  • Before my final feather I look back at the cue ball to check I'm still striking it where I want to.
  • Strike the cue ball.

There's lots of different ways of doing this, fundamentally:

1) Don't move your head when looking at different things
2) Keep the chin on your cue to help you strike the cueball where you were aiming

Head movement is the biggest issue with aiming.

Most importantly, it's a very tough game, so keep at it and find what works for you.
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Thanks for the tips :D I'll be putting my practice to the test tomorrow!

I do feel that looking at the white to take the shot feels wrong, and I do tend to focus on the object ball mostly. I'm finding that the distance between the cue ball and the object ball makes a big difference right now, and even shots that look totally straightforward require a lot of practice - practice that isn't generally available during an actual game.

I joined my local snooker club and so once the snooker hall at work closes (on Friday, until September :( ), I'll ask my workmate if he's up for going there instead, albeit at more than double the price. We are pretty much the same level at the moment - though he has been at a higher level before, so I expect him to improve faster than me, but it would be great if we both improve roughly in step with each other.
 
Played for two hours (long lunch!) today and it was great, albeit still quite frustrating at times.

I bought a cue last night, and today was my first try with it. It seems OK, but my first frame was pretty poor to say the least.

I won the second frame, albeit after a disastrous in-off the black, and so we played a decider - I'm glad to say I won that, and this time it was a bit more convincing... I was playing quite good safety as well as making more pots, including one really tricky one to get a pink.

So, of our 4 mini-matches, the scores are:

1. Mars 2 - Liao 0
2. Mars 0 - Liao 2
3. Mars 0 - Liao 2
4. Mars 2 - Liao 1

Liao won all of his frames consecutively, so I needed to stop the rot - fortunately, my potting technique has improved, though I still need a tonne of practice. Next week we may go to a private club as sadly the University snooker hall closes for three months tomorrow...
 
I had the day off today so I went to a local snooker hall for a practice.

It's only the 2nd time I've been, and the first since joining as a member. I played a half hour of practice shots, and 1 hour of English billiards using my own billiard balls.

I had a great time, and really enjoyed it. But imagine my surprise when they called me tonight (as my phone number is on their books now)... they said that there's a tear in the cloth on the table I played at, and no-one else had played on that table since I did at 2.10-3.40 pm.

I was quite shocked, and immediately suspicious - but, as sheer chance would have it, I actually took a photo of the table 8 minutes into my session (I actually started at 2.12 pm), and it is detailed enough that you can actually see a tear in the cloth right infront of the middle pocket.

I've sent the photo to them and they are "checking their CCTV", but I'm glad that I have time-stamped evidence to show that the tear was there just 6 minutes into my session.

Still, the guy who called me was less than friendly and strongly implied that he thought I was responsible for the damage, which would likely cost hundreds of pounds to repair (I've seen somewhere charging £825 to recover a table...)

I can see why they are checking, but it seems somewhat crazy to believe that a member whose details are on record at the club would deliberately damage a table.

I'll see what they say when (or if) they get back to me, but the chances are I won't be going back there in a hurry.

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Well... after an hour of back and forth on WhatsApp, the owner of the club flat out accused me of damaging the table. He sent me a picture showing a 1 inch triangular tear in the cloth, but he refused to tell me at what time the damage was reported.

Frankly, he's taking me for an idiot.

He called me at 9.11pm, a full 5 and a half hours after I left the club, to say that there's damage on the table and that no-one else had used the table between me and the people who reported the damage. He sent me a picture of the table, and it's clearly being used as we speak - a bit odd if the baise is ripped, but never mind.

You can clearly see on one of the pics he's sent that there are three lines on the ripped section, which looks very like someone has ripped it with a clumsy shot with a cue tip.

My guess - someone he knows has ripped the cloth tonight and he remembered putting me on the table alone earlier in the day, and is trying to get me to pay for the repair.

He threatened to report me to the police for property damage, and I told him I will speak to a lawyer. He then said 'forget it' and that was it.

What a total ****.
 
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I've since blocked the guy from my phone and I'm never setting foot in that club again. Pity, as I was planning to go there regularly from now on.

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On a lighter note, the University snooker club is open again and so me and my mate spent our lunch break there and I won 2-0.

We both played pretty poorly, but I was potting better and took a big lead in both games, only to get pegged back by some pretty silly fouls and some really bad luck. However, my mate had even worse luck and had a string of fouls in the first frame (two on the black and one on the pink :lol:), and a horribly unlucky foul in the second - the black and blue were over the middle pocket and he potted an excellent red, only for the white to stick tight on the top cushion - however, he played a great shot to cut the black into the middle pocket. Bizarelly, however, the white then richoched off the neighboring blue and followed the black into the pocket. I mean, you could try to do that on purpose 1000 times and still not manage it. That was a 14-pt swing that pretty much won me the frame.

Both games actually came down to the last three balls - I won 56-29 and 56-39, and got the highest break of 14, our only 4-ball break of the day :lol:
 
It turns out that the young guy I saw at the snooker club actually played in the World Championship this year. He didn't make it past the first round, and his opponent didn't make it past the second round, but the guy who won the second round game actually made it to the Crucible.

The World Championship consists of 5 televised rounds, but there is infact 4 rounds before this. This kid (Liam Graham) lost his first round match 10-9, agonisingly close to making it into round 2 and a £5000 payout. The fifth round is the first televised round, as the televised portion is basically the last 32, consisting of the top 16 seeds plus 16 qualifiers. Reach Round 1 at the Crucible and you're guaranteed a £20k paycheck.

That said, the skill level required to get any payout at all is phenomenally high. In fact, only 144 players take part, and the bottom-ranked players basically have to been a top 110 ranked player (world ranking!) just to make it into Round 2; a top 80 ranked player to make it into Round 3, and then in Round 3 and 4 you can face anyone up to the top 16, inlcuding several former world champions.
 
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I played my mate again today, and we're now even on 3-3 since we restarted playing after the summer closure of the snooker hall.

I was in fact 3-0 up, but the last 3 frames we've played, he has been on fire.

Today he got a 5-ball, 15 pt break and in the next frame, a very impressive 6-ball, 19pt break. In contrast, I was having an absolute nightmare. In the second frame, I potted only 2 reds, and went in-off with one of them :ouch:

In fact, I think I only potted one red-colour combo - on my first visit to the table. But from that bright start, I've not had a worse session of snooker in my life. Time for some practice.
 
That club owner is just trying it on. If it's a perfectly right angled tear then a decent table fitter can stitch it back up. Cloths have gone up quite a bit lately, but 825 sounds about 100 high, if not more.
 
My mate rushed through from his office to mine to tell me that there was a possible maximum happening at the Masters :lol:

Lucky he was watching the snooker 😅
 
Another 147 at the Masters, and an incredible break - probably the best I've ever seen.

Ding's earlier in the week wasn't too shabby either.

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Meanwhile, Ronnie has complained about the venue - Alexandra Palace in London. I have to agree, the place is a dump.

Flies and wasps are all over the place - the referee even had to remove a fly from the table during Mark Allen's 147 break FFS.

But the thing that irks me the most is the ridiculous background noise at the venue - there is no sound-proofing between the arena and the rest of the hall, so you can hear every door slamming every time someone goes out of the main hall. At times it sounds like someone is moving house - for a sport that relies on silence, it's a total embarrassment - and the both issues (insect infestation and noise) have been happening for the last few years, and yet it is worse than ever.
 
O'Sullivan v Carter in today's final.

Frame 3 and the referee has already had to remove a fly - from the cue ball... 😅


Election 2020 Fly GIF by CBS News


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Ali Carter is looking very solid.

In contrast, Ronnie is blowing hot and cold - his usual brilliant self when he is in among the balls, but there's a strong suspicion from the BBC team (including five former World Champions) that he isn't taking this match seriously. He is clearly taking more risks than usual.
 
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Touring Mars
In contrast, Ronnie is blowing hot and cold - his usual brilliant self when he is in among the balls, but there's a strong suspicion from the BBC team (including five former World Champions) that he isn't taking this match seriously. He is clearly taking more risks than usual.
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I watched an interview with him before the match started and he was saying how he wasn't really bothered about winning it. Seems like an odd thing to say, but if he can go into a match with that attitude when his opponent really wants to win it, then he has a psychologicial advantage over them before they even start playing. Turns out that for him at least it was the right frame of mind.

Watched the game up until the mid way break, it looked pretty even at that point. Seems like Carter just didn't turn up after that.
 
TheCracker
I watched an interview with him before the match started and he was saying how he wasn't really bothered about winning it. Seems like an odd thing to say, but if he can go into a match with that attitude when his opponent really wants to win it, then he has a psychologicial advantage over them before they even start playing. Turns out that for him at least it was the right frame of mind.

Watched the game up until the mid way break, it looked pretty even at that point. Seems like Carter just didn't turn up after that.
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Just how Ronnie handles himself. He does it pretty often.

Ronnie's longevity is incredible, he's 48. Stephen Hendry was 30 when he won his last Triple Crown event...
 
Quite incredible final frame in the opening session between Wilson and Bingham this lunchtime.

Wilson was trailing 6-2 after several mistakes, but was 60-0 up in Frame 9 with perfect position on the black and relatively easy reds, of which he only needed one more to win the frame, but he missed an easy black and let Bingham back in. Bingham played beautifully to clear the table with a 63 break, with perfect position on the black to take a 5 frame lead into this evening's session - and he missed it :ouch: Wilson then potted a gimme black and goes into tonight only 3 frames down, but Bingham will be absolutely kicking himself.

It looks like they are playing to a new format this year, with a 9-frame first session.
 

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