Snooker World Championship 2025

Xhavenjoe said:
True enough but when Ray Reardon and Terry Griffiths were around there was a lot of good younger players putting up decent competition to them.
There seems to be no challenge to the current "old boys" apart from the Chinese lads. Maybe snooker is no longer popular with the young lads and there afe very few pool tables in bars anymore.
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Youngest top 16 player from the UK is 33, before long there wont be anyone left.
 
Xhavenjoe said:
True enough but when Ray Reardon and Terry Griffiths were around there was a lot of good younger players putting up decent competition to them.
There seems to be no challenge to the current "old boys" apart from the Chinese lads. Maybe snooker is no longer popular with the young lads and there afe very few pool tables in bars anymore.
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Yeah it definitely doesn’t have the same up and coming player base it used to have for lots of reasons. I do get slightly irritated at players like Ronnie when they criticise that though.
 
It seems to me to the culture of snooker has changed.

When you hear the likes of Henrdy and O'Sullivan talk about their teenage years, they were in old style snooker halls doing exhibitions against pro's and what not. It must have been very exciting to be a young lad who is very good at snooker and be in those environments


Now it seems like its more based around snooker academies. Maybe it seems like more of a chore and less fun for young players than it did back then when those lot were coming through.

But ultimately, like any sport like that, you need characters and there's nobody young coming through that a young kid could really relate to. It's either robotic young Chinese lads, the odd British player in their 30s with no charisma and then a bunch of middle aged fellas still knocking about in the latter stages of tournament about 35 years after they turned pro.

I really enjoy Snooker, mainly because I used to knock about a snooker hall with my mates after school, but I guess if I was a 12 year old now, id find it very hard to get interested.
 
mexico1970 said:
Or maybe Ronnie was right when he said that the up and coming players weren't up to much so haven't been able to knock the old guard off their perches?
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Ronnie being Ronnie has recently said players from the past would struggle now because the standard is so good. Everyone has a good safety game, can pot long balls and can score once they’re amongst the balls better than ever before. The bloke is a walking contradiction.
 
mexico1970 said:
Snooker needs its Luke Littler but doesn't look like it will get it. Worse thing about snooker is that when the popularity really drops off the facilities close and then it cascades to a quick death.
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Yep and look in the audience you'll be lucky if you see half dozen people under 25 young people can't be bothered sitting there watching a session a couple of hours!
 
Crooked_rain said:
It seems to me to the culture of snooker has changed.

When you hear the likes of Henrdy and O'Sullivan talk about their teenage years, they were in old style snooker halls doing exhibitions against pro's and what not. It must have been very exciting to be a young lad who is very good at snooker and be in those environments


Now it seems like its more based around snooker academies. Maybe it seems like more of a chore and less fun for young players than it did back then when those lot were coming through.

But ultimately, like any sport like that, you need characters and there's nobody young coming through that a young kid could really relate to. It's either robotic young Chinese lads, the odd British player in their 30s with no charisma and then a bunch of middle aged fellas still knocking about in the latter stages of tournament about 35 years after they turned pro.

I really enjoy Snooker, mainly because I used to knock about a snooker hall with my mates after school, but I guess if I was a 12 year old now, id find it very hard to get interested.
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The world is on a crusade to destroy character and charisma.
More Biden, Less Trump (Ignoring the politics).

You get what you pay for.
 
Crooked_rain said:
It seems to me to the culture of snooker has changed.

When you hear the likes of Henrdy and O'Sullivan talk about their teenage years, they were in old style snooker halls doing exhibitions against pro's and what not. It must have been very exciting to be a young lad who is very good at snooker and be in those environments


Now it seems like its more based around snooker academies. Maybe it seems like more of a chore and less fun for young players than it did back then when those lot were coming through.

But ultimately, like any sport like that, you need characters and there's nobody young coming through that a young kid could really relate to. It's either robotic young Chinese lads, the odd British player in their 30s with no charisma and then a bunch of middle aged fellas still knocking about in the latter stages of tournament about 35 years after they turned pro.

I really enjoy Snooker, mainly because I used to knock about a snooker hall with my mates after school, but I guess if I was a 12 year old now, id find it very hard to get interested.
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You take away the working class youth element and you're left with nothing, it's a soulless game now with little to no redeeming factors.

I love playing the game but today where are the inspirational players of the young un's generation to cajole them into wanting a career in a dying passtime?
 
Crooked_rain said:
But ultimately, like any sport like that, you need characters and there's nobody young coming through that a young kid could really relate to. It's either robotic young Chinese lads, the odd British player in their 30s with no charisma and then a bunch of middle aged fellas still knocking about in the latter stages of tournament about 35 years after they turned pro.

I really enjoy Snooker, mainly because I used to knock about a snooker hall with my mates after school, but I guess if I was a 12 year old now, id find it very hard to get interested.
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They should learn to enjoy the actual sport rather than needing a clown to entertain them, Snooker players like all sportsmen didn't sign up to be 'charismatic' and to entertain - they signed up to win, try and be the best and earn a living. Its unfair that in individual sports it's constantly about who we like as a person rather than the ability they have.
 
I was thinking about visiting the Crucible this year but it's a must next year now.

In a few years time when Higgins, Williams, ROS etc have retired then it's going to have a very different feel to the event.

To be honest I wouldn't be surprised if one of them or more weren't there next year. So I might have missed the boat already.
 
Crooked_rain said:
It seems to me to the culture of snooker has changed.

When you hear the likes of Henrdy and O'Sullivan talk about their teenage years, they were in old style snooker halls doing exhibitions against pro's and what not. It must have been very exciting to be a young lad who is very good at snooker and be in those environments


Now it seems like its more based around snooker academies. Maybe it seems like more of a chore and less fun for young players than it did back then when those lot were coming through.

But ultimately, like any sport like that, you need characters and there's nobody young coming through that a young kid could really relate to. It's either robotic young Chinese lads, the odd British player in their 30s with no charisma and then a bunch of middle aged fellas still knocking about in the latter stages of tournament about 35 years after they turned pro.

I really enjoy Snooker, mainly because I used to knock about a snooker hall with my mates after school, but I guess if I was a 12 year old now, id find it very hard to get interested.
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Good post.when I was a teenager in the nineties there was 5 snooker clubs in the Stockport area,I would spend all my time playing at the crucible in Stockport,now the only club left is hazel grove.no kids wanna play anymore.
 
O Sullivan all over the shop
Can’t be changing from titanium ferrules back to brass
Tbh I don’t even know why he was using a titanium ferrule in the first place!
 
BlueHammer85 said:
He looks hanging! few beers in the sun last night i reckon.
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Told you he’d get comfortably beaten. Was obvious the first person to play well against him would beat him easily. Luck of the draw got him this far. Never beating a top player with no long game.
 
Ronnie getting a dicking, here. Thing with these young players now, they don’t seem emotional so hard to see them crack under pressure and allowing themselves to lose 7/8 frames on the bounce.

Ronnie’s pride should kick in soon, though.
 
skillman said:
Ronnie getting a dicking, here. Thing with these young players now, they don’t seem emotional so hard to see them crack under pressure and allowing themselves to lose 7/8 frames on the bounce.

Ronnie’s pride should kick in soon, though.
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He's pride might kick in but will his ability?

He hasn't played that well all tournament expect in little bursts. He's had a pretty favourable draw up to this point and always looked like he would struggle when the calibre of opponent goes up. Xintong is no joke.

Of course with O'Sullivan, you always fancy him to produce a session where he dominates, he's done it so many times. I'm just not sure he has it in him against a good opponent, when I look at how he's played this tournament.

He hasn't played competitive snooker in months and it shows. Once upon a time he was brilliant enough for that not to matter. Is he still?
 
skillman said:
Ronnie getting a dicking, here. Thing with these young players now, they don’t seem emotional so hard to see them crack under pressure and allowing themselves to lose 7/8 frames on the bounce.

Ronnie’s pride should kick in soon, though.
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Sadly, Ronnie is gone and will retire after this world championship, but what a player this young lad is and should win it by a mile this year
 
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