2021 World Championships

[Starsky]

I think another reason for there being so few good players in their 20s nowadays is the struggle the professional game went through under the Walker administration. For a teenager deciding whether to fully commit to pursuing a professional career in snooker, things were pretty bleak at the time. The number of ranking events dropped below ten, and apart from the three or four biggest ones, they had a similar prize fund as the Gibraltar Open has today, and that's seen as a joke event by some people. Anyone who wanted to make a living from the game had to be pretty high up the rankings to have any chance. I think that's probably why there is a notable gap in quality once you get to the players born in the 1990s. With the money in the game today, I wouldn't be surprised if we saw this trend reverse over the next ten years or so.

I agree , that was one of the reasons for the lack of interest in players looking to forge a career out in snooker once they had already taken an interest then .
There is multiple reasons why the numbers of young players aren’t coming through now . Until we get many more kids playing and improving the standard by increasing the competition amongst them I think it’s going to be hard to see an improvement here in the UK. Of course how we do that is another thread altogether .

Hats off to Snooker Legends who have just started a new national comp for junior players which has various sponsors and pro players on board to mentor those juniors . Hopefully that will be the start of something positive .

[Mark187187]

I've always thought it would help the game if lower ranked/young players were guaranteed that travelling to a tournament wouldn't leave them out of pocket. I think I'm right in thinking most tournaments don't give anything for losing in the first round. I don't know how much that would cost or anything, but if these players are helping entertain an audience and/or being televised, doesn't sit right with me that they may be ending up worse off. Is it similar in other sports?

[mikee]

Golf it is ,you have the challenge tour ,paying your own expenses etc ,getting on the main tour ,PGA or European if you ever get that good ,miss the cut in the first two days and you get nothing .You also have to have and pay a caddy .It’s tougher on the golf circuit to make it ,but like snooker it’s an individual sport ,you live and die by your results ,it’s all about sponsorship .

[JimMalone]

I've always thought it would help the game if lower ranked/young players were guaranteed that travelling to a tournament wouldn't leave them out of pocket. I think I'm right in thinking most tournaments don't give anything for losing in the first round. I don't know how much that would cost or anything, but if these players are helping entertain an audience and/or being televised, doesn't sit right with me that they may be ending up worse off. Is it similar in other sports?

It's similiar at tennis tournaments. At challenger tournaments you get next do nothing if you lose first round and tennis with all its traveling and coaches and equipment, similar to Golf is an expensive sport. But if you are once in the Top 100 you can enter some big tournaments and there you get money also with early exits (even much money at Grand Slams).

[vmax]

Why do something difficult like play snooker, in the UK there's an easy living university culture now among the young. Get to uni on a B & C grade, take a nothing course for three years like media studies, a gap year and then sit on your arse all day in an HR office or call centre and all done using one hand while the other constantly fiddles with a smartphone

[Mark187187]

Why do something difficult like play snooker, in the UK there's an easy living university culture now among the young. Get to uni on a B & C grade, take a nothing course for three years like media studies, a gap year and then sit on your arse all day in an HR office or call centre and all done using one hand while the other constantly fiddles with a smartphone

I think that is changing. My brother got a grant when he went. When I went fees were capped at 1k, which I didn't have to pay after means testing. Still came out with about 10k student loan debt. If my kids go (unless things change), its fees up to 27k for 3 years, plus another student loan for living costs, so about 40-50k debt. My kids certainly won't be going if they're doing a mickey mouse course, or looking for a 3 year doss.

[mikee]

Why do something difficult like play snooker, in the UK there's an easy living university culture now among the young. Get to uni on a B & C grade, take a nothing course for three years like media studies, a gap year and then sit on your arse all day in an HR office or call centre and all done using one hand while the other constantly fiddles with a smartphone

After that you go into politics ,become an MP and continue to do f**k all for the rest of your life .

[P.Smith]

Why do something difficult like play snooker, in the UK there's an easy living university culture now among the young. Get to uni on a B & C grade, take a nothing course for three years like media studies, a gap year and then sit on your arse all day in an HR office or call centre and all done using one hand while the other constantly fiddles with a smartphone

Why be snobby about it? If the Labour Market demands people work in call centres then many people will. Its how Capitalism works...

You'll be relieved to know a lot of those call centre employees are being replaced by computers now.

[vmax]

Why be snobby about it? If the Labour Market demands people work in call centres then many people will. Its how Capitalism works...

You'll be relieved to know a lot of those call centre employees are being replaced by computers now.

I just don't see the need for a uni degree to work in a call centre answering the phone when british industry is crying out for skilled workers, but I suppose that would make one blue collar working class, that's the snobby bit and it doesn't come from me.
It's simply just getting on the uni, gap year bandwagon, party for three years, google everything you need to know to slip through and then get a poorly paid white collar job so you don't earn enough to pay back your student loan.