Johnstone’s Paint Players Championship 2024

[GeordieDS]

It's like watching a Club Final

[GeordieDS]

Maybe Allen's having the same soporific effect on Zhang that he has on GeordoeDS.

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At least I can have a nap, poor Zhang knows he's getting back to the table for more torture because Allen is struggling as well

[trains]

Modern history ( from Wikipedia)

The New Town was first designated on 16 January 1963 by the Conservative administration as Dawley New Town, covering 9,100 acres (37 km²) of Dawley, Wenlock, Oakengates, Wellington Rural District and Shifnal Rural District.^[7] Development started, guided by the Dawley New Town Development Corporation, with the first homes on the new Sutton Hill housing estate being occupied in 1967. Initial planning and design concepts for Dawley New Town were produced by the Birmingham-based John Madin Design Group.

The Minister proposed an extension of 12,000 acres (49 km²) in 1968 (taking in the historic area of Ironbridge Gorge). The Dawley New Town (Designation) Amendment (Telford) Order was made on 29 November 1968, extending the New Town area by 10,143 acres (41.05 km²) of "land lying within the urban districts of Oakengates and Wellington and the rural districts of Shifnal and Wellington".^[8] The Order also renamed the new town Telford, after the Scottish-born civil engineer Thomas Telford, who in 1787 became Surveyor of Public Works for Shropshire. Other suggested names at the time were Dawelloak and Wrekin Forest City.

You learn something new every day

Congrats to Mark Allen, a few too many misses from Anda though.
I think Trump or O Sullivan will win the World's, we'll see.

[itsnoteasy]

Is it over? Is it safe to come out from behind the sofa yet? That was a tough watch but congrats to Mark Allen.

[vmax]

I played myself last night, came home and of course it was still going on, at half ten I left them to it, not normally my bedtime but I suddenly felt really tired but once my head hit the pillow I wasn't.

Didn't Barry Hearn say something about dealing with gamesmanship a couple of years ago, looks to me like he hasn't bothered at all apart from making average shot times public.
And talking of joe public, the ones who don't play but like to watch are going to switch off in droves if this isn't dealt with, maybe start with playing Mozart's Four Seasons through the tannoy when a player goes over thirty seconds so everyone knows they're on hold because theres' nothing really happening but deliberate time wasting.

[PatBlock]

It's very entitled to expect every final to be a classic. As we all know, snooker is an extremely difficult game, even for the pros sometimes and you're going to get matches where both players are struggling, there's nothing new in that and it happens in all sports. Ever been to a gig that wasn't what you were hoping for? Same thing, no shenanigans, just human beings having a bad day and struggling with the pressure of meeting the expectations of their paying audience.

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[Billy]

It's very entitled to expect every final to be a classic. As we all know, snooker is an extremely difficult game, even for the pros sometimes and you're going to get matches where both players are struggling, there's nothing new in that and it happens in all sports. Ever been to a gig that wasn't what you were hoping for? Same thing, no shenanigans, just human beings having a bad day and struggling with the pressure of meeting the expectations of their paying audience.

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Well put and I agree. But starting the finals at 6pm instead of 7 would do a lot to prevent late night finishes, especially considering they’re always on a Sunday.

[PatBlock]

Well put and I agree. But starting the finals at 6pm instead of 7 would do a lot to prevent late night finishes, especially considering they’re always on a Sunday.

Yes, definitely a good idea.

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[vmax]

It's very entitled to expect every final to be a classic. As we all know, snooker is an extremely difficult game, even for the pros sometimes and you're going to get matches where both players are struggling, there's nothing new in that and it happens in all sports. Ever been to a gig that wasn't what you were hoping for? Same thing, no shenanigans, just human beings having a bad day and struggling with the pressure of meeting the expectations of their paying audience.

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It's quite clear to me that Mark Allen has adopted time wasting gamesmanship by taking two minutes per obvious safety shot, walking around the table after every pot and leaving the arena after every frame just like Selby does.
Now everyone who plays this game knows what's going on with that, it's a deliberate attempt to break the opponents focus and it quite obviously works and I'm of the opinion that it shouldn't be allowed. As Barry Hearn said a couple of years ago about gamesmanship, "it's tantamount to cheating" but he's done nothing about it.

As a fast player myself and an avid snooker viewer I can easily put up with slow players, that is players who feather the cue ball more than just once and play a lot of safety, but, and this is the crux of the matter, it's the time some take to make a decision that quite frankly doesn't need thinking about, especially to a pro who has come across nearly every single situation before and knows what shot to play because this is all they do, all they have ever done and there's no excuse for it other than deliberate gamesmanship.

Taking an inordinate amount of time over playing a shot isn't something they do in practise, isn't something they do when on top and playing great themselves, isn't something they do when their opponent is playing badly, but it is something they do when they're playing an all time great or someone playing out of their skin and giving them a proper hiding.

[PatBlock]

Taking an inordinate amount of time over playing a shot isn't something they do in practise

Less pressure.

isn't something they do when on top and playing great themselves,

Less pressure.

isn't something they do when their opponent is playing badly,

Less pressure.

but it is something they do when they're playing an all time great or someone playing out of their skin and giving them a proper hiding.

More pressure.

Why is it that players make so many maximums in practice and yet they're so rare in tournaments?

More pressure, of course.

I know gamesmanship exists, but I believe it's far less prevalent than you think. And it's pointless asking players about it, they're quite naturally happy to point the finger at anything other than their poor form.

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[SnookerfromtheThatcherEra]

It's quite clear to me that Mark Allen has adopted time wasting gamesmanship by taking two minutes per obvious safety shot, walking around the table after every pot and leaving the arena after every frame just like Selby does.
Now everyone who plays this game knows what's going on with that, it's a deliberate attempt to break the opponents focus and it quite obviously works and I'm of the opinion that it shouldn't be allowed. As Barry Hearn said a couple of years ago about gamesmanship, "it's tantamount to cheating" but he's done nothing about it.

As a fast player myself and an avid snooker viewer I can easily put up with slow players, that is players who feather the cue ball more than just once and play a lot of safety, but, and this is the crux of the matter, it's the time some take to make a decision that quite frankly doesn't need thinking about, especially to a pro who has come across nearly every single situation before and knows what shot to play because this is all they do, all they have ever done and there's no excuse for it other than deliberate gamesmanship.

Taking an inordinate amount of time over playing a shot isn't something they do in practise, isn't something they do when on top and playing great themselves, isn't something they do when their opponent is playing badly, but it is something they do when they're playing an all time great or someone playing out of their skin and giving them a proper hiding.

I'd allow him 2 mins for a safety shot, if he'd stop the 30+ seconds and walk-around for EVERY. SINGLE. SHOT. now. It's really become hard to watch Mark Allen, and I agree it's gamesmanship, rather than his "learning to win with his B game" excuses. He wasn't even playing his B game on Sunday night, 'cos he missed a lot of straightforward blacks off the spot, never mind long pots. Just exhausted then broke Zhang Anda - who was playing on two consecutive days, unlike Allen who'd had a rest day.

On paper, little difference between a 20 AST and a 30 AST, but my God it adds up - especially when neither player are building up substantial breaks in any case, as happened with the final. Reminds me of American Football, where four seconds of action is followed by six-minutes of time-out, changeover, whatever the hell it is they're playing at in American Football.

[Cue crafty]

Encouraging figures here, apparently up 44% on last year's viewing with 630k + people tuning in! There's hope for this forum yet!!!

https://www.wst.tv/news/2024/februar...-championship/

[Nifty50]

Encouraging figures here, apparently up 44% on last year's viewing with 630k + people tuning in! There's hope for this forum yet!!!

https://www.wst.tv/news/2024/februar...-championship/

It’s the paint that did it. Everyone loves splashing it about. Not everyone likes gambling.