For those of you reading this who follow American sports closely it might not have escaped your attention that the NBA is making the headlines for all of the wrong reasons.
A sport that consists of almost 100 games per season, overall viewership figures have shrunk dramatically and many are wondering how the NBA can continue to survive against the might of the NFL and resurgence of the MLB, in a strange way the fate of the NBA should make those in the snooker hierarchy slightly nervous as it’s fair to assume that snooker faces a lot of the same problems.
With today’s younger generation feasting on fast and digestible content, it isn’t a surprise that many find snooker slow and mundane. Outside of perhaps Ronnie O’Sullivan, you’d be hard pushed to find too many people being able to rattle off a list of professional players.
Whilst there is no doubting that the game in some parts of the world is flourishing, China is starting to take the sport by storm and it’s fair to say that the sport is just as popular as ever.
Back in the UK and the western world, snooker does have a problem. With the audiences reasonably small and the search for sponsors always ongoing, as we move into an even more inspired technological age there are a whole host of questions that the sport needs to address if you feel it is going to survive long into the future.
Shorter formats to be embraced
Due to the fact that snooker is played amidst a completely different backdrop than a sport like darts, growing the sport through crowd participation will always be difficult, one way it can be achieved is through a shorter format.
Whilst the World Championship should always be kept safe from reform, the bulk of the rest of the season with the exception of the Triple Crown events ticks by with little to no fanfare.
Similar sports such as cricket have long known that the future of the game isn’t with the longer format varieties, instead it has put the majority of its resources into the T20 game and it could be argued that the success of T20 has saved the game from itself.
Taking just hours to play rather than days, T20 continues to get bigger and bigger every year. Able to attract sponsors, stadiums are packed and the TV deals continue to roll. Whilst not every facet can be copied across to snooker, there are some things that snooker could probably look to learn.
At the moment only the purists are tuning in, whilst they are a key part of the audience to keep happy, if snooker is to try and grow in a similar way that darts and cricket has, then shorter formats have to be explored and stuck with.
Out with the old and in with the new?
Snooker is at an exceptionally interesting time simply down to the fact that several of the sports stars are nearing the end of their careers.
It’s rare that any sport produces one generational talent yet alone three, but in the shape of Mark Williams, John Higgins and Ronnie O’Sullivan that is exactly what has happened.
Between them the trio have won 13 world titles but it’s fair to say that their time at the top of the sport could be coming to an end.
The ace of the trio is Ronnie O’Sullivan and despite the Rocket on several occasions flirting with leaving the game, perhaps this is the first time where his exit from snooker's top table seems a real possibility.
Although Higgins can still very much beat anyone on his day, he is now finding himself locked in the battle to try and maintain his position in the top 16 in the world.
Of the three it is Mark Williams who looks to be the most evergreen. A recent winner of the UK Open, he is still performing to a high level and seems to pick and choose his tournaments wisely.
With the trio having left an indelible mark on the game, the race to replace them has long been on.
Judd Trump is a huge star in his own right, a throwback to the maverick players of old, the current world number one is a star in China and is the most likely candidate to be the face of snooker for years to come.
Whilst there are several young Chinese talents ready to burst through, Chinese stars have often struggled to become stars in the west.
Kyren Wilson is another who World Snooker will want to build around. The most recent World Champion, Wilson and Trump could well have a rivalry to last the ages, but the game needs more top talent to build around.
Could new features bring in a change of fortunes?
In order to make the game more marketable, World Snooker has tried to introduce new and exciting features but it’s fair to say some of them are yet to take off.
The Saudi Arabia Masters has introduced the golden ball but it’s fair to say its reception has been mixed.
For years now one frame shootout tournaments have been in place, but these again have struggled to capture the imagination. Now when these tournaments are played it’s fair to say that a lot of the big guns choose to opt out or they are reserved for lower level events.
Whilst the format in theory works, there is a sense that more love is needed for it to truly work. Other ideas have been mooted such as doubles or a reduced amount of balls and it wouldn’t be a surprise if ideas like this were to have a place in the sport in the not so distant future.
Baseball is a great example where controversial ideas have been able to change how the game is viewed and consumed and whilst some won’t like the proposals, something new that has the opportunity to excite could just be what is required to preserve snooker’s future.
Andrew Blakely
At 35, Andrew Blakely stands as a seasoned expert in both snooker and its betting intricacies. A dedicated player and analyst, he offers keen insights derived from years in the field. Through his writings, Andrew aspires to guide enthusiasts navigating the captivating world of snooker betting.
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