Snooker World Open 2012 Preview
There are, of course, pros and cons to the tournament being held in China...
When Barry Hearn took over the reins at World Snooker he promised there would be no huge changes to the prestigious ranking events. Fast forward a couple of years and the World Open, formerly the Grand Prix, is being held in Haikou, China, where the first matches of the day start at 6.30am for viewers in Britain. There are, of course, pros and cons to the tournament being held in China. Firstly, the length of the matches have been extended to best of nine in the first rounds, best of 11 in the semi-finals and best of 19 in the final. This is compared to last year when the tournament was held in Glasgow and the opening matches were best of five. This is mainly due to the fact that players were not too happy about a possible 30 hour flight to Haikou only to play three games and get knocked out 3-0 in the first round. Already two of the worlds top players have dropped out due to the travel time, Ronnie OSullivan with glandular fever and Ail Carter due to his Crohns disease. Whether these two could have played if the tournament was held in the UK is open for debate. Today saw the opening round being played, the Wildcard round, where people who have already qualified play against a local player for a place in the first round proper, so they are technically qualifying twice. Hearn would undoubtedly argue this is better for the fans but watching the coverage on British Eurosport earlier, there seemed to be a sparse crowd in the arena. So far only one wildcard has made it through; Jin Long beat Sam Baird 5-3, which is not that much of a shock. There is no doubt that China is a growing force in the world of snooker, there will be five ranking events held in the country next season, but whether they have grown sufficiently enough to hold a prestigious tournament like the World Open is yet to be seen. Upon todays evidence, its hard to see proof that they have. As strange as it sounds, the most frustrating part of the opening days play is the floor on which the table rests. The floorboards were squeaking so loudly it was terrible to watch and no doubt it must have been annoying players on the neighbouring tables when they were down on their shot. What Hearn has done for darts cannot go unnoticed and most of the snooker world is hoping he can do the same for them. As the worlds top players begin their bid for the title tomorrow, we can only hope that the tournament will spring to life, and it wont just be the floorboards making noises in China this week