baizeality-blog

[baizeality-blog]

Ahhhhhhhh I got a Pinterest! Cuz I’m a girl and they make us do them! 😂

Just getting started and will add as stuff comes up. Suggestions welcome but only pinning ones I really like my own biased self! Yay! 

[baizeality-blog]

The excellent snooker photographer and Ronnie fan Monique Limbos usually writes about Ron’s latest adventures on her blog (often with photos and videos), but in this post she goes a bit further afield with a decently comprehensive collection of the effects of the 128 flat draw and other decisions that betray Bazza’s declarations of a “level playing field” as a priority motivation. I don’t necessarily agree with all of her hard-earned opinions, but I agree with many of them. She’s done a good job laying out what’s kind of a mess. 

I’ll push a boat a tiny bit further and add that I kind of hope that Judd leaves Django someday, sooner rather than later. That’s just me. 

[baizeality-blog]

The Ranking ShootOut and The Choice

I didn’t say anything here about this tweet from The Chairman, but I’m picking it up now based on revelations today that might un-skew the choice for players.

Let’s back up a sec. As you know from the previous post, I have thoughts about making the Snooker ShootOut a ranking event, and so have players and fans alike. The complaints became even louder after Dave Gilbert lost out on progress and valuable ranking points when cheering crowds were blamed for the red allowing Xiao Guodong to score a winning pot after the shot clock had run out. So Bazza made the announcement shown above on Twitter, with WPBSA head Jason Ferguson confirming the vote must be done by all 128 players. 

This choice is not one anyone wants. The overwhelming opinion in all the complaints is to keep the ShootOut, but remove its ranking status. Bazza has been strongly inferring, though, that this is the choice at least set up by the ShootOut broadcaster ITV (now through two years of a three-year contract). 

As well, there’s been some conflation with a demand ITV does seem to have made to begin the ShootOut on a Thursday and surrendering part of Saturday due to a scheduling conflict. 

Adding to the suspicion is his continued reference to the ranking ShootOut having greater commercial value, using recent ratings to back that up. (It’s worth noting Sky is cable/digital and ITV4 is free.) 

HOWEVER, this morning, in response to Snookerbacker talking about what many of us assumed from the choice, a fan revealed that ITV had denied to him that they had specified the ShootOut be a ranking event, and SB confirmed that with the ITV4 team of pundits.

(Update March 7: Here’s the email itself.)

Indeed, looking again through Bazza’s responses, he has not said that ITV “dictated” the move, but that it was a “partnership”.

(Yes, everyone wins except Dave Gilbert and people who respect the rules of snooker.) 

So where does this leave us? Bazza may not have been exactly lying in laying out the choice to players, but the players may have slightly more of a choice than they may have thought they had. That choice has not been established by the current broadcaster of the ShootOut, but by World Snooker itself. And they can be fueled by the knowledge of the rhetoric that set up the situation they thought they were in.

Choose wisely.

[baizeality-blog]

Turns out I had some more thoughts about the ShootOut being a ranking event (more from Snookerbacker here) when the Chairman served up the Word Salad to defend his choice on its first day. 

[baizeality-blog]

So I went to the Welsh Open...

This is a screengrab of the Eurosport livestream of Shaun Murphy’s match with Josh Boileau at the 2017 Welsh Open. The person in the upper-right with the milky-white forearms is ME. 

How did I get here?

Well, I’d wanted to go to the Welsh since it moved to Cardiff because 1) I’d been to Cardiff before and LOVED it, and 2) the Welsh was around my birthday (the 22nd) and I wanted to get back into a thing I’d been doing where I’d travel around my birthday. Things didn’t work out last year, but this year - with money in place and a greater sense of urgency since the country of my birth got fucked sideways in November, sending me into a psychological tailspin - was going to be the year. For those not keeping track, this would be my first ranking tournament, after going to qualifiers in Barnsley a couple years ago and an edition of the Seniors in Portsmouth a couple years before that. (Also that Judd/Ronnie exhibition at Goffs last year.)

The pleasant surprises started not long after I got my flights and announced on Twitter I’d be going: I got a DM from that guy in the photo up there offering tickets and passes for the days I was there. Shaun and I became acquainted through my efforts promoting his work with Snookerbacker on a new UK amateur system, but I didn’t expect he’d be such a mensch, and I should’ve known better. When the time came, I rustled up some Canadian thank-you gifts and flew to Gatwick, then took the train out to Cardiff (going past my brief home of Bristol, which I’d intended to visit but ended up not visiting, which can be put down to time and a pang of melancholy telling me it may be too soon).

I was to be at Motorpoint Arena for the first three days because I wanted to see as many players and matches as possible and didn’t want to miss anyone because they lost. That would end up being especially wise, considering how many top players fell in the first two rounds (including that guy at the top), often a result of Best-of-7s. I liked the idea of being able to make my way around the venue watching what I wanted of matches going on at eight tables, though this was trickier in practice considering the creakiness of the temporary stands and doors and the different entrances in players’ eyelines. But everyone did what they could under the circumstances, except when they didn’t. 

The first day was probably the most eventful day in my mind. I had finished some work late the previous night at the hotel. Having received my laminate for the players’ lounge from the nice man at the World Snooker desk (thanks, Smurf), I went up to see if I could settle in and upload my file there. Turns out there were a lot of couches in front of matches on tv, coffee/tea, a (cash, duh) bar, the Media Centre beyond - and not enough wifi for my unwieldy file. Fair enough. I went off to the lovely Cardiff Central Library and did the upload. Upon returning and enjoying the Higgins/Baird match as well as the more Welsh-popular Page/Weston match (won by the rookie Page, starting his couple days of fame), I got an email saying my work needed to be redone because the client had sent a final “final version” of what I had to work on. Could I have the remix done by tomorrow morning? Ugh. That’s how the rest of my day at the snooker was spent sitting with my laptop connected to an outlet in an out-of-the-way corner of the players lounge. I tweeted Matt Huart (@ProSnookerBlog, whom I’d met in Barnsley before his WPBSA gig) to see if I could get any table/outlet space in the Media Centre, but he couldn’t swing it. I’d alerted my benefactor Smurf as well, who officially met me IRL with a hug in my chair - and didn’t succeed with the Media Centre either before his first match. So I remained, which was fine. I sent out a DM to Neal Foulds, whom I’d also become acquainted with on Twitter and was of course working for Eurosport, saying that if he had a minute to say hi he wouldn’t be able to miss me. Not long after, he came in and we had a great chat about Twitter, the tournament and various things around snooker that I didn’t know. Then we each had to get back to work. It was more than a little surreal getting my remix done as top players, friends and family went by, but I’ve had worse workplaces. My work was done by the end of the last match, and I made my way back to the hotel, first stopping at a takeaway. As I left with my food to continue on...Ronnie O’Sullivan walked by with his own takeaway. G’night, JV. 

I got to see Ronnie in his more usual habitat the next day, though he wasn’t at his best beating Tom Ford, nor when he was upset by Mark Davis later. I was thankful I’d already seen him in Goffs near the height of his exhibition powers. It was also great to see Michael White doing well on home soil, especially as this hasn’t been a great season for him so far. A little later, I found myself in a back row with my benefactor watching his mate Mark Allen operating a bit more slowly than usual. Shaun had felt obligated to watch him after he’d watched Shaun on a back table the previous night - and it was Pistol’s turn to pay for dinner. 😊 We talked weight loss, my work and of course getting the sport set right. Afterward, he introduced me to Mark and the boys went off for their meal...at Nando’s, as it happened (Mark’s pick).

Learning that Ali Carter was playing Zhao Xintong on a back table, I took the chance of streaming chunks of the match on Periscope. Anyone following me on Twitter knows I’m a big proponent of Periscoping tables that don’t get on tv or streams, despite some ridiculous quasi-rule by World Snooker that you’re not supposed to because of “rights” or something, although those are rights to matches NO ONE AWAY FROM THE VENUE CAN SEE and only several people attend. Anytime I ask someone go give it a go, they demure, not wanting to get into trouble. Evidently “they” told Mark Williams not to do it. But I went ahead and did it anyway. The most drama actually involved my devices having enough battery power - it was late in the day, and in the end I used my phone connected to my laptop open on the floor. 😂 Ali clocked me early on (SB, who’s working on his book, says he clocks everyone at his matches), but no one gave me any trouble about Periscoping. In fact, Zhao’s club, Vics Snooker Academy, was one of the few dozen viewers. Since I was Shaun’s guest, I apologized to him for breaking World Snooker rules (no, WS: he didn’t know ahead of time), but I still feel it was a worthwhile thing to do. 

Work would sneak its way back in my final day. I’d gotten an interview request from back in Toronto and the most solid wifi I’d have for it would be at my hotel at Gatwick, so I had to leave for the train at a certain time. Early on, I got to meet Dominic Dale, who was transitioning from playing to his comms gig for BBC Wales (a gig many of us hope he’ll have more often for more broadcasters). I’d bumped into him at an elevator in Barnsley and at a door in Cardiff the previous day, but it took his girlfriend Kerri (another Twitter acquaintance) to finally make it official. When other people around the lounge learned I was from Toronto, they’d mention the usual Canadians like Cliff and Kirk. (Notably, Mark King’s father Bill talked with me about Jim Wych and I got to tell him about his 6-Red tournaments.) Dom, true to form, asked about Maureen Seto (who’d once tried to get me to hold a cue properly and lost patience almost immediately) and Ontario fixtures Ed Galati and Terry Davidson. I don’t know why that kind of blew my mind. Speaking of blowing my mind and making things official, when Dom was away, Kerri let me in on what was at that point a secret and flashed me her new engagement ring, which Dom had presented on a cake the previous (Valentine’s) night. I had to stay quiet about it while she phoned her parents, but it didn’t take long after that before it went public.

It became clear I’d have to leave for the train while Shaun was playing his match, so I was able to give my thank-you gifts and say goodbyes beforehand. He had been so great making sure everything was cool for me and that I could ask any questions or get advice about the area (one flaw in the trip was there wasn’t much time to spend in Cardiff outside the venue), and only later did I learn he was dealing with a case of bronchitis. That might have been a factor in him being one of the top seeds to fall in that match in that screengrab at the beginning. Boileau got out to a fast lead, but Smurf was starting to catch up when I had to sneak out and hurry to my train - WHICH WOULDN’T ALLOW ME TO STREAM THE REST OF THE MATCH. 😂 I had to learn of his loss the old-fashioned way, on the World Snooker live scores. But I did make it to my hotel in time for my Skype interview and the plane home the next morning. 

In the end, Stuart Bingham (the first player I saw when I arrived, standing at the elevator) beat Judd Trump (whom I wanted to win - Bristol!) in the final, which I watched as usual from my apartment in Toronto. I’d left behind a debit card, a pin and my favourite cork travel mug; but had gained great memories and a fresh brain not quite as full of dread. Some of those memories include the Pundit Fishbowl, the Vodka Slushies (no, I didn’t get one!), Hossein Vafaei Ayouri and Igor Figueiredo hanging out together and scoring some upsets, finding I couldn’t walk up three flights of stairs and answer Shaun’s question about what’s going on in the U.S. at the same time, Thepchaiya Un-Nooh’s ridiculous breaks, some guy named Trevor who kept charging his phone by my work station, sitting alone with Marco Fu three couches apart watching a match and saying nothing for at least a half-hour, the people who wouldn’t be the slightest bit contrite when their phones went off, Adam Stefanow’s stripey waistcoat back, Willo’s can’t-possibly-be-15 protegé “Action” Jackson...

And of course, Smurf being a mensch. (That’s just fun to say.) Thanks, everybody. 

[baizeality-blog]

"World Snooker Opinions” and the SnookerValerie Manifesto 😊

Hi, again! It’s Masters time! Since we’re all gathered around again for one of the major events on the snooker calendar, I thought I’d blather out a bunch of crap I wrote recently.

This week saw the debut of World Snooker Opinions, an official World Snooker site where anyone can register (please don’t be super-accurate with all your personal info - do you really trust WS with that stuff when they can’t do a decent draw?) for the privilege of being given surveys about the state of snooker. Evidently, there are points you can earn for prizes and exclusives and whatever, and WS is ultimately trying to build up a database to exploit however they see fit, but it is pretty impressive they’re actually asking fans and maybe those more involved in the sport for their opinions in an official capacity. For anyone vaguely interested in the sport, I recommend you give it a whirl - I suspect this will be like players attending the AGM, in that now if you spout off to Bazza and Jason, they’ll likely ask you if you’ve joined WSO to do something constructive with your opinions, and if you haven’t, they’ll dismiss it as idle moaning. 

So in this first survey, you get asked a lot of general questions about your experiences with snooker, like what three words come to mind to describe what snooker means to you 🤔, how you got involved, and particularly how you watch pro snooker and get news about it. But near the end, there’s this. 

Well well well. 😂 So with a little time on my hands at that moment, I decided this was an opportunity for me to lay out BASICALLY EVERYTHING I think World Snooker could do to help the sport. Not like I believe any of this stuff will get done anytime soon if ever, but if you follow me on Twitter, you know that aside from talking about players’ clothes and hair, I have a few basic themes of discussion - what has gotten my attention over the mere several years I’ve been a snooker fan and what issues get my passion going. So I thought I’d share what kind of ended up being a sort of manifesto of what matters to me about snooker. You don’t by any stretch have to agree with any of it (though I really don’t want to have debates about it either 😊) and it’s in no way more important than anyone else’s opinions about snooker (unless you’re an asshole), but this is just sort of me, snooker-wise, and take it as you will. 

Ready? Buckle up... So the question was, “Is there anything World Snooker could do to better support snooker?”

- Promote *internationally* every possible way to watch *every* professional tournament - all broadcasters, all (legal) online sources, all means of watching in-person - as early and consistently as possible.

- This includes promoting all WS/WPBSA tournaments more actively on a local basis, collaborating with local associations and media, giving fans information on getting to venues.

- Make deals with more broadcasters or narrowcasters, even if modest. Whether locally or around the world, when you do not give us options, we create our own.

- Stop hindering personal, non-commercial livestreams (Periscope, Facebook Live) of matches that are *not viewable through any other means* by people who are not attending (as long as the streaming does not interfere with play).

- Show respect for players not only with improving prize money and playing opportunities, as you have done, but by actively fostering better communication with them through whatever means they are most comfortable using, including social media. (Again, when people are not satisfied with the options you give them, they create their own.) They have given their lives for this sport, and they are your product. While you cannot cater to their every whim, be more understanding of issues they bring to you and each other seriously, especially regarding the quality of play and their livelihood - I think some of you can tell the difference. The Chairman's disrespect of players reflects as badly on the sport as anything negative the players may say.

- As players are your product, ramp up the progress you have shown getting people to know more about more of the players, particularly those who are less well-known, younger, lower in rankings, or from different countries. You have interesting people with interesting stories - let us learn more (while still respecting what the player would be comfortable with). Also keep commentators informed so they can do the same.

- Consider reducing the number of players on tour (not including wildcards and top-ups) from 128 to 64 at the least. A sport relying too much economically on its players paying for the privilege to be included is a snake eating its tail.

- By the same token, employ people who can work hard to acquire a greater variety of sponsorships. Learn tactics and strategies of people, like those in China and Europe, who have been successful in that regard. Relying too much on gaming companies is dangerous in various ways.

- Strongly consider a minor and/or amateur league/tour in the UK, to foster and encourage the next generations of players in a challenging 21st century environment. "Snookerbacker" and Shaun Murphy have presented you with the most comprehensive plan in this area in the past couple years. Take the initiative, though not entirely the credit.

- Remove the new Ranking status from the Shoot-Out, leaving it the fun (when you don't try so hard to make it seem fun) showcase for players that it is.

Okay, that's all I have. Thank you for the opportunity.

[baizeality-blog]

Statistics from yesterday’s BBC feature about World Snooker, money and players earning a living wage under the current structure, broadcast during a mid-session interval of the UK Championship Final. Video of the feature, which includes comments from many top and mid-ranking players along with Barry Hearn, can be found here - though it is unlisted (you can’t search for it) and the BBC has the right to pull it down at any time. 

Current touring players featured: Mark Allen, Fergal O'Brien, Jamie Jones, Matthew Stevens, Mark Williams, Shaun Murphy, Ronnie O'Sullivan, Mark Selby, John Higgins, Ken Doherty.

[baizeality-blog]

Been a while, hasn’t it? Well, Ronnie’s been saying stuff again, and a lot of it has been perceptive and useful - and a boost to those who’ve been saying what he’s saying. We’re presently in the midst of the 2016 UK Championships and ROS is still in it, which means talking to the press after matches. Yesterday in the usual general press conference, he responded to Hector Nunns’ question about snooker being perpetually snubbed in the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year contest. Hector has the original and best article on that response, in which ROS voiced concern about the public perception of snooker and how it relates to broadcast coverage, press coverage, sponsorship, and the quantity and quality of tournaments. Of course, World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn did his usual bit of defence, delegitimizing Ronnie’s comments (as he does with most players who criticize the way things are run) and going so far as to say they hinder his work selling pro snooker. Ronnie then clarified his comments in his Eurosport blog, but didn’t back down from them. In today’s post-match interview on the BBC, host Hazel Irvine brought up the subject of the perception of snooker, setting off a fairly long and somewhat substantive discussion with Ronnie, Steve Davis and Ken Doherty. (It should be noted Steve and Ken are Player Directors on the WPBSA Board.) The discussion went beyond what Ronnie had talked about previously to issues such as the flat 128 format and the state of UK amateur snooker. While some may perceive what Ronnie said about lower-ranked players to be a slight (and likely the source of future headlines), there is a great deal of food for thought about what players and potential spectators have had to deal with and how to move forward. 

Granted, the endorsement of Dutch darts star Michael Van Gerwen for the SPOTY might be taken with a grain of salt. ;-)

(Note: I claim no rights to this audio, which may be taken down at any time. It’s only offered as an alternative to those who cannot access the interview on the BBC iPlayer.)

[baizeality-blog]

(Man, those have a lot of words in them huh? Sorry.)

[baizeality-blog]

An Open Letter to Jason Ferguson

Hi, Jason.

Thank you again for your communication with me yesterday regarding your comments to the BBC about Snookerbacker and Shaun Murphy’s proposal for amateur snooker. As you know, while Twitter is a very useful medium for communication, it literally has its limits, especially with your communication style in this context, so I am writing this on my Tumblr as a follow-up, as you approach talks with SB and Shaun over the weekend.

I have been a fan of snooker for only several years, and to be honest, I have no sensible reason to be following it. The person who introduced me to it is long gone from my life. There are many other sports which have had my interest since I was a toddler and which I continue to follow (baseball, American football, ice hockey, basketball, etc.). I have picked up a snooker cue once in my life, at the behest of a former ladies champion, and will likely never again. So why would I have any interest in these matters at all?

The people.

When you say SB and Shaun’s plans have gotten support “on social media”, you seem to be obscuring just from where that support has come. It has come from people. They include the engine of snooker: players at every level of the professional and amateur ranks - from World Champions (indeed, one is a collaborator on this plan) to Number Ones to those fighting to stay in Top 16/64/128, to amateurs who play at all the rare tournaments they can get to and/or afford (these are the people SB has heard from day after day, year after year, and are at the heart of what he is proposing). They include referees, promoters and club owners with many decades of experience who persist despite it. They include fans who make up those ratings numbers that get crowed about on occasion, who buy the tickets when they are permitted, who watch by any means possible regardless whether you give them the service they deserve. And they include parents of budding young players, searching for tournaments, who must wonder whether or not to encourage their children opening themselves up for serial political rejection and poverty later on…and who may still like the idea of a child in the Olympics.

Of all of these different types of people, a good portion of them are outside of the UK. They have filled the venues (when told where they are and that snooker is happening), they (we) have broken laws to watch, they have played with what few chances they have, they have asked SB whether they can play in his plans and have been told they can, they have made good progress themselves, they have been occasionally bewildered by the support that has been attempted - here in Canada, we were in no way ready for the Tour Card we were given a few years ago simply by virtue of luck and geography. Surely many of the other 109 bodies you refer to would feel the same.

These are the people who have used social media to express their support of SB and Shaun’s amateur plans. One may ask why. Just because it’s cool? Because pushing against the status quo is fun? No. While everyone has their specific reasons, one that might unify them all is they were given the respect of being informed about them.

After your comments to the BBC were published - comments you told me were made in light of SB releasing more detailed plans to them, which seems to not be what you’d wished -  SB’s response was to ask publicly just what the plans and/or “structure” you referred to are. This led to me accusing you of “an inability so far to communicate your plans”. You replied that you had the ability, but that the discussions are “internal”. In other words, you have the ability to tell all those people I listed above about WPBSA’s structure for “global” amateur snooker, but not the desire nor perceived motivation. This illustrates a mindset that was the norm when Barry Hearn returned and World Snooker essentially revolutionized things (which you continue to use as an argument in your favour), but which is becoming obsolete and potentially dangerous for the sport. A large part of Snookerbacker’s success fostering amateurs and Shaun’s success as an ambassador of the sport has been open communication in the snooker community. They understand that these plans matter to all the people I talked about, and so it is only fair they learn about them for themselves and respond. They could have been told by hundreds of people that their plans were terrible, and they likely would have stood down or adjusted. That was the risk they had to take. They have also answered questions and agreed to disagree with some people. Most of this has been done out in the open. While you like to speak of “engagement”, you have not given these people any plans to compare against, or give these people - who, again, have a major stake in all this - any chance to say what’s good or bad or adjustable in terms of their experience. Because you persist in keeping your plans “internal”, all people have to go by is the past decade of dwindling opportunities for amateurs, particularly in UK. What is the point of not being more transparent? World Snooker is the business here. Is there some sort of competing world governing body of snooker WPBSA is competing against? What is there to hide? I’m not accusing you of anything - the answer is there’s not really anything to hide. As has been proven again and again in so many areas of life in the social media landscape, open sharing and communication strengthens communities. If enough people with stakes are informed and share ideas about what is being done and what can be done to make things work better, snooker progress can only be exponential. Among many other things, that can only be attractive for an Olympic bid.

I realize this all could sound very kumbaya. It’s not. Plenty of people are selfish, or willfully misinformed, or ego-driven, or just out for power over something terribly petty. No one has to listen to every single opinion or grumble. But I have enough respect for you and the architects directly involved to believe you can tell what is meant in the right spirit and what isn’t. You ignore it all and blind everyone at your peril. This is the new way of doing things, and it’s not going away.

You may not come around to this way of thinking in a weekend. :-) The points remain that many, many people who make snooker what it is support SB and Shaun’s plans in part because they see themselves being supported in them. It would serve you well to look at whatever plans you have that you’re not telling us, talk with SB and Shaun, and consider not whether it fits, but how you - and everyone, really - can make it fit. If you have any aspirations for support of other plans you may have in the years to come, think seriously now about the support of the people. They are snooker.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely, Valerie Hunter Toronto, Ontario, Canada

[baizeality-blog]

Our Russian friends at SnookerRoom, who have provided so many snooker fans - especially outside the UK - with live streams without geo-blocking and WITHOUT ADS OR MALWARE THREATS, along with a treasure trove of fantastic videos, say they are being shut down by World Snooker and IMG (look them up).

Their whole statement (link up there in the title) is well worth reading - even in their less-than-perfect English, their sarcasm about WS’ hypocrisy comes through loud and clear. They also say they even offered compromises with their hundreds of hours of footage:

...we proposed different compromises to right holders: to put a TM on every video, to indicate their authorship, to give them the whole YouTube channel just to keep it alive without removal of all videos... Well. There is no compromise. All the people who could not see snooker because of the circumstances now is left without snooker. It's like a sad joke. they say that SnookerRoom s extremely harmful, but they use the video of our YouTube channel even at the World Championship in Sheffield.

Of course, teeeeeeeeechnically, WS and IMG are right that SnookerRoom were illegally distributing material they (and the broadcasters) own. If the Russians had actually been making money from their ill-gotten gains, and if they were stealing material WS were trying to provide themselves to hungry snooker fans, it would make all the ethical sense in the world to shut them down. But again, SnookerRoom were doing all their work for free, with no ads (will WS be shutting down any of the ad companies who provide those pop-ups and pre-rolls for the likes of Filmon and CricFree anytime soon?). Recently, SR had finally started making a concerted appeal for donations to cover the costs of hosting their streams and keeping up their huge YouTube channel which was the go-to for any snooker fan/player having trouble finding footage of anything from the dodgy CCTV excuse for coverage of qualifying matches to Eurosport’s Ronnie O’Sullivan Show to major matches to broadcaster studio features and interviews that would never be shown again after the initial broadcast. Fortunately there are other live streams (though dodgier) and YouTube snooker channels (though maybe they’ll get the lawyers at their doors soon too), but SnookerRoom was the most consistent and most complete provider of snooker footage, legal or illegal. 

It’s my personal opinion that when illegal distribution happens, more often than not, it should serve as a clarion call that the legal distribution is not serving demand. With the severing of ties with Livesport (who provided the inconsistent legal WS subscription live stream which caused folks to run to the Russians in the first place) and strengthening of ties with Eurosport (word is access on matches will increase on their Eurosport Player, which currently geo-blocks and require subscription for all its streamed content), one can hope WS and IMG have ideas to make live and on-demand snooker more accessible globally... 

...but have they done anything to really make us feel they can pull that off?

For their part, SnookerRoom included the email of World Snooker Commercial Director Miles Pearce (who possibly sent them the offending C&D) in their statement, which may imply encouragement to fans to contact him and make their opinions known about taking away all that content with nothing to make up for it. Anyone who’s been around the snooker world would probably question how successful a tactic that would be, but I suppose it wouldn’t hurt giving Miles some further idea of the demand WS is not supplying.

For the time-being as I write, the SnookerRoom YouTube channel is still intact, and it’s hard to say when WS will lower the boom or when the Russians would have to delete their account. There could be foot-dragging (like when WS has to announce a draw so players can get their hotels sorted), or it could happen tomorrow. While this isn’t any more legal than anything else that’s been discussed here, another thing fans can do is dig through the videos and download as many of their favourites as they can. A few methods of downloading YouTube videos are out there, so feel free to Google. You could then keep them for yourself, but to keep alive the SnookerRoom philosophy of “snooker without borders”, you could share them with friends and fellow fans through whatever methods you may have. The more people who do, the more WS has to play whack-a-mole, and the more the demand for snooker content is communicated. Also, it’s just a nice thing to do. :-)

So if you are going, SnookerRoom, прощание and cпасибо for all the many hours of snooker love. 

[baizeality-blog]

Well, evidently the World Snooker Awards were fun, Wizard won for Player of the Year, Selby won for journos’ Player of the Year and Performance of the Year (because Worlds, which evidently they didn’t watch because c’mon), Ronnie got fans’ Player of the Year, Darryl Hill got Rookie and and Ali got Magic Moment for winning the Paul Hunter Classic. But all that really matters is Selby sang Chasing Cars again, like he did after his first Worlds win, only better. 

[baizeality-blog]

👍🎖 🏻Gee, I hope this helps his prospects with the BBC SPOTY. #ItWont

Ronnie O'Sullivan, received an OBE at Buckingham Palace

Ronnie O'Sullivan enjoyed a royal welcome on Friday as he collected his OBE at Buckingham Palace, supported by Footballers Wives actress and partner Laila Rouass.

Keep reading

[baizeality-blog]

Crucible Clobber

So now the Worlds after-party hangovers have worn off and the Awards hangovers are just being built, I return to my usual Twitter role as The Person Who Talks About What The Players Are Wearing. Because again, we’re talking about a sport where THE PLAYERS WEAR SUITS and I don’t think we can ever take that for granted.

(I’m sorry I’m not including what was worn at the qualifiers, because they’re a fantastic event that will reportedly finally get the tv coverage it deserves next year, but I have a life and it took me long enough to go through pics just for this part of the Worlds.)

This was a pretty good year for threads at The Crucible. I have a fair number of Honourable Mentions, and probably could’ve gone further, but that would’ve just included almost everyone. Players I dug I’m not posting photos for include Stuart Bingham, Ronnie O’Sullivan (you like the lining), Michael Holt, Stephen Maguire (thank you for not shaving your head), Barry Hawkins, Shaun Murphy (improving on his scene-stealing from last year), Neil Robertson and his Shirt Wardrobe (not used enough this year, tee hee!) and especially Ding Junhui whose massive comeback can only be attributed to his Lucky Red waistcoat (and #TerryGriffithsSnookerGenius). To be honest, my Top Two could be interchangeable, but I have to make my stand somewhere. Also, this is TOTALLY my opinion based on pretty much nothing. If you want to write a Tumblr post about your picks, go nuts.

LET’S DO THIS!

Honourable Mention

Michael White. M-Dubs is one of my favourite players, and of course it sucked that he fell to Sam Baird. Making it into the top 16 for the first time, he’s also been rising in the rankings in terms of style, particularly in terms of his facial hair, which has succeeded in making him look older than 12 (see also Mark Allen, who also did well this year). He’s had his missteps, though, as he also succeeded in showing off his butt crack at a PTC this season (always a risk with guys of his build). But during his short time at The Crucible this year, he did very well in all-black with a bluish-purple shirt, and wore a great suit to the opening photo call. 

Mitchell Mann. The lone debutant (and former Snookerbacker Classic finalist - you’re welcome, SB) also had a brief stay at The Crucible, but made a great impression with his play and with his variation on Selby’s Maroon. 

John Higgins. A lot of people don’t like this guy for various reasons, but it can’t be denied he’s shown a lot of his old mettle the past couple seasons. I’ve also noticed this season he’s been a little more interesting in his kit, which is admirable for such a veteran and a fellow whose style has in the past struggled with his size. He’s done a lovely dark blue back on his black waistcoat with white shirt, and he sported this medium blue shirt which could’ve come from the Robbo Shirt Wardrobe. 

David Gilbert. Anyone who’s watched him in the smaller tournaments the last little while would know 😍, but he maintained his style in The Crucible as he helped make Ronnie O’Sullivan mightily annoyed enough to get a Tintin haircut after blowing off the post-match press conference. Here’s his variation on the Selby Greys with crucial black buttons matching his shirt.

Liang Wenbo. Another guy not liked by everyone, but he’s a great representative of the flair I see in younger Chinese players on their way up and those I’ve seen around locally in Toronto, only without going too nuts. He acquitted himself well with a dark blue kit (you’ll be sensing a colour trend here) with grey back, although I’m not sure about the grey edge on the tie.

Ali Carter. He’s a perennial on Tumblr and lists like these, and for good reason. This year, along with his usual black with super-gorgeous medium-grey shirt, he brought out a kit in an appropriately aviator-y greyish blue.

Mark Selby. He’s now twice World Champion, and to me the overall champion of style for the past few years. Part of that is slightly unfair, because he has the body-type and look of a model (that doesn’t mean he’s automatically the best-looking, though arguments have been made), so clothes just usually hang well on him. But he also usually makes the best choices of what he wears, including away from the table. As you’ve already seen, what he wears gets copied to the extent I attach his name to certain colours and patterns. Maybe one of the only things that makes me class him not at the absolute top for The Crucible this year is that he’s worn these same two awesome kits for the past two years at everything that hasn’t been a PTC, so he’s past due to change things up. I look forward to what comes next when he finally does.

Alan McManus. Ah, Angles. Betfred gave him the Best Dressed award this year, and I can’t entirely blame them. Who else on Earth, much less at age 45, can go full-kit tartan without looking like a complete idiot? I don’t think even Selby could’ve pulled it off. Mixing up the tartan pieces with more conventional blacks and an ice-blue-backed waistcoat, Angles is a prime example that great style isn’t just about great clothes, but having the personality and presence to make it come to life. 

Okay, here’s where things get super-close. There are strong arguments to be made for both these guys, but I made a gut call. Here we go...

Runner-up

Marco Fu. This fellow is always near the top for me in style, and his amazing performance at The Crucible this year gave him every chance to show it off. The quibbles I usually have about his curved Jimmy-White-style lapels and odd bowties were put to rest this time as he went with calm notched lapels on two terrific kits: one in his version of the Selby Greys, and one mainly black with a back of stripes that were THAT close to being tartan and THAT close to looking like an old-timey awning without becoming either. He also brought his usual white shirts with the double buttons and CUFF MONOGRAMS. So many great little details, but nothing over the top.

Again, Marco could easily be my pick for Best Dressed. But there was someone I just couldn’t turn down....

The Winner!

Anthony McGill. Okay, hear me out. If The Smiling Assassin had turned up in just one of these kits over the course of The Worlds, he would’ve been in the Honourable Mentions. He’s a ginger going full-kit dark purple. AND he’s got black with dark-red pinstripes without looking like he’s auditioning for Bugsy Malone. He had already been doing well overall with his style, but unlike with Marco, he went up about two gears from where he was previously and he did it as a guy who, also unlike Marco, does not just naturally look good in anything. This is really a battle between detail versus risk and execution, and I just happen to be picking the latter. 

Congratulations, Ant. You win absolutely nothing but the admiration you already had. But hey, it was fun.

Thanks to everyone for looking great and being awesome, because you work goddamn hard for being in a sport where players where suits. G’NIGHT, JV! (p.s. Please retire from live broadcasting. But that’s another matter.)

[baizeality-blog]

I’ll say some stuff tomorrow, but for now, this is all we need. 

[baizeality-blog]

War of Attrition

I just wrote a big post about having to unfollow someone and prejudice and individuals doing really bad things and who gets a pass and saying a group of people can’t comprehend certain ethics just because of their supposed “culture”, but I’m on this backup Linux laptop and the whole post disappeared when I pressed a button that wouldn’t make things disappear on a Mac machine.

You’re welcome.

The final is Selby and Ding, which is pretty great. It’s good if Selby wins because he’s been through some shit. It’s good if Ding wins because he’s been the best player through the tournament, he was playing crap through much of the past year, hundreds of millions of people we don’t know or talk to will be happy, and it would be nice if he had one less thing to have to do. Let’s have fun.

[baizeality-blog]

Jesus, the ends of those matches last night were insane. I had two laptops going, I’m looking back and forth and forth, Hawk Marco Wizard Angles. Two matches of fairly equal drama going on at the same time. But in the end, it was Angles and Marco (that clearance at the end after Hawk came back - COME ON). 

So yeah, Angles is getting pasted by Ding at the moment (more on that later), but here’s Angles being awesome after that crazy-ass match.

Someone asked me if a veteran (term he hates) like Angles getting this far may not be the best for the future of the game. Granted, John Higgins (I still can’t believe he lost that match, honestly) getting this far would’ve been worse because Usual Suspects and all that. But I do kind of see his point in that the younger pack led by Judd and Kyren hasn’t gotten far enough. But part of what makes Angles’ presence here good for the future of the game is that he’s an amazing ambassador for snooker and he can articulate his love of the game and his current experiences within a context of being among the kids as a middle-ranked player (it should be noted he’s making more money just in this tournament than he’s made playing all year). He’s in the qualifier trenches and sees what they’re going through. Before the quals, he said he was planning to write a blog post with advice for younger players about life on the road and keeping their financial head above water, and I hope he follows through on that once all this is done.