Power play tournament announced

I picked up the morning newspapers with snooker splashed across the sports pages.

It's great to see the game hitting the headlines for the right reasons, and it's exciting to see that snooker may just be capturing the imagination of a wider scope of sports fans.

I must admit I was a little bit dubious about this new format of the game, when I first heard about it through the grapevine some months ago.

But I'm also a realist who knows the game was in need of a shake-up and a younger breed of fan. We can thank Barry Hearn, as it looks as if we're finally going in the right direction.

By the look of it, this new power play snooker could be the tonic.

The power play event - to be help at the Indigo02 on 30 October - looks exciting and like a great day out for snooker fans and maybe even some new faces. I've already booked my tickets, more out of intrigue than anything.

It's going to be an opportunity to assess the game first hand and sample a kind of snooker atmosphere that just isn't there at the moment. It'll be interesting to see how successful it is, if at all.

But my general opinion is that, any tweaks to the game that can stoke up more interest, is worth a try.

I think the 30-minute matches with 20-second shot limits and power play spells will be a fantastic way of seeing the players' raw talent on show.

It will keep us on the egde of our seats and allow the matches to rattle off.

Ronnie O'Sullivan is promoting the event and I'm not surprised to hear it's right up his street.

He's even gone to the extent of saying the worlds cahmpionships are boring. While his comments may have ruffled the feathers of many of ths sport's purists, I've learned over the years to take what Ronnie say with a pinch of salt.

He's the kind of character who is always looking for a new challenge. And in many ways, this event is made for him, but you'd be stupid to take his comments at face value.

The man has won three world titles, and depite what he says, he's very proud of his Crucible haul. If anyhting, he just wishes he had more.

But while he hasn't put his name on a ranking title trophy for nearly a year, Power Play is the perfect way for him to show he's still the most gifted player on the circuit. Because there's no doubt he still is.

Only a mug would bet against him winning this.

I'm hearing a lot about Power Play being the future of snooker. Before we all get carried away, I'm going to the burst the bubble and tell you its not.

It should be a wonderful event. It will transform the event for one weekend a year. It might even bring new fans to the game.

But the future of the sport is still as the past has been.

The world championships will still be the most prestigious event on the calendar. There's a tension in hard match play that can never be taken away from the game.

I;m all for changes, but I'm not going along with this view that the sport is entering a new era. It's just another tournament, and no matter how successful it is, it'll never be top of every player's dream list.