Welsh Open wins welcomed makeover

For too long the Welsh Open has been known as the poorest relation on the circuit of professional ranking tournaments.

It's often been seen as the least important in a list of highly-competitive tournaments.

To dispel this theory, World Snooker has tried a small makeover of the competition to stir up greater enthusiasm.

There have been many potential changes touted around the web in recent weeks. Some people have even suggested the competition should be taken out to Asia. Although this was never really on the cards for this season, I hope it never happens, for the sake of the loyal and knowledgeable snooker fans based in Wales.

Asia may boast a growing new fanbase for the sport, but it's important in times of change we don't forget our heritage, and Wales is definitely part of that.

In fact, I think World Snooker has got the changes about spot on.

The first in a list of alterations made to the tournament is reducing it from a three-tabled event, to just two. This means the non-televised table has been scrapped, and I'm a massive fan of that.

I always think it's important that if a player qualifiers for one of the majors, they deserve the opportunity to play in front of the cameras. Not only have they earned that right, but there needs to be some distinct difference between the real event and the qualifiers. There should be a completely different feel - now there will be.

It's also a pretty hard bargain to expect a player to qualify, not play on TV, and go out in the first round. This isn't in my opinion giving them the fair crack of the whip in getting used to the different conditions.

To pave way for this change though, it means some matches are shorter. The first round clashes will now be played as best-of-seven-frame matches, instead of 9.

On the face of things, this is only a two-frame difference, but it means matches will no longer have an interval - they'll be shown straight through. It looks like this change suits television schedules, but it could also suit the players as well, who have got used to this length of match during the PTC series.

But maybe the biggest, and most crucial change is brought about by Hearn's amendment to the ranking systems. The Welsh Open will now be the last ranking event before the seeding list is updated ready for the World Championships.

This could see a lot of twists and turns for players hoping to bypass the qualifiers and automatically play at Sheffield. It could also make a difference for players hoping to stay or break into the top 32 and 64, with their results having a direct influence of how many qualifying they will face to make it to the Crucible.

These changes are by no means radical, but could give the competition a much-needed boost with snooker entering a new era this season.