There are more people playing snooker in China than the rest of the world combined; it's a national phenomenon.
Barry Hearn obviously understands this because, as of next season, there will be five ranking events here.As normal, there will be the China Open and Shanghai Masters. The Haikou World Open - making its tournament debut this season - will be returning, the Wuxi Classic is being upgraded to as fully-fledged ranking event and a brand new tournament with a £125,000 top prize is launching.
This huge prize fund proves sponsors are willing to plough money into the sport and that the boom is very much alive.
Sure, an increased number of events will mean more travel for the British players and that it becomes more difficult for home nation fans to follow all the action. But, there is a whole new global market out there for the game which much be captured.
The enthusiasm for snooker in China is gigantic. Youngsters are flocking to play on the baize and huge TV figures are only getting bigger.
When the players go out there, they are treated like world superstars and given the full red-carpet treatment. The Chinese are mad for the sport.
A lot of this, of course, is down to Ding Junhui. He remains the nation's shining light but will soon be joined at the top by many more. We are seeing some of these come through already, including Liang Wenbo, Xiao Guodong, Yu Delu, Li Yan, Liu Chuang, Cao Yupeng and Tian Pengfei. But this is just the start.
As more snooker is played in China, the country's thirst for the game will only evolve. They will produce more players and put even more money into the sport.
That's the truth. Certain players need to accept the game is going global, with or without them.
Snooker The Fine Art © Method
ReplyDeleteA secret is wasted if not shared
ISBN 0 9517089 0 2
Dear Mr Moss
How are you Gary! You seem honest and genuine in your love for snooker but sadly you are a wee bit naïve on the games origin and the commercial side of the game.
Snooker originated as a fun game with British Army officers as competitive entertainment in the mid eighties to overcome the boredom in army life.
Snooker is still a fun game with a pint but became a coaching industry when Joe Davis published his first book “Improve Your Snooker” in October 19-36 and made “Advance snooker” copyright though that book did not show the copyright symbol.
Joe wrote many books and articles post war for TNOTWorld on advance snooker and became the working mans favourite library book for snooker learners and improvers worldwide.
The Game you love Gary is corrupt and has been for about ten years when “Coaching Snooker” became big business and the selling of coaching certificates and diplomas by Terry Griffiths.
The silence of Clive Everton as the “Voice of snooker” gave the allusion to honest snooker pro’s that the Joe Davis copyright was officially null and void and anyone could copy, advertise and coach commercially the Joe Davis copyright method.
Clive Everton has refused to sell advertising space to www.snooker-fineart.com and “Snooker the Fine Art Copyright.
Please check with Barry Clive or Terry, or the noble judge at the integrity unites. There should be no secretes in snooker. Mr Hey You