Power snooker
Encyclopedia
Power Snooker is a variant of the cue sport snooker
, first played competitively in July 2010 in the United Kingdom
.
The promoter of World snooker Barry Hearn
stated Power Snooker is "designed to be faster and more exciting" than the traditional format of snooker. Players compete in time-limited based on total points scored, instead of number of won. Power Snooker uses nine red balls, which are continually re-racked at the end of each frame until the end of the match. Total match play lasts for a fixed 30 minutes, with the winner being the player who has scored the most points overall, irrespective of frames. A 20 second shot clock
is imposed on each shot, while additional variants also include power plays, balls and zones, awarding bonus points.
The first tournament using the Power Snooker format was played at The O2
in London on 30 October 2010. Eight players competed for a first prize of £35,000.
The format has been sanctioned by, but organised and promoted independently from the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association
(WPBSA) which organises the traditional format of snooker. Barry Hearn stated the hope "that Power Snooker will emulate the success of Twenty20
cricket as a new, alternative form, of a well established traditional game". Three-time World Snooker champion Ronnie O'Sullivan
won the inaugural tournament.
, while Simons was co-producer of the film The Lawnmower Man. Boxing promoter Frank Warren
, a long time business partner of Simons, also has a non controlling stake in Power Snooker.
According to Simons, the pair had "come to the conclusion that snooker is in need of a huge transformation". Gunner stated "It had struck me for some time that the game of snooker needed a new and exciting transfusion", and that he took his inspiration from "seeing how Twenty20 cricket had revitalised cricket".
Power Snooker officially launched on 22 July 2010 with former World Champion Ronnie O'Sullivan as the main snooker player endorsement . O'Sullivan said of the new format that "crowd will love it and the public will enjoy it." and that this was "the future of snooker".
, organisers of the World Snooker Championship
and other ranking tournaments, and regulators of the professional game. The format has however been officially sanctioned by the WPBSA's chief shareholder, Barry Hearn. Simons has stated that he sees Power Snooker as simply another format of the game, it being one of many new experimental formats and several new tournaments introduced since Hearn took control of World Snooker, rather than a threat to the established format of the traditional game or a competitor to WPBSA tournaments. Power Snooker advertises itself as part of the World Snooker Calendar of events.
According to The Guardian, Hearn sees Power Snooker as "an element of [the WPBSA's] ongoing attempt to overhaul the sport and introduce it to new audiences". Hearn stated on the launch that "We are 100% behind Power Snooker. In this new time for World Snooker, it is important for us to embrace new formats and new ideas", stating that he believed it would bring new audiences and fans to snooker. The Guardian also stated that Hearn believes these new formats will hopefully draw new fans into the traditional form of the sport, and that he compared it to the Prizefighter series
he had recently introduced to boxing, and his recent revamp of the Professional Darts Corporation
. Hearn has not invested financially in the format, with Simons stating that "Our feeling is that he'll [Hearn] take a look at the [first tournament], see how it goes, and then we'll have another conversation".
ed in a triangle shape, Power Snooker matches use just nine red balls in a diamond shape.
with all shots having a twenty second limit. If the player exceeds the shot clock the player is penalised 20 points, and their opponent can resume play, or can elect to let the other player to play on. A century break
is rewarded with 50 bonus points, and if the player can repeat this in the second consecutive frame, this doubles to 100 points, and in a third consecutive frame, to 200 points. This reward for century breaks was, however, removed in 2011. After a , the opponent gets a "" and can resume play from anywhere in the .
In order to "add glamour" to the Power Snooker tournaments, players are encouraged to wear designer outfits, while the referees will be exclusively female and will be "dressed to impress". Tournaments will also feature "Power Girls". According to the organisers, "It was important the girls matched the Power Snooker brand criteria; Power Girls are sexy, sassy and very elegant".
in London, held on 30 October 2010. Two thousand spectators watched the eight hours of tournament play in the indigO2 sub-venue. The players in the inaugural tournament competed for a £35,000 first prize.
O'Sullivan was the first player to be confirmed as participating in the inaugural tournament, which was announced during the official launch. It was stated during the launch that the inaugural tournament would feature the four top ranked players in the world, alongside four wild card entrants. The other seven entrants were confirmed on 24 September, matching the players who were mooted by the organisers during the launch as possible entrants. The tournament draw took place on 12 October, with O'Sullivan facing Brecel in the opening game.
from Scotland and Patricia Murphy from Ireland. Tabb was head-referee at most Matchroom Sport
pool events (including the World Pool Championship and Mosconi Cup
), and the first woman to referee a world ranking match and, in 2009, a World Snooker Championship final; while Murphy began refereeing professional snooker matches at the 2005 UK Championships.
Tabb said on the eve of the tournament that "Power Snooker is an entirely new game with a totally new set of rules and will provide many exciting challenges to both the referees and the players. The game will be played at a faster pace than the traditional game, it's going to be very exciting to watch", while Murphy said "It'll be great to see how the audience react and join in with the action".
for the whole eight hours of play. Talksport
provided radio coverage. In addition to ITV4, the tournament was broadcast to 25 other countries in Europe, the Middle East, the Far East, China, Latin America and Oceana.
to generate much money. They also described Ronnie O'Sullivan's comments on launching the format, that the current WPBSA organised World Championship was "really boring", as being "not quite a Gerald Ratner
moment", referring to the time when Ratner inadvertently devalued his jewellery business after he publicly criticised his product's value.
Snooker
Snooker is a cue sport that is played on a green baize-covered table with pockets in each of the four corners and in the middle of each of the long side cushions. A regular table is . It is played using a cue and snooker balls: one white , 15 worth one point each, and six balls of different :...
, first played competitively in July 2010 in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
The promoter of World snooker Barry Hearn
Barry Hearn
Barry Hearn is an English sporting events promoter, and the founder and chairman of promotions company Matchroom Sport. He is currently the chairman of Leyton Orient F.C., and the Professional Darts Corporation and was also until July 2010 chairman of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker...
stated Power Snooker is "designed to be faster and more exciting" than the traditional format of snooker. Players compete in time-limited based on total points scored, instead of number of won. Power Snooker uses nine red balls, which are continually re-racked at the end of each frame until the end of the match. Total match play lasts for a fixed 30 minutes, with the winner being the player who has scored the most points overall, irrespective of frames. A 20 second shot clock
Shot clock
A shot clock is used in some sports to quicken the pace of the game. It is normally associated with basketball, but has also found use in sports such as snooker, professional lacrosse, water polo, and korfball....
is imposed on each shot, while additional variants also include power plays, balls and zones, awarding bonus points.
The first tournament using the Power Snooker format was played at The O2
The O2 (London)
The O2, visually typeset in branding as The O2, is a large entertainment district on the Greenwich peninsula in South East London, England, including an indoor arena, a music club, a Cineworld cinema, an exhibition space, piazzas, bars and restaurants...
in London on 30 October 2010. Eight players competed for a first prize of £35,000.
The format has been sanctioned by, but organised and promoted independently from the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association
World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association
The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association, often abbreviated to the WPBSA, founded in 1968 and based in Bristol, England, United Kingdom is the governing body of professional snooker and English billiards...
(WPBSA) which organises the traditional format of snooker. Barry Hearn stated the hope "that Power Snooker will emulate the success of Twenty20
Twenty20
Twenty20 is a form of cricket, originally introduced in England for professional inter-county competition by the England and Wales Cricket Board , in 2003. A Twenty20 game involves two teams, each has a single innings, batting for a maximum of 20 overs. Twenty20 cricket is also known as T20 cricket...
cricket as a new, alternative form, of a well established traditional game". Three-time World Snooker champion Ronnie O'Sullivan
Ronnie O'Sullivan
Ronald Antonio "Ronnie" O'Sullivan , is an English professional snooker player known for his rapid playing style and nicknamed "The Rocket". He has been World Champion on three occasions , and is second on the all-time prize-money list, with career earnings of over £6 million, behind only Stephen...
won the inaugural tournament.
Inception
Power Snooker was created by Rod Gunner and Ed Simons, both producers with backgrounds in the entertainment industry. Gunner had been involved with Michael Flatley's Lord of the DanceLord of the Dance (musical)
Lord of the Dance is an Irish musical and dance production that was created, choreographed, and produced by Irish-American dancer Michael Flatley, who also took a starring role...
, while Simons was co-producer of the film The Lawnmower Man. Boxing promoter Frank Warren
Frank Warren (promoter)
Frank Darren Warren is an English boxing manager and promoter.-Early life and early career:The son of a bookmaker, Warren trained as a solicitor's clerk with J Tickle & Co on Southampton Row in London....
, a long time business partner of Simons, also has a non controlling stake in Power Snooker.
According to Simons, the pair had "come to the conclusion that snooker is in need of a huge transformation". Gunner stated "It had struck me for some time that the game of snooker needed a new and exciting transfusion", and that he took his inspiration from "seeing how Twenty20 cricket had revitalised cricket".
Power Snooker officially launched on 22 July 2010 with former World Champion Ronnie O'Sullivan as the main snooker player endorsement . O'Sullivan said of the new format that "crowd will love it and the public will enjoy it." and that this was "the future of snooker".
Relationship to World Snooker
Power Snooker is independent of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker AssociationWorld Professional Billiards and Snooker Association
The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association, often abbreviated to the WPBSA, founded in 1968 and based in Bristol, England, United Kingdom is the governing body of professional snooker and English billiards...
, organisers of the World Snooker Championship
World Snooker Championship
The World Snooker Championship is the leading professional snooker tournament in terms of both prize money and ranking points. The first championship was held in 1927; since 1977, it has been played at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, England...
and other ranking tournaments, and regulators of the professional game. The format has however been officially sanctioned by the WPBSA's chief shareholder, Barry Hearn. Simons has stated that he sees Power Snooker as simply another format of the game, it being one of many new experimental formats and several new tournaments introduced since Hearn took control of World Snooker, rather than a threat to the established format of the traditional game or a competitor to WPBSA tournaments. Power Snooker advertises itself as part of the World Snooker Calendar of events.
According to The Guardian, Hearn sees Power Snooker as "an element of [the WPBSA's] ongoing attempt to overhaul the sport and introduce it to new audiences". Hearn stated on the launch that "We are 100% behind Power Snooker. In this new time for World Snooker, it is important for us to embrace new formats and new ideas", stating that he believed it would bring new audiences and fans to snooker. The Guardian also stated that Hearn believes these new formats will hopefully draw new fans into the traditional form of the sport, and that he compared it to the Prizefighter series
Prizefighter series
The Prizefighter series is a knock out boxing tournament created by boxing promoter Barry Hearn and aired on Sky Sports. The format has an initial eight fighters, who compete in four quarter-finals of 3 x 3 minute rounds followed by two semi-finals and one final all on the same night...
he had recently introduced to boxing, and his recent revamp of the Professional Darts Corporation
Professional Darts Corporation
The Professional Darts Corporation is a professional darts organization, established in the United Kingdom during 1992, when a group of leading professional players split from the British Darts Organisation to form what was initially called the World Darts Council...
. Hearn has not invested financially in the format, with Simons stating that "Our feeling is that he'll [Hearn] take a look at the [first tournament], see how it goes, and then we'll have another conversation".
General play
Power Snooker is played on traditional size snooker tables, but with a "modern design and a bespoke Power Snooker baize". Unlike traditional snooker, in which are played as the best of a set odd number of irrespective of time taken, Power Snooker matches are played for a fixed 30 minute game play period, with the balls being continually re-racked. The winner is the player who has scored the most cumulative points by the end of the fixed game play period, with ties settled with a single . The 30 minute game clock is halted between frames. Also unlike traditional Snooker, which uses 15 rackRack (billiards)
A rack is the name given to a frame used to organize billiard balls at the beginning of a game. Rack may also be used as a verb to describe the act of setting billiard balls in starting position in billiards games that make use of racks , as well as a noun to describe the balls in that starting...
ed in a triangle shape, Power Snooker matches use just nine red balls in a diamond shape.
Scoring and shot clock
Basic play in Power Snooker is scored in the same way as traditional snooker. On the shot however, the starting player keeps his turn at the table as long as two reds hit a . Power Snooker play is kept to a quick pace through the use of a shot clockShot clock
A shot clock is used in some sports to quicken the pace of the game. It is normally associated with basketball, but has also found use in sports such as snooker, professional lacrosse, water polo, and korfball....
with all shots having a twenty second limit. If the player exceeds the shot clock the player is penalised 20 points, and their opponent can resume play, or can elect to let the other player to play on. A century break
Century break
In snooker a century break refers to scoring 100 points or more within one at the table, without missing a shot. The player does this by potting and alternately. Scoring 100 points over the course of a whole frame is not a century, as it must be done during one turn at the table...
is rewarded with 50 bonus points, and if the player can repeat this in the second consecutive frame, this doubles to 100 points, and in a third consecutive frame, to 200 points. This reward for century breaks was, however, removed in 2011. After a , the opponent gets a "" and can resume play from anywhere in the .
Power Ball, Power Play, and Power Zone
Power Snooker uses the concepts of the Power Ball, Power Play, and Power Zone. The Power Ball is dark red and is placed in the centre of the diamond rack, identified by a special logo, and is worth two points. When the Power Ball is potted, a two minute Power Play period starts, where all points values are doubled. If a shot is missed however, the opponent can also benefit from the remaining Power Play time. The Power Ball changed in 2011 to a red striped ball. On the Power Snooker table, the is known as the Power Zone. Any potted from a shot originating in the Power Zone counts for double, and if potted during a Power Play, quadrupled. In 2011 this was extended to the as well. If a player during a Power Play or in the Power Zone, their points penalty doubles, and if the foul shot originated in a Power Zone and during a Power Play, the penalty quadruples.Tournament presentation and audience interaction
In contrast to traditional snooker, in which play occurs in quiet surroundings, with an audience expected to remain silent during shots, Power Snooker aims "to encourage audience interaction with the players", loud music and 'spectacular' theatrical lighting are also a feature. Players will also have the option to wear a live microphone during play; "to facilitate and encourage audience interaction". According to the creators, the Power Snooker format "isn't about sitting quietly watching, it's about noise and interaction; we want the audience to feel a part of it and enjoy themselves.".In order to "add glamour" to the Power Snooker tournaments, players are encouraged to wear designer outfits, while the referees will be exclusively female and will be "dressed to impress". Tournaments will also feature "Power Girls". According to the organisers, "It was important the girls matched the Power Snooker brand criteria; Power Girls are sexy, sassy and very elegant".
Venue, entrants and prize money
Power Snooker's inaugural tournament was a one day event hosted at The O2The O2 (London)
The O2, visually typeset in branding as The O2, is a large entertainment district on the Greenwich peninsula in South East London, England, including an indoor arena, a music club, a Cineworld cinema, an exhibition space, piazzas, bars and restaurants...
in London, held on 30 October 2010. Two thousand spectators watched the eight hours of tournament play in the indigO2 sub-venue. The players in the inaugural tournament competed for a £35,000 first prize.
O'Sullivan was the first player to be confirmed as participating in the inaugural tournament, which was announced during the official launch. It was stated during the launch that the inaugural tournament would feature the four top ranked players in the world, alongside four wild card entrants. The other seven entrants were confirmed on 24 September, matching the players who were mooted by the organisers during the launch as possible entrants. The tournament draw took place on 12 October, with O'Sullivan facing Brecel in the opening game.
Draw
Play occurred over two sessions in a knock-out format. The first round of eight games took place in an afternoon session, producing four semi-finalists. The semi-finals, third place play off and final then took place in an evening session.Match referees
The tournament was refereed by two female professional cue-sport referees, Michaela TabbMichaela Tabb
Michaela Tabb is a snooker and pool referee who has established a number of significant milestones for female officials in professional cue sports...
from Scotland and Patricia Murphy from Ireland. Tabb was head-referee at most Matchroom Sport
Matchroom Sport
Matchroom Sport is a sport event promotions company founded by the English entrepreneur Barry Hearn. It first came to attention in the sports of snooker and boxing and is also involved in pool, bowling, golf , fishing, darts and poker...
pool events (including the World Pool Championship and Mosconi Cup
Mosconi Cup
The Mosconi Cup is an annual nine-ball pool tournament contested between teams representing Europe and the USA since 1994. The trophy is named after American player Willie Mosconi, and is modeled on and compared to the Ryder Cup in golf...
), and the first woman to referee a world ranking match and, in 2009, a World Snooker Championship final; while Murphy began refereeing professional snooker matches at the 2005 UK Championships.
Tabb said on the eve of the tournament that "Power Snooker is an entirely new game with a totally new set of rules and will provide many exciting challenges to both the referees and the players. The game will be played at a faster pace than the traditional game, it's going to be very exciting to watch", while Murphy said "It'll be great to see how the audience react and join in with the action".
Broadcast
The tournament was broadcast live in the United Kingdom on ITV4ITV4
ITV4 is a British television station which was launched on 1 November 2005. It is owned by ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc, and is part of the ITV network. The channel has a male-oriented line-up, including sport, cop shows and US comedies and dramas, as well as classic ITV action...
for the whole eight hours of play. Talksport
TalkSPORT
Talksport , owned by UTV radio, is one of the United Kingdom's three terrestrial analogue Independent National Radio broadcasters, offering a sports and talk radio service broadcast from London to the United Kingdom....
provided radio coverage. In addition to ITV4, the tournament was broadcast to 25 other countries in Europe, the Middle East, the Far East, China, Latin America and Oceana.
Reception
The Guardian, while reserving judgement on whether the revamped Power Snooker could emulate the success of Twenty20 cricket, pointed out that on the eve of the inaugural tournament the format had yet to find a bookmaker partner, and also drew an unfavourable comparison with the failure of PowerPlay GolfPowerPlay Golf
PowerPlay Golf is a shorter variation of golf, featuring two flags on a green and played over nine holes. It was devised by British amateur golfer Peter McEvoy, a former victorious captain of the Great Britain & Ireland Walker Cup team, and David Piggins, a sports venue owner and operator, assisted...
to generate much money. They also described Ronnie O'Sullivan's comments on launching the format, that the current WPBSA organised World Championship was "really boring", as being "not quite a Gerald Ratner
Gerald Ratner
Gerald Irving Ratner , is a British businessman. He was formerly chief executive of the major British jewellery company Ratners Group...
moment", referring to the time when Ratner inadvertently devalued his jewellery business after he publicly criticised his product's value.